Bethlehem Visit

Live Nativity scene in Ponte Vedra Beach - Thanks Enjoy the photos of my family at this live event... My Husband (Donnie and Rachel having fun with the animals!

Hundreds of actors and animals will work together to create a live, 8.000-square-foot Nativity scene this weekend in Ponte Vedra Beach. It's the 15th year for Ponte Vedra Presbyterian Church's "A Bethlehem Visit," which re-creates a 2,000-year-old Middle Eastern marketplace that visitors can walk through, complete with tax collectors and Roman guards. Organizers recommend that visitors wear comfortable walking shoes. Golf carts are available for those who are unable to walk.



What does Bethlehem Mean?
The Name Bethlehem:

The name of this place may originally have derived from Lachma, the Mesopotamian god of vegetation and fertility known from the creation story Enuma Elish. Bethlehem was known to all cultures as a place of fertility and growth. Even the Romans established a cult of Adonis in a grove near the Grotto of the Nativity. In the Old Testament, this was reflected in the name of the region Ephrata, which also means fertile.

Bethlehem is a Hebrew word and is the name used in the Bible. Today's residents use the Arabic name Beit Lachem. Beth and Beit mean house. Lachem refers to meat. Lehem refers to bread. Hence the meaning House of Bread or House of Meat.

International Volunteer Day

International Volunteer Day

The International Volunteer Day (IVD) provides an opportunity for volunteer-involving organizations and individual volunteers to work together on projects and campaigns promoting their contributions to economic and social development at local, national, and international levels. IVD was established by the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution 40/212 on December 17th, 1985.

Read more about this great Org. at www.worldvolunteerweb.org

Pajama Program

Delivering Sleepwear and Nurturing Books to Children in Need



Imagine being a child, and every night the bedtime routine is to just get in bed and fall asleep. Not to put on pajamas, not to read a bedtime story, but to just lift a blanket over the clothes they are wearing and sleep. Thousand of children, here in America, do not have pajamas or a comforting nighttime book. They are in shelters or group homes waiting for someone to adopt them. They are living in temporary housing after a natural disaster. Their parents are in jail. Or, they are homeless.

Now imagine the opportunity to fix that for them. Imagine the chance to give a child a new pair of pajamas and a good book, to make the end of a long hard day a little softer. For a child with little, a soft pair of jammies can simply mean that someone cared.

www.pajamaprogram.org

Food Network and Share Our Strength

Food Network is proud to partner with Share Our Strength to ensure no child in America grows up hungry. We work to identify children at risk of hunger and surround them with nutritious food where they live and learn.

Over the past two decades, Share Our Strength has provided children around the world with the nutrition they need to meet their potential, raising over $210 million to support the most effective hunger-relief organizations around the world. But with 12 million children at risk of hunger in America, the work isn't done yet. SOS needs your help.

There are three ways that you can join the fight against childhood hunger:


Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation. Attend a culinary benefit in your area featuring food by chefs and Food Network stars like Tyler Florence and Emeril Lagasse. To find out about events near you, visit http://www.tasteofthenation.org


Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale. Love to bake? Get your community involved in the fight to end childhood hunger by whipping up some of your favorite baked goodies and hosting a bake sale. So far, people across the country have raised over $4 million for SOS by selling cakes, cookies and pies!

Donate. When it comes to the health of America's children, every penny counts. Donating to SOS is fast and easy. With just a few clicks or a short phone call, you could prevent another child from going to bed hungry.

Let's Say Thanks

Here is something fun and easy to do this year for our troops...

http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1024.html
The mission of Let's Say Thanks is to provide a way for individuals across the country to recognize U.S. troops stationed overseas. By submitting a message through this site you have the opportunity to send a free personalized postcard greeting to deployed servicemen and women.

The postcards, depicting patriotic scenes and hometown images, were selected from a pool of entries from children across the country.

All you have to do is click on your favorite design and either select the message that best expresses your sentiment or draft a personal note. The postcards are then printed on the Xerox iGen3® Digital Production Press and mailed in care packages by military support organization Give2TheTroops®.

Xerox is committed to helping people across the nation express their gratitude to our troops overseas. The launch of this program is aimed at reminding them how much Americans appreciate their service.

Start Volunteering in 2009

Get started in 2009 - Starting your volunteer experience:

You have decided to give back to your community by volunteering and perhaps don't know what you would like to do. First, decide where your interests lie, how much time you can commit and your geographical preference. Next, search our database for possible opportunities. The database contains hundreds of ways that you can help out. Remember, look for opportunities that fit with your time, talents and interests.

Volunteer opportunities fall into a broad range of categories. For example:

Educational

Tutoring or mentoring a child or teen
Bringing their dog to a nursing home to visit the residents
Helping out at a homeless shelter or food pantry
Environmental

Doing plantings for a conservatory
Cleaning up the forest preserve
Social Mission

Helping out with building repair and painting homes
Assisting in a food pantry
Working with AIDS patients
Cultural

Giving tours for a museum or zoo
Preparation for an event
What comes next?

Each agency or organization that you contact may want to interview you and find out your time availability. Sometimes a volunteer orientation and/or training will be required. For example, a domestic violence agency requires a 40 hour training to work on a hotline. On the other hand, you can work on a one-time basis such as a 5K run.

Will I start right away?

Each organization you call will have a different process for bringing in a new volunteer. A group orientation or training may not take place immediately. Or, it may take time to make an appropriate match for a mentoring program. Ask about the length of the process of becoming a volunteer when you go for your interview with the agency.

We hope that your volunteer experience is an enjoyable one, and if you want to start now sign up at HandsOnNetwork. Still have questions? you can contact me at heartofavolunteer@yahoo.com

Holiday Season upon us!

Holiday Season Safety Tips

The holiday season is a good time for all of us to remind ourselves of the steps we can take to protect ourselves and our property.



The following safety tips are proactive approach that each one of us can benefit in following.

· Be alert, aware and cautious. Know where your belongings are; know where you are going and be aware of your surrounding area.

· Remain alert at all times especially in crowded areas, one may bump into you while another picks your pocket.

· If you must take a purse, carry it with the clasp or flap against the front of your body.

· Never leave your purse in a shopping cart or on a counter while you shop.

· Be aware of where your purse is when you go into a restaurant or bar. Thieves prey on purses hung over the back of a chair or left on the floor or under your chair.

· Try to avoid taking a large purse.

· Wallets and check books should be carried in an inside pocket, cash should be carried in a front pocket.

· Take only cash and credit cards that you will need. Do not display large sums of cash.

· Never allow yourself to become distracted when opening your purse or wallet to make a purchase or while browsing.

· Plan your stops in advance and inform others of your destination.

· If possible, shop with friends or relatives. There is always safety in numbers.

· While shopping or anytime you leave home, give your house an occupied appearance. Leave lights on and use timers.

· Don’t use short cuts through alleys or walkways between buildings. Take well lit traveled areas.

· Never leave your purse or other valuables in your vehicle in plain view. Remove these items before reaching your destination.

· Park in well lit busy areas. Keep windows up and doors locked.

· Be aware of your surroundings when going to and from your vehicle. Criminals will hide between and under vehicles.

· When using public washrooms, avoid placing purses on hooks or door handles. Maintain control of your valuables.

· Carry your keys separate from your identification - in case of a theft, the criminal will not have your address and keys.

· Try to avoid carrying numerous large shopping bags and/or packages, this makes it difficult to secure purses or wallets.

· Plan ahead; when returning to your vehicle or home have your keys ready in hand.

· Visually scan the area as you approach your vehicle when returning from shopping and as you approach your home.

· If your vehicle is in a parking area and something you see or sense doesn’t look or feel right, return to the shopping area and call security and/or 9-1-1.

· If the same situation occurs while approaching your home, go to a neighbor’s home and call 9-1-1.

· Before entering your, vehicle check the front and back seat. After entering, immediately lock your doors.

· If you are going to continue to shop, place your packages in the trunk and move your vehicle to another area of the parking lot. If potential thieves are watching you, they will think you are leaving the area.



BE AWARE OF SCAMS, CONS and DIVERSIONS

· Nothing is free and no one is going to give you a large sum of money if you put up a sum of money first.

· Scam and con-artists will use a ruse to extract money from a person by some out of the ordinary scam, story or staged incident, or play on a victim’s sympathies.

· Be careful of potential set-ups. Once a shopper’s attention is diverted, another offender may take the person’s wallet or purse.

· Be mindful of those who pass you on a crowded bus or train or bump into you on a sidewalk or entering a revolving door; these individuals may be pickpockets.

· Keep an eye on credit cards and the paper trail they generate to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft.

· Destroy extra copies of credit card receipts.

· Do not carry personal information in a wallet or purse, including a social security number, old credit cards, ATM receipts, or seldom used credit cards.

· Protect your identity, don’t become a victim, guard your personal information. Contact the following credit reporting agencies and request a “hawk” alert/fraud alert be placed on your credit report. Request that all inquiries on your report be reported to you.