Mormon Life - Church Welfare tag

Church dedicates new Bishops' Central Storehouse

Mon, 14 May 2012 10:52:00 -0600

source: ldschurchnews.com

Elder Douglas F. Higham of the Seventy presided at the dedication of a new Bishops' Central Storehouse in Mira Loma, Calif.

Located in Southern California, the new 98,000-square-foot facility will supply bishops' storehouses throughout California, Nevada and Hawaii and, in times of emergency, stand ready to provide humanitarian aid throughout that area.

Meet the Preppers... and the Mormons (Part 1)

Mon, 07 May 2012 09:57:00 -0600

source: browardpalmbeach.com

Mormon Life says: A feature on a member who runs a Bishop's Storehouse. In this week's cover story about survivalists, I speak with a man who identifies himself only as "Bowreeguard," who hails from hard-granite New Hampshire and says that prepping was a way of life for his family when he was growing up.

The eldest son of his family, Bowreeguard learned to keep supplies on hand, use a gun, and plan ahead. Sometimes this will prove you wrong -- he sadly recalls how he spent years working on an underground bunker for Y2K, only to see nothing happen -- but there's that same good feeling in preparing.

LDS Church pilot program for construction in Congo

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:58:00 -0600

source: cestlavie.com

Here in Kinshasa the church is doing a new pilot program for developing nations. It's the first one of its kind and is probably the last big thing done by Bishop Burton before he was released. He was very anxious about the lack of employment in the Congo and this was the idea that they came up with to help that problem. PEF is in Kinshasa, and is wonderful. Our missionary couple, Staggs, have really worked to get it started here in the Congo. It's a good program and many are benefiting from it. But it's very hard to get a job even after you go to school. There are fewer jobs than people looking for work, even for those who are trained. So another alternative will be a great blessing too. This new program is addressing the problem in a completely different direction.

Building hope: How the LDS Church is helping thousands fleeing war and drought

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:49:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: I love hearing stories about the Church Welfare System. Read this - it's good. Not far from Somalia on a barren, windswept plain, a girl named Amina gathers firewood in the fading light of late afternoon. She is slightly built, with a long, delicate neck and thin, bony arms. The cheap Casio watch on her wrist tells her that she doesn't have much more time before she has to get home to help her mom.

Amina lives in a sprawling refugee camp that sits at the base of a mountain in the Horn of Africa. From where she stands she can see the rows of white tents stretching to the horizon, a small, teeming city of some 40,000 souls.

Inside, the air reeks of the sharp odor of donkeys and open latrines, of charcoal cooking fires and the sweet scent of tea. It is a city unto itself, where boys fly kites and marriages are made, where donkey carts crowd the dusty paths. But it is largely unknown to the outside world.

Salt Lake City storehouse at top of Mormon food chain

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 11:07:00 -0600

source: sltrib.com

At the new Utah Bishops’ Central Storehouse, pallets loaded with food wait to be ferried to locales near and far, their destinations handwritten in black marker on plastic wrap covers: Lindon, Ely, Mesa, San Diego, St. George.

Richard Humphries, storehouse manager, stops a golf cart next to one steel storage rack, slits open a cardboard box with a pocket knife and pulls out a can of peaches made with fruit grown at an LDS Church orchard and processed at its cannery in Lindon. The can’s label is stamped "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" and "Welfare Services, Salt Lake City, Utah." This, Humphries said as he holds the can in his palm, is "the best food money can’t buy."

Mormons across globe reach out to those in need

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 09:11:00 -0600

source: Newsroom.lds.org

During the era of the economic upheaval known as the Great Depression, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) announced the formation of an innovative welfare program. In a 1936 Churchwide address, the “primary purpose [of the program] was to set up a system … where independence, industry and self respect be once more established amongst our people.”

That mantra continues as congregations of the Church throughout the world reach out to assist those in need. Implementing the basic principles of welfare — love, service, work and self-reliance — frequently occurs among Latter-day Saints worldwide.

Mormon volunteerism highlighted in new study

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 11:57:00 -0600

source: Newsroom.lds.org

Mormon Life says: The Church created another really cool infographic. Click on the forwarding link to see the whole picture. As The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) continues to receive heightened media attention, a new study focuses on the generous charitable donations and volunteerism of active Latter-day Saints in the United States. University of Pennsylvania professor Ram Cnaan and fellow researchers Van Evans and Daniel W. Curtis jointly published the study, titled “Called to Serve: The Prosocial Behavior of Active Latter-day Saints.”

Latter-day Saints in New Zealand Help Collect Books for Fijian Students

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 10:57:00 -0700

source: news.lds.org

Representatives of the Church in New Zealand recently delivered nearly 43,000 books to Fiji’s Ministry of Education for distribution to students living in rural areas and outer islands—some of whom have grown up without reading or owning a book.

The effort was a response to a call from Wellington New Zealand Stake president George Harvey and Eileen Mueller, multistake director for public affairs, who asked for book donations to be distributed to students in Fiji.

Mormon Media Observer: Two articles for which to be grateful

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:46:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

In my opinion, thanks should go to Naomi Schaefer Riley, a vital writer whose work is frequently published in the Wall Street Journal.

During the 2007-2008 presidential campaign of Mitt Romney, she wrote one of the most favorable articles about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that appeared in the nation's press.

What struck me then is how she observed Latter-day Saints at their best.

Wall Street Journal writer discusses Mormon welfare system

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:14:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

If presidential candidate Mitt Romney wants to find a welfare system that "lets almost no one fall through the cracks while at the same time ensuring that its beneficiaries don't become lifelong dependents, he could look to his own church."

That's the opinion of former Wall Street Journal editor Naomi Schaefer Riley, in an op-ed piece that was published Saturday.

Reader Voices: LDS Church's welfare plan was pattern in a 1930s Virginia community

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:49:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

One of the best things about living in a historic house is learning about the generations of its former inhabitants. Our Virginia home, part of which dates to the Colonial era, is rich in history; but we've learned of a connection with the Welfare Program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, from a former employee and friend of the family who implemented the plan. Dykeland, in Amelia County, Va., is on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. It is notable for its mid-19th century owner Lewis Edwin Harvie, a state senator and ardent secessionist. It was Harvie who first introduced the bill of secession in the Virginia State legislature. The bill was rejected initially, since Virginia was reluctant to go to war, only to be reintroduced and passed after the firing upon Fort Sumpter in South Carolina.

President Uchtdorf dedicates new Bishops’ Central Storehouse

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:40:00 -0700

source: news.lds.org

Mormon Life says: “God is in His heavens, but He asks that we, His disciples on earth, serve as His hands.” —President Dieter F. Uchtdorf President Dieter F. Uchtdorf dedicated a new 570,000-square-foot Bishops’ Central Storehouse in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, on Thursday, January 26, 2012.

Bishop H. David Burton, Presiding Bishop, also attended.

Prior to the dedication, President Uchtdorf emphasized that while the processes and techniques of welfare must be flexible to accommodate the needs and circumstances of the times, the principles behind the processes remain unchanged and eternal.

Deseret Industries volunteer finds thousands of dollars stuffed in a shoe

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:37:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: What a good guy for turning in the money. A volunteer at Deseret Industries made a surprising discovery while organizing the shoe section in the store. He found several thousand dollars stuffed in a shoe.

Steffen Bronson works at times sorting through donated items and other times he's going through the store at 1415 N. State making sure everything is put on the shelves in just the right place. But on Tuesday, while he was in the shoe section, he noticed something interesting.

Serving others at bishops' storehouse in Georgia

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:04:00 -0700

source: ldschurchnews.com

On Jan. 16, youth in the Atlanta, Ga., area were off from school and adults were off work in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. day. Many Latter-day Saints chose to spend the day serving at the bishops' storehouse in Tucker.

There were more volunteers than work to be done, so more work had to be organized in addition to filling food orders and loading trucks to deliver food to the metro area. Work was organized for the main warehouse, the cannery, cleaning, filling walk-in food orders and restocking shelves. Elder Gordon Hunter and Sister Brooke Hunter currently manage the storehouse and were delighted to be so busy from all of the volunteers who came to work.

Mormon church is large landowner in Florida

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:53:00 -0700

source: tbo.com

Mormon Life says: The LDS Church owns huge ranches and farms in Florida (did you know that?). Florida's Mormon population is small, but The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a large footprint in the state.

Through several corporate subsidiaries, the Mormon church is Florida's sixth-largest private landowner, with nearly 300,000 acres spread across at least six counties, including Hillsborough and Manatee.

On Their Way: DI associates find confidence, employment through training program

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:21:00 -0700

source: news.lds.org

Whenever an employment organization can improve its placement ratio it’s a good thing. But when it’s placing people who have previously faced significant barriers to employment—and doing it in a tough economy—it’s all the more remarkable.

That’s exactly what Deseret Industries (DI) has done in 2011. Over the past year, job placements have increased 10 percent.

Hong Kong district celebrates welfare anniversary

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:10:00 -0700

source: news.lds.org

It was a unique day of service on Saturday, December 3, 2011, when dozens of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the Hong Kong China District assembled humanitarian kits and learned about poverty in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Church welfare system.

About 50 members from three local branches, representing different languages and ethnicities, came together in yellow Helping Hands vests.

Fund builds members, their communities, and the Church

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 10:30:00 -0700

source: news.lds.org

Mormon Life says: The Church works with organizations that help individuals build self-reliance through vocational training, business training, or other opportunities. Very cool. David Figueroa is a returned missionary in Ecuador who had to close his baked goods business when it failed. But after receiving business training and mentoring, he started a successful gardening venture.

Felicia Ama Mensah is a retired schoolteacher in Ghana who needed continuing income. Now she makes and sells peanut butter and corn dough and is learning how to promote her products using labels and other basic marketing skills.

U.S. Senate recognizes Church’s 75th anniversary of welfare program

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:45:00 -0700

source: Newsroom.lds.org

This month the United States Senate unanimously passed a resolution recognizing the 75th anniversary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Welfare Program. Aside from noting the program’s historic anniversary, the resolution congratulated, “the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the significant contribution that its Welfare Program has had on United States citizens and many people throughout the world; and commend[ed] the many efforts made by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members, through its Welfare Program, to serve others regardless of religious affiliation.”

Thanks means giving for LDS Church

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:19:00 -0700

source: thenewsconnection.com

Mormon Life says: I love reading about all the service members are giving for the 75th anniversary of the Church's welfare program. Thanksgiving has been expressed in acts of service by seven local congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Throughout the fall hundreds of LDS members have either joined other organizations in support of planned projects or developed their own while inviting the community at large to lend a hand. Benefitting from these acts of service have been Keep Flower Mound Beautiful, multiple Red Cross local blood drives, PediPlace, CCA Food Pantry, and area homeless. Another project is planned for December 17th in aid of Hills and Hollows Boy Scout Camp.

While service has always been the focus of the LDS Church, there has been a renewed emphasis by members worldwide in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Church’s welfare program.