[November 30, 2011] A helping hand: E-Angels program aims to offer safety net to local families Tweet ENID, Nov 29, 2011 (Enid News & Eagle - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Sometimes the hardest part of helping someone in need is matching them with someone capable and willing to help out, but a local non-profit is hoping to overcome that challenge with an email server matching local churches, non-profits and social service providers with people facing immediate need. The Growing Hope Network recently launched the E-Angels program, and it now is looking for individuals and organizations willing to be an "angel" for someone in need. Rebecca Livesay, executive director of The Growing Hope Network, said she first became familiar with E-Angels while serving on several public service committees in Stillwater. "I saw the success they had with it there, and I decided to bring it back to Enid," Livesay said. "Working in social services, I see so many needs in our community, and that was really the driving force behind this for me." Livesay said there is a significant need for the E-Angels program in Enid, particularly to help the "working poor," who often go unnoticed by charitable causes. "Just because someone's not homeless doesn't necessarily mean they don't have significant needs," Livesay said, "and we have very real needs in Enid that are oftentimes overlooked." She said the E-Angels program is not designed to provide for people who are chronically in need, but rather to help people who have found themselves in unexpected need due to an emergency or "turn of bad luck." "For people who are chronically in need, there are social service providers in place, and we at Growing Hope Network are well-seasoned in making those kinds of referrals," Livesay said. "E-Angels is a grassroots way of helping each other out for people who have an immediate need. "For example, if you have a family whose car breaks down, maybe there could be a mechanic on the list who would donate their services, and maybe someone else could donate the cost of the parts. That's the kind of things we want to help out with." Livesay said E-Angels still is in the process of enlisting potential donors, but the program already has helped more than 10 families. She gave as an example the case of a single mother, living on a tight budget with five children, whose air-conditioning unit broke down in the heat of the summer. E-Angels coordinated donors to replace the unit for the family. Livesay said she currently has 50 organizations and donors enlisted on the E-Angels email list, but she wants to vastly increase the donor pool so the program can help more people in need. "I would like to see that number well over a thousand," Livesay said. "We're still in the process of getting email addresses for potential donors together so we can get the needs out in mass numbers ... that's really the goal." The Growing Hope Network receives referrals for people in need from local churches, non-profits and schools, then sends the need out to all of the potential donors on the email list. Livesay said people in need cannot self-refer to the program, but must start with a church, non-profit or school. "We want people to be pre-screened by a school, church or social service organization so we know their background and their need," Livesay said. E-Angel donors could provide money, services or even just needed items they have around the house. "It could be as easy as a woman who needs a coat or shoes for her kids ... it could be as simple as finding something in your closet you already have that could help someone out," Livesay said. She also is looking for professional tradespeople, such as plumbers, electricians and mechanics, who are willing to donate their time, talents and tools to help those in need. The Growing Hope Network is partnering with other non-profits to expand E-Angels. Livesay said she plans to begin a speaking tour of local churches in the near future to promote E-Angels and its potential to help "neighbors in need." The program already has formed partnerships with several church organizations including Emmanuel Baptist Church, Hope Outreach, Forgotten Ministries and Acts of Random Kindness (ARK), a cross-denominational collaborative effort of several Enid churches. "Partnering with other organizations is very important to us," Livesay said. "We don't want to compete with any other organizations, and we don't want to duplicate their efforts. We just want to help match needs with those able to help out." Wade Burleson, lead pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church, said E-Angels will help his church identify people in the community who need help, and to match church members to fill those needs. And, since the program pre-screens all the applicants, it relieves the church of having to execute background checks on those in need. "The advantage to us is when we have someone coming in off the street we have a lot of paperwork to work through and background checks to complete before we can help them," Burleson said. "Unfortunately, there are people out there who abuse the system, who scam churches and non-profits, but if someone is referred to us through E-Angels, we know there's no questions asked about helping that person ... we can just get to the business of helping people." Burleson praised Livesay for organizing E-Angels, and said he has complete confidence in her and the program. "She's one of the most remarkable ladies I've ever met," Burleson said. "She has a heart and a desire to help people ... she truly lives the life of Christ. When she set this up and said she needed help there was no question ... we will help out in any way the resources, time and energy of our people will allow." Livesay is optimistic other donors will pledge their support, enabling E-Angels to help more people in the community. "If we all work together, the sky's really the limit on what we can do to help people," Livesay said. For more information on E-Angels, visit The Growing Hope Network online at growinghopenetwork.org or email [email protected]. ___ (c)2011 the Enid News & Eagle (Enid, Okla.) Visit the Enid News & Eagle (Enid, Okla.) at www.enidnews.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]