Saying Goodbye

It has been a busy past few months here at the New Life Center. With new faces, canceling and rescheduling events, and the general going-ons of a bustling rescue mission, we tend to rely highly on our great staff.


None more than Claire (Danielson)Coffey, who we sadly had to say goodbye to just this past week.

Claire has been an integral part to the New Life Center for over a decade. She began working here as a high school student, picking up shifts in the Thrift Store. These casual shifts slowly turned into a full-time position (accompanied by a unique partnership with her best friend, Erin Hall, as her defacto consigliere in the thrift "game"). After her time in the store, Claire, moved to an office and was promoted to Thrift Store manager and administrative assistant.

From that point on, Claire was an indispensable asset to the NLC, whose responsibilities ranged from the innocuous stuffing of envelopes for mass mailings, to the down-right terrifying responsibility of planning, organizing, purchasing and supervising an entire holiday event, just to turn around and do it all again, on top of year-ending reporting in the final months of the past, many years. It's truly a miracle she could even find time to perform for our ladies auxiliary at a moments notice.

Claire is now working in Cheyenne, Wyoming, along side her husband, Tim, and their cavalcade of pets. We wish them both well and expect nothing but great things to come from their futures.

It won't be any easy task to replace someone like Claire. It is surely not the worries of who will pick up extra jugs of Pine-Sol, how much change is left in the store's register, or whether or not the tax receipts were successfully documented and sent, that will be irreplaceable (Trust Me, the tasks have been allocated).

Claire will be impossible to replace, because she is what makes a place like this work. Selfless, loving, passionate, and an endearing concern for all of God's humanity, Claire decidedly put others before herself and made others around her better for it. We miss and love her and will forever be indebted to her time spent making the mission what it is today.

An Inspiring Story

This past week, the Fargo Forum ran an article about Tyler Workman, a former homeless man who recently turned his life around. Tyler had been staying at the New Life Center, where he heard about the local event, Project Homeless Connect. From there... well, here is the article, which you can find online at http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/281609/group/News/

Tyler Workman could really use the free haircut.

His tousled Mohawk didn’t do him any favors. And, he found, there’s something about plopping in a hairdresser chair after you’ve been lugging a suitcase full of possessions, the specter of addiction and a deep sense of failure.

Workman, 23, got the haircut at a 2008 Fargo event linking homeless people with services they need. He also got an idea.

He mulled it over for a while. At times, he thought about giving up on it. But on Friday, Workman graduated from Fargo’s Moler Barber College after a 10-month apprenticeship. In May, Workman returned to the Project Homeless Connect event at the Fargodome to dispense free haircuts – and an unlikely success story.

“I never thought I could be anything,” he says. “Nobody does when you live in a homeless shelter.”

In fall 2008, Workman rode a bike to Project Connect from the New Life Center’s homeless shelter in Fargo. He went reluctantly.

“I am already surrounded by homeless people, people who have no hope,” he told his case worker. “Why do I want to go and hang out with more homeless people?”

But there was hope. Workman landed in Fargo months earlier after a year of crisscrossing the country that left him with no sense of direction. After a brief stint in a psychiatric ward, he was finally taking meds for a mental illness that made it impossible to hold down a job. He was clean.

As soon as he showed up at the event, he started spotting people with uncannily well-groomed hair.

Free haircuts by Moler and MJ Capelli Family Hair Salons have been a staple of Homeless Connect, says Laurie Baker, executive director of the Fargo-Moorhead Coalition for Homeless Persons. The coalition puts on the event, which offers medical and dental services, job tips and legal help.

Organizers occasionally hear stories about participants who got a cut and a new coat at the event – and a job a few days later.

Workman loved the fresh haircut. But what really made an impression was the hairdresser’s upbeat manner and the care she took to trace the zigzag design he asked for along his neck.

“There’s something about getting a haircut,” he says. “It changes your day when somebody pays attention to you.”

This would be a fun job, he thought.

Eventually, Workman moved into a one-bedroom apartment and got a job at a gas station. He bought his first car. But the hairdresser idea lingered in the back of his mind. He experimented with cutting patterns in his own hair.

He signed up for the Barber College 10 months ago, after he happened to drive by it. His brother lent him the $100 application fee.

The first few weeks, he was sure he’d never get the hang of cutting hair. Mary Cannon, the owner, kept telling him, “It’s not hard. It’s a challenge. Put on your happy face for customers.”

These days, he comes in early to have a bowl of cereal and meditate for 20 minutes in the quiet shop on Eighth Street just off Main Avenue. He has a

gift for striking up a conversation with anyone who plops down in his chair. He looks at peace as white hairs tumble down his black plastic poncho to the floor.

“It’s like a Zen thing,” he says. “It calms my mind. It centers me, just knowing I am doing something, that I am being productive.”

Later this summer, Workman is headed to his hometown of Minot, N.D., where he lined up a job.

In May, he gave a dozen haircuts at Homeless Connect. Again, he was reluctant to go: A haircut seemed such a measly offering to people he knew could use a lot of help. But then, a 40-something man with longish hair sat on his chair. Workman suggested parting the hair on the side instead of the middle and cleaned up his neck.

“In 10 months here, I haven’t had such a great reaction to a haircut,” he recalls. “It was a totally new look for him.”

by Mila Koumpilova

The "Love Kitchen" Comes to Town

A slice of pizza and smile can go a long way. This past Wednesday, the Little Caesars Love Kitchen pulled up to the New Life Center and provided both.

The Love Kitchen is a pizza kitchen on wheels. Traveling the continental United States and Canada, their goal is to provide food and assistance to the homeless, the needy, and to those in disaster areas. The local franchises provide all the ingredients and when the truck arrives, they prepare and cook them in the back of the truck. Talk about a streamlined operation! They can either serve the pizza out of the truck through the walk up window which you can see here or box it up and let the shelter serve it which is what we did.


In a half hours time, they over 60 pizzas baked and ready to go! When the boxes were carried downstairs, you could see the smiles and the looks of amazement at all the pizza.

Thanks Little Caesars, you made our day.

((Here's a link to the InForum article on the Love Kitchen))

This past Friday, the New Life Center Women's Auxiliary met for the last time before the summer break. We're happy to note, that just before this well-deserved time off, the Women's Auxiliary, with help from other women from around the community, successfully put together a great and God worshiping event featuring Ellie Lofaro. Ellie, who had previously been scheduled to talk at the Annual Prayer Breakfast, generously rescheduled and put on an excellent, inspiring show for a great number of women at Bethel Evangelical Free Church. We hope that many of you had the chance to attend.

The Auxiliary meeting this week went without a hitch, and also featured quite a show! A group of Auxiliary members decided to wow those in attendance by having an impromptu fashion show.

The idea behind the fashion show was to feature outfits exclusively purchased from the New Life Center's Thrift Store.

Purchased and presented by Auxiliary members and New Life Center staff, those in attendance were thrilled to hear that the prices of these outfits ranged from $4.00 to just $16.00.





As you can see, we feature many more opportunities to create your own, low-priced wardrobe. Definitely come and check out what we have to offer at the Thrift Store for summer savings!

A Generous "Fan"

Social networking on the Internet is truly a great thing. From Twitter to Facebook, it not only provides an excellent way to connect to those who you may not have previously a chance, but it's also a fun way to burn down that final hour on a Friday.

While we are still exploring the many possibilities of social networking, State Bank & Trust of Fargo has a very established network of "fans" on their Facebook site. And to keep those fans coming back, State Bank has set up a great game for all of their loyal visitors.

Inside their "homemade" cash machine, a lucky Facebook fan of SB&T gets a chance to "grab some cash" as it blows around inside of the machine (check out the video here). A truly novel idea to keep their fans coming back and their customers happy.

Recently, a lucky fan, Shawn Rode, got his chance in the cash machine and came out the winner of $305. Selflessly, Shawn decided to donate his winnings to the New Life Center and being a bank which promotes "paying it forward", State Bank & Trust generously matched his donation.

We cannot help but be extremely grateful to both Shawn and State Bank, and all of you who give their time and money to help us continue on our mission of helping those less fortunate. We are all great "fans" of you.

Peace.

Welcoming Robert Swiers to the New Life Center

We would like to welcome (and inform all our readers) Robert Swiers to the New Life Center. Rob joins us as the new Assistant Director and we are happy to have him and his refreshing outlook regarding the New Life Center's ministry.

Rob joined us on April 5th, after working for our community at Hospice of the Red River Valley. Already making a difference, Rob has proven to be an enthusiastic and important addition to our staff. We are looking forward to learning more from him, as he gains a greater insight into our mission.

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We would also like to thank everybody who attended the Ellie Lofaro event this morning at Bethel Evangelical Free Church. Early reports are already regaling her humor and inspiring message. We would like to also thank the Women's Auxiliary and everyone else who had a hand in bringing her to our community.

Peace.

Ellie Lofaro Event

Ellie Lofaro is scheduled to speak in Fargo on Thursday, May 6 at 9:30 a.m. at Bethel Evangelical Free Church. Nationally recognized speaker and Bible teacher, Ellie Lofaro, had been scheduled to speak at the New Life Center Prayer Breakfast for the past two years. Due to flooding issues, both of these events were canceled. Ellie has followed our situation with deep concern for the physical, spiritual and emotional needs that have resulted from two years of battling floods in our area and she graciously offered to come to Fargo on an alternate date. Her message is titled "Crossing Your River of Impossibility". Advance tickets are $5 and can be purchased at Melbergs, The Rainbow Shop, and Family Christian Store. Seating is general admission and is limited to 350 people. Coffee and muffins will be served. This event is sponsored by the New Life Center Auxiliary in co-operation with area churches. Ellie will also participate in the National Day of Prayer gathering at the Holiday Inn, beginning at 6:30 p.m. that evening.

For more information, please visit our website.

Peace.