5 Florida United Methodist Review Online

Grants change lives in Florida Conference

By Michael Wacht and Tita Parham

LAKELAND — After more than 20 months, the denomination-wide Council of Bishops’ Initiative on Children and Poverty (BICAP) is still going strong in achieving its mission to support “creative and innovative ministries related to children and poverty.”

As of Dec. 10, the Florida Conference Initiative has raised $276,993.45 from local church donations and special offerings taken at the 1997 and 1998 annual conference events. Of that amount, $135,581.84 was collected in 1998.

With that money grants totaling $199,221.69 have been awarded to 57 local churches for ministries that are feeding, teaching, tutoring, mentoring, sheltering, counseling and ministering to more than 2,000 persons. Included in the list of grant recipients are 10 child-care, three after-school, four summer and day-camp, four mentoring, and three hunger ministries.

The Florida Conference task force met Dec. 11 to determine which churches will receive grants in the latest round of funding. The group reviewed 24 applications and had $71,000 to distribute.

More money needed

Once the churches awarded grants through the recent Dec. 11 meeting receive the funds, the coffers will be low, according to Barbara Odom, vice chair of the Florida Initiative’s task force.

As a result, the task force is asking churches to send money members have collected to date to the Florida Conference Treasurer’s office as soon as possible. The additional funds will ensure that the task force can continue to award grants to local churches throughout the life of the long-term initiative.

Regional gatherings held

Also on the agenda for the Florida BICAP initiative is the next set of conference-wide regional gatherings.

Clergy and laity from the Sarasota, St. Petersburg, Tampa and Lakeland districts will gather at the third BICAP Regional Gathering Jan. 30 at 10 a.m. at First United Methodist Church, St. Petersburg. The fourth regional gathering will be held in the Ft. Lauderdale area April 17.

cp.gif (19344 bytes) More than 175 people attended the first two gatherings last April and May in Orlando and Live Oak respectively. United Methodists and non-United Methodists who daily deal with the issues facing children and families in poverty will participate, with Florida Bishop Cornelius L. Henderson leading worship.

The gatherings are designed to help people become more aware of needs that exist in their communities and offer attendees the resources and opportunity to work with other churches in finding solutions to the problems children and families living in poverty are facing.