Ryan Wilcox

Writing. Photography. Storytelling.

Former Client Shares Her Story with Video Testimonial

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Over the past couple of days, one of my jobs as a VISTA has been to shoot some video testimonials of a few of Cornerstone’s former clients who have moved on and made productive lives for themselves.

In the coming days, I will be working with other Cornerstone VISTAs to turn the footage in to promotional material for Cornerstone’s various programs, but I thought I would share the story of one of our clients with you in advance.

Anita Morgan

Anita was formerly incarcerated. Caught up in a life of drugs, she came to Cornerstone for help and went through the Christian Women’s Job Corps program.

Designed to connect women to jobs and teach life skills about how to succeed in the workplace, Christian Women’s Job Corps exists to help women like Anita improve themselves so they can get a job or go to school upon graduation.

And that’s just what Anita has done.

After graduating from the CWJC, Anita enrolled in Tarrant County Junior College and started taking classes. With plans to graduate soon, she has confidence in herself that the she didn’t have prior to coming to Cornerstone.

Anita is a Powerful Witness

Anita’s story is like many who come to Cornerstone. I am blessed to work at Cornerstone, even it is just for a year. I work to help people see the potential within themselves. Anita’s story is a powerful witness for the healing power of Jesus Christ. Like many of Cornerstone’s clients, Anita wanted to change. God surrounded her with a new support system she uses daily to recover and set her on the right path.

Treating the Whole Person

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A few Tarrant County non-profits work to improve the lives of the homeless.
A few Tarrant County non-profits work to improve the lives of the homeless.

Recently I had an opportunity to visit two local non-profits, Mission Arlington and Union Gospel Mission of Tarrant County.

The goal of the visits was to learn more about their volunteer programs so that Cornerstone can develop a comprehensive volunteer management document.

Union Gospel Mission, founded in 1988, serves the homeless through daily chapel services, community meal and assistance programs, food and shelter for homeless men, women and children, as well as spiritual development for all their residents.

Like Cornerstone, Union Gospel Mission is a holistic ministry, working to treat the whole person, not just immediate physical needs.

Mission Arlington was founded on the idea that we should treat the areas we live just like the international mission field. They have set up bible studies in local communities all over Arlington. In addition to meeting the spiritual needs, they also meet physical needs as well. Their services include a dental clinic, food pantry, educational classes, job and transportation assistance. The goal is to meet immediate needs and plant seeds for Christ.

Mission Arlington has developed a large “word-of-mouth” following among Arlington residents, so they don’t do any active recruiting or advertising for their volunteers, instead relying on God to bring volunteers to them.

I enjoyed experiencing both ministries. It is nice to learn from ministries with like-minded missions. Cornerstone’s goal is to have a comprehensive volunteer program, so working with other non-profits only makes that process easier.

The Day I “Got” Cornerstone

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I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. Matthew 25:40

Just after accepting the VISTA position with Cornerstone I had a chance to volunteer for a week, giving me a chance to learn about the organization and my job duties before actually assuming the role of VISTA.

I have always enjoyed volunteering. It seems I get more out of it each time than I give. Volunteering is funny that way. Give a little and you get a lot back. One of the days I volunteered I received the privilege of visiting the Welcome Back/Tarrant County program, a ministry for prisoners just about to be released from prison.

I’ll be honest, I was nervous. But my my boss, Carolyn Ayres, Network Development Director for Cornerstone, suggested I take the opportunity to learn a little about one of Cornestone’s programs. Such knowledge is helpful if I am going to communicate to effectively to potential volunteers.

So I went.

We have certain stereotypes of prisoners and ex-cons. Much of that comes from Hollywood I’d imagine. Turned out, almost none of what I thought would be true, was true.

That said, not many of them looked like me, but that I was prepared for. Tattoos were the norm, but I’ve learned enough in my life not to judge someone by skin color or tattoo markings. What I wasn’t prepared for was the incredible witness this ministry is to prisoners about to enter the real world again after their incarceration. The day I was there, five former inmates gave their testimonies. All have have steady jobs. All have homes or apartments of their own. All have family or church support systems. All have accepted Christ.

There stories of sacrifice and hard work were a lesson to me, even though I have never been to prison. They made a choice to completely walk away from their former life. If that’s not a walking advertisement for Cornerstone I don’t know what is.

That was the day I really understood what this ministry was all about. The goal, plain and simple is to change lives. In each ministry offered here, the goal is to have our clients walk away self-sufficient and changed for the better.

Praise God.

Until next time,

Ryan

Back From Training, First Day as a VISTA!

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I recently started serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA for Cornerstone Assistance Network, a faith-based non-profit organization that serves people below the poverty line.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with AmeriCorps VISTA, it is a national service organization founded by President Kennedy with the specific mission to fight poverty. AmeriCorps VISTAs live and work in communities all over the United States, building the capacities of the cities they serve.

I spent last week in Albuquerque, NM for “PSO” training, the training given to all VISTAs before being sworn in and officially going to their sites. The experience only affirmed that I have made the right decision for myself in becoming a VISTA. I met VISTAs from all over the country, many of whom I did not look like or agree with on a range of issues.

The only thing that mattered was that we all had a common purpose, a dedication to improving our communities and the lives of the people we would come in contact with, and a larger goal of lessening the effect poverty has on America today.

Lofty goals to be sure.

However, in my book, if one homeless person gets his GED or becomes self-sufficient because of what Cornerstone does, it’s a success. Over the next few weeks I’m going to make the effort to visit with as many CAN employees as possible, that way I can learn the organization and better convey to volunteers the reasons why everyone here is so passionate about what they do.

Until next time,

Ryan