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Tag: #hometownheroes

Hometown Heroes – Jim Willard – 05/23/23

Hometown Heroes – Jim Willard – 05/23/23

The Impact Project”  sprang from a simple act of kindness:

A group of church members banding together to assist a woman whose dilapidated home was in dire need of repair. The extensive work a band of volunteers completed in less than 48 hours proved to be a powerful witness to her neighborhood, and the genesis of “The Impact Project” which has since helped hundreds of people in need in Chenango County, New York and beyond.

On this edition of “Hometown Heroes”, founder Jim Willard recounts those early days and the moving stories that have happened since then.

Hometown Heroes – Craig Wheeland – 05/09/23

Hometown Heroes – Craig Wheeland – 05/09/23

Watsontown, Pennsylvania’s Craig Wheeland has demonstrated the Gospel of Jesus Christ in small towns and large cities in Pennsylvania — plus many villages in many countries. His work encourages children to learn to read, so they can read the Scriptures and talk about faith with their parents. When he and a U.S. team go on a mission trip, his priority is to deepen connnections, knowing the people even more than doing projects.

Wheeland’s ministry goes by the name Aim4Christ, which stands for “Actions In Mission For Christ“. They are active in food programs in their local community of 2,300 in the West Branch Susquehanna River valley of central Pennsylvania.

In his conversation with Mark Webster, Wheeland also tells how his international evangelistic work put him a momentarily life-threatening situation, even as the Lord’s work multiplied.

Hometown Heroes – Kevin Keeley – Thrive Marriage – 05/02/23

Hometown Heroes – Kevin Keeley – Thrive Marriage – 05/02/23

This week on “Hometown Heroes”, meet Kevin Keeley of Spring Creek Lavender Farm in the Oneida County village of Remsen, New York.

They will host a Thrive Marriage Weekend August 11-12, 2023. Keeley says the wonderful dreams which people take into their marriages often are followed by couples’ harder times. There are always ways in which each couple — and each individual in a marriage can “tune in” to one another and live into joy and commitment

 

Facilitated by marriage experts Chris Bruno and Tracy Johnson, this two-day retreat will take you through four curated experiences that are key to developing marital belonging. Far more than learning tips and techniques, you will walk through the ReStory® marriage process and leave with more understanding, empathy, and a vision for how your marriage can flourish the way God intended.

Spring Creek Lavender has graciously decided to offer a special $25 discount for the weekend for Family Life listeners and website users. Use the coupon code “Family Life” when you go to thrivemarriageweekend.com

Hometown Heroes – Jeff Roeters – Guitars for Glory – 04/04/23

Hometown Heroes – Jeff Roeters – Guitars for Glory – 04/04/23

This week’s Family Life Hometown Hero is Jeff Roeters, co-founder of the Rochester nonprofit ‘Guitars for Glory” (www.guitarsforglory.com) . Hear how he brings the healing gift of music throughout the world by providing guitars to those who cannot afford them.

Music is an amazing blessing that we often take for granted. There are many communities around the world who do not have access to the instruments we can so easily get our hands on. Guitars for Glory’s sole desire is to put guitars and instruments in the hands of churches, schools, missionaries, and orphanages. Our hope is to enhance their musical experience and build up worship leaders within the community; through the giving guitars and musical training.

 

Hometown Heroes – Craig Wheeland – Aim4Christ – 03/28/23

Hometown Heroes – Craig Wheeland – Aim4Christ – 03/28/23

Craig Wheeland, founder of “Aim 4 Christ” Ministries in Pennsylvania tells his story on this week’s “Hometown Heroes”.

Wheeland’s outreach ranges from the streets of Philadelphia to the poorest regions of Pakistan. His work encourages children to learn to read, so they can read the Scriptures and talk about faith with their parents. Hear how he knows mission work has as much influence on the workers who “get out of the church building” and meet the people they serve (Matthew 25:44). That aspect of deepening connnections, to know the people is much more important than carrying out other tasks. Wheeland also talks about his international evangelistic work put him a momentarily life-threatening sitaution, but the Lord’s work continued to blossom.

Aim4Christ (“Actions In Mission For Christ”) is based in Watsontown, Pennsylvania.

Hometown Heroes – Nancy Hurst and Rebecca Ellis – 03/21/23

Hometown Heroes – Nancy Hurst and Rebecca Ellis – 03/21/23

Rebecca Ellis and Nancy Hurst are founders of “Raise of Hope”, a new community center in Cattaraugus, NY.

On this week’s Hometown Heroes on Family Life, you will hear how the Lord placed a vision before our guests, which then blossomed into a community center for artists, a farm-to-table market, and a transitional residence for teens moving from foster care into the early stages of their adulthood.

The Raise of Hope community center also can host entrepreneurs, county services, church events, and a private professional counseling practice.

 

Hometown Heroes – Joe DeMarco – 03/14/23

Hometown Heroes – Joe DeMarco – 03/14/23

This week’s Family Life Hometown Hero is Joe DeMarco, founder of Wings Flights of Hope, based out of Orchard Park, New York.

Wings Flights is a free volunteer service which flies seriously ill patients and their families to out-of-town medical appointments. Transplant recipients and injured military members are key recipients of this ministry. This service is especially crucial when timing provides only a short window of opportunity to begin the medical treatment to receive organ transplants.

 

 

 

Hometown Heroes – Patrick Perl – 03/07/23

Hometown Heroes – Patrick Perl – 03/07/23

An New York-based nurse received a prestigious national award for his attention care of patients’ emotional needs, while they were hospitalized to care for their physical needs during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

Patrick Perl, RN, was honored as National Front Line Clinical Nurse of the Year by Press Ganey, a national provider of services to the healthcare industry. The judging panel unanimously chose Perl for the award among all the nominees from across the country. He is a Cardiovascular Clinical Nurse Specialist at Elmira’s Arnot Ogden Medical Center.

Patrick was nominated by Arnot Ogden’s managers for his commitment to care innovation, transformation, and collaboration. The nurse led the “Share the Light – Shine the Light” program, an initiative to decorate the rooms of COVID patients with holiday lights, providing warmth and beauty in otherwise isolating spaces. The community rallied together, donating hundreds and hundreds of strands of lights, all attached with thank you cards for staff. In his own words, the goal of this initiative was to “band together and show our community hospital, our healthcare workers, and our patients that we care.”

He tells Family Life the story of his simple idea that spread from one hospital window — across the facility and into the Elmira community. Listen to this week’s edition of our “Hometown Heroes” feature.

Hometown Heroes – Dr. Myron Glick – Jericho Road – 02/28/23

Hometown Heroes – Dr. Myron Glick – Jericho Road – 02/28/23

Dr. Myron Glick, BuffaloMeet Dr. Myron Glick, whose Buffalo-based Jericho Road Health Center lives out the Biblical mandate to provide care to sick and wounded travelers.

Dr. Glick was born in Pennsyvlania, moved to New York, and as a child lived in the Central American country of Belize, where is parents were church-planting missionaries. On that mission field, he sensed is calling to go to medical school.

Now he operates the clinic which provides health care for Buffalo’s growing refugee community, asylum seekers, and many others who could not otherwise afford medical services.

 

Hometown Heroes – Lydia Rizkallah – 02/14/23

Hometown Heroes – Lydia Rizkallah – 02/14/23

Lydia Rizkallah, a student at Corning-Painted Post High School, chose to be a Christian only about 4 months ago. Despite being new as a disciple of Jesus, she is already spreading her faith. Lydia has already formed a Jesus Club there and is coordinating a large youth rally in her town at the end of February.

On this “Hometown Heroes”, hear about she found that there are many teenagers have a eagerness to find out more about Jesus. School administrators appreciated her enthusiasm for launching an in-school club and encouraged her efforts.  She emailed 300 churches, inviting their congregations and their young people to the February 26 rally.

Lydia also tells how Jesus’ claim on her life transformed her life “in a crazy and exponential way.”  Her awareness of this salvation motivates her to act and tell others about her Lord.

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