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Local Outreach
Volunteer Opportunities at Children's
Hospital
East Tennessee Children's Hospital
(ETCH) has a variety of positions available for persons (18 or
older) who have day or evening hours to contribute to the hospital's
mission to provide the best in pediatric care to the children of
Knoxville and East Tennessee.
Volunteer placements include Child Life and Patient Services, which
offer direct patient contact, and also the Information Desk, Surgery
Lounge, Critical Waiting area and Gift Shop, which have minimal
direct patient contact but greatly assist the parents, visitors and
staff. ETCH is also seeking volunteers who can contribute their
musical talents by playing the piano in the hospital's main lobby as
part of a new Music Therapy Program.
Volunteer service requirements vary with the particular service
area; all volunteers receive detailed orientation and "on the job"
training. Key requisites are a love of children, pleasant outgoing
personality, and willingness to help as needed. Even if you have
only a few hours each week or month to contribute, ETCH can use your
help. Volunteer benefits include free parking and a meal allowance
on the days you are at the hospital.
Persons interested in helping ETCH are encouraged to check the
hospital's web site www.
etch.com or telephone the Volunteer Services Office at 541-8136.
Lakeshore Mental Health Institute
Lakeshore Mental Health Institute provides mental health education, support, and advocacy for adults and children with mental illness. The Institute provides a wide range of services from crisis care and safe respite, to vocational programs and housing services. Semi-annual donation drives are held to collect warm clothing and shoes, reading materials, stationary, used Bibles and other religious materials, and items for awards on Bingo night! We also have started a gift card program, providing homemade cards to residents on special occasions.
Volunteer Ministry Center reaches out to many homeless and impoverished individuals and families in our community. Their ministry provides food, clothing, counseling, temporary housing, and emergency funds for utilities and rent assistance. Members of the Congregation volunteer their time each month to prepare and serve meals to the hungry at the Volunteer Ministry Center. A sign-up sheet is posted in the Narthex for each date. Assistance is also given in the form of clothing, toiletries, and gifts for their Christmas Store.
Mobile Meals is a voluntary nonprofit organization that provides a nutritious meal and a wellness check to the frail, homebound senior citizens living in Knox County. To many of these elderly, the visit may be the only person that they speak with that day. The volunteers keep close watch over these seniors and any needs or emergencies are reported to the Mobile Meals network staff. Farragut Presbyterian provides two volunteers each Friday for delivering meals in addition to financial support to this wonderful ministry. Special packages of fresh fruit are pulled together by the children of our church at Thanksgiving. Then at Christmas, the children donate, wrap and decorate many special items for Christmas gifts to be provided with the Christmas meals.
The Student Presbytery Center at the University of Tennessee provides a Christian atmosphere and a place for refuge and spiritual renewal for college students. Farragut Presbyterian’s support of the Presbytery Center includes: a Lay Pastor who provides a Wednesday night Bible Study and gathering time for the students; and a member of our church who is on the Center’s Board of Directors, who organizes fund raisers through the Men of the Church to provide funding for Interns for the Center.
In 2007, Farragut Presbyterian, in partnership with other churches provided a home for a deserving family through Loudon County Habitat for Humanity. This was our sixth house provided through the Habitat for Humanity Programs. Many members of our congregation remain active in Habitat projects throughout the year.
Interfaith Health Clinic plays a vital role in our local community providing medical, dental, and mental health care to the working uninsured and others in need. Farragut Presbyterian is proud to have members active in providing medical services at the clinic as well as providing financial support for its mission and much needed supplies.
Camp John Knox is a Presbyterian Youth Retreat that provides weekend and summer camps to the youth of our church and the community as well as training events for church officers. Our ongoing support of this ministry includes volunteer workdays as well as financial support.
Court Appointed Special Advocates
“A Child’s Voice in Court, Inc.” helps improve the lives of abused and neglected children through trained volunteers who advocate for a safe, loving, and permanent home. Farragut Presbyterian is proud to have a member who has completed the training and become certified as a certified Court Appointed Specialist with CASA, in addition to providing financial support for this wonderful mission.
Family Promise of Knoxville is a non-profit organization uniting the faith community and other area social services to provide shelter, meals, and comprehensive support to families without homes, enabling them to achieve sustainable independence. The cornerstone of Family Promise of Knoxville is the Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN). IHN has united 12 "host" congregations and 19 "support" congregations in the Knoxville area, numerous volunteers, our core staff, and local social services agencies into a synergistic team that provides temporary housing, meals, and assistance to families without homes to help them become self sufficient.
Second Harvest recovers food that is canned, packaged or perishable to distribute to 350 plus agencies in an 18 county area. These agencies provide emergency food assistance in the form of bags or boxes of groceries to take home, or hot meals served in a soup kitchen or group home. Second Harvest also provides food for The Kids Café and Food for Kids: two programs aimed at ending childhood hunger. In the Food for Kids program, participating students receive a backpack full of food for themselves and, if needed, their younger siblings on a regularly scheduled basis.
FISH works to reduce hunger in our community by providing small supplies of food at no cost to those needing temporary assistance. People in need contact FISH to request food assistance. There is a “no screening, no questions asked” policy for callers. The food provided by FISH is a three-day emergency supply of nonperishable items, such as canned foods, dry cereal, and bread products. FISH began as, and has remained, an all-volunteer organization with no paid staff members. Our church provides food and volunteers for one week of each year for this important Mission.