Phoenix Church Extends Reach of Family Food Service Project to 64 Valley Schools

Dec. 3, 2012 - PRLog -- CCV EXTENDS REACH OF ITS ‘FAMILY TO FAMILY’ SERVICE PROJECT

TO MORE THAN 4,400 FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN IN 64 SCHOOLS

DUE TO OVERWHELMING RESPONSE DURING FIRST WEEK OF PROGRAM

Food Boxes Can Be Dropped Off at CCV’s Peoria, Scottsdale & Surprise Campuses Next 2 Weekends

(PEORIA, Ariz.) — Christ’s Church of the Valley (CCV) announced Saturday that it has extended the reach of its “Family to Family” community service project to now feed more than 4,400 families whose children participate in free and reduced-meal plans at 64 schools in nine school districts across the Valley, due to an overwhelming response from its members and the general public during the initial phase of the program last week.

CCV has distributed approximately 8,800 boxes to be filled with food after announcing its “Family to Family” project to its 18,000-plus members on Nov. 24 and 25. The program is designed to help feed children who are “food insecure” during the two-week winter school break. After originally announcing a plan to provide food for 1,300 families with students in 21 schools in five school districts, CCV will now be able to extend its assistance to 64 schools in nine school districts in close proximity to its three campuses in Peoria, Scottsdale and Surprise. CCV’s “Family to Family” program will be able to extends its outreach to schools in the Avondale, Buckeye, Liberty and Litchfield school districts in addition to the previously announced 21 selected schools in the Deer Valley, Dysart, Paradise Valley, Peoria and Scottsdale school districts.

“The outpouring of support we received for our ‘Family to Family’ community service project during its first week has been unbelievable,” said Bob Fesmire, CCV’s Lead Neighborhood Pastor. “The generosity of the people that attend CCV each weekend will allow us to now make even a larger impact in the communities that are near our three campuses and provide much needed food to families that during the two-week winter school break.”

CCV will continue collecting boxes of food during weekend services at its three campuses through December 16. The boxes each need to be filled with 23 pre-selected shelf-stable foods carefully selected to accommodate children’s nutritional needs. These items include: canned green vegetables, peanut butter, jelly, chicken noodle soup, pinto beans, rice, macaroni and cheese, canned tuna or chicken, mixed fruit, marinara sauce and spaghetti. A comprehensive list of the 23 items and their package sizes can be found online at ccvonline.com/FamilytoFamily.

From Dec. 12-18, CCV will deliver the boxes of food to 64 pre-selected elementary and middle schools in the nine school districts, which are located most closely to the church’s three campuses. Within these districts, CCV is providing food to every school that has 50 percent or more of their enrollment receiving free or reduced meals. Social workers and intervention specialists at each school have already identified the families which will benefit from CCV’s “Family to Family” church-wide service project.

CCV’s multi-site strategy allows the church to continue to grow its Neighborhood Group concept by connecting with neighbors and serving local communities. All three CCV campuses offer identical services each weekend, with the Scottsdale and Surprise Campuses offering live announcements and music at every service and video messages streamed from the Peoria Campus. The Children’s and Youth Ministries are also identical on all three campuses. With 18,000 people currently attending 12 services at its three campuses each weekend, CCV is the largest non-denominational church in Arizona and one of the largest churches overall in the United States.

— CCVONLINE.COM/FAMILYTOFAMILY —