THANK YOU BILLI !!
When Alesha left off from being our Outreach Coordinator last fall, we were talking about how we might do our church staffing differently, so we were not ready to hire a new coordinator. But our Outreach Ministry needs the attention and care of a coordinator to keep all the various parts moving and working together.
Billi, who’d done the job for us when she first came to Philadelphia, 2011-13, stepped up, offering to become our acting Outreach Coordinator. She had promised to stay with us through May, but because of the extraordinary circumstances around the COVID lockdown, she extended her time with us a few months. She will now be leaving this position at the end of July.
We are grateful for Billi’s initiative and the dedication she has shown. She jumped right back into a program that had developed and was in some respects very different from when she had last staffed it. She has coordinated volunteers, managed and participated in the Shelter, particularly its dinner program, the Saturday Morning Breakfast and Clothing Cupboard, Urban Service Camps and more. She helped with a creative fundraising strategy when Bethesda asked us to extend and expand our homeless Shelter, raising thousands of dollars.
It was particularly great to have Billi here for the COVID crisis. She took it all in stride and developed a modified non-touch take away Saturday Breakfast and Clothing Bag for the homeless and urban poor we serve. She has begun to think how we might provide some sort of Service Camp experience virtually. Likewise, one of her final duties was to begin the orientation and training for her replacement, Jess Selingo; as it turned out, we have needed to do it almost all online, and Billi’s got that. Her creativity and commitment have kept us going.
Thank you Billi for a job well done! Of course, in this case, since she’s a member of the church, we don’t need to say goodbye. She’ll continue to be a part of our community.
Sincerely,
The Outreach Standing Leadership Group
