Here at Saint Francis, we’re not afraid to talk about love – especially the unconditional kind. It is, after all, fundamental to the principles that have inspired our organization from the earliest days.
A lot can happen in a year. Births, graduations, weddings, and deaths. At any point during the 365 days of a year, we might start a new job, meet a new friend, or start a business. Each year offers opportunities to grow, to learn, and to contribute towards the well-being of others.
The Emporia Chamber of Commerce honored Saint Francis’ own Missy Floyd last Friday with its “Volunteer of the Year” award during the organization’s 125th annual meeting.
“We belong to each other” is a phrase we say a lot around Saint Francis Ministries. We know that no single organization can support vulnerable and at-risk children in the community by itself. That’s why our community partners are so essential to the work we do. St. James Episcopal is just one of those partners.
Human trafficking, also known as trafficking in persons, includes both forced labor and sex trafficking. It’s a crime, and many of its victims are children. That’s why it matters to Saint Francis Ministries.
As year’s go, 2022 has delivered both challenges and opportunities to Saint Francis Ministries. So, in one respect, it’s not much different from any other year. Still, the last several years have been a bit stressful for everyone, thanks to COVID and a host of other sociopolitical “stuff.”
The holidays can be a rough time for children in foster care. Heck, they can be tough for those of us who don’t deal with half the things kids in care navigate, not to mention birth and foster families.
The Outreach Committee of St. James Episcopal Church takes its work seriously. Rather than simply writing a check to an organization, the 16 members choose to go all in, first by educating themselves about real needs within their Wichita community and then drafting a plan of action that will produce the most benefit.
No doubt about it, our frontline workers make everything we do at Saint Francis possible. Yet, they would probably be the first to admit that they can’t do it alone. Without the collaboration, cooperation, and passion of our foster, kinship, and adoptive parents, Saint Francis would find providing for the healing and hope of children and family much more difficult.
We’re well into the Christmas season, which makes this a good time to reflect upon the season of giving and the end of the year. We all give in different ways – whether it’s our time, knowledge, experience, volunteer work, or money. We know through research that acts of giving and kindness create “good feelings” through the release of endorphins in our brain.
Kansas DCF Newsroom
Nebraska DHHS Newsroom
Oklahoma DHS Newsroom
The Joint Commission Press Room
United States HHS Newsroom