New Property, Big Plans

If you build it, He will come. ~Field of Dreams

You may have read in our previous blog posts about Phoenix Children's Project's wonderful network of sponsors and donors, who helped us win the Spirit and Word Award at the end of last year. We won $10, 000 and have used that money to acquire a new property! This is great news because it means that we will have the opportunity to expand our reach yet again. 

PCP Director and Founder, Mary Frieling, always dreamed of having a place where she can house families and teach them life skills while they get back on their feet. Now that dream is coming true. 

The new property, located on 32nd St and Roosevelt has two buildings on a half acre lot. One building will be used for housing up to two of our families, and the other building will be converted for use as a  community center.

In the community center, we can serve hot meals to people twice a month, and provide family activities that encourage quality time. We hope that we can promote a positive environment while giving the children productive activities to help keep them off the streets. 

At this time, the buildings are dilapidated, but we can see the potential. We know it's going to be a lot of hard work to get the property inhabitable, but we're all used to getting our hands dirty! 

We are again looking to you, our volunteers and donors, to assist us in anyway possible. There are some specific projects where we could use some expertise and advice. Please spread the word and let us know if you or others are interested in helping us make this vision a reality. 

We are looking for help and expertise in the following areas and volunteers for any project:

• A/C - someone to look at the evap coolers on the buildings and advise us on repairs or replacement. Also looking for a donated A/C or evap if needed. 
• Windows - the house is missing several windows.
• Landscape, grass and plants
• Yard clean up 
• Stucco for the exterior
• Drywall 
• Interior and exterior painting
• Fence materials and installation
• Playground equipment
• Someone to pour concrete

If you or anyone you know can assist, please email or call Mary. Together we can rehab this property and optimize our potential to help even more families in need! 

Stay tuned for updates on the progress of this project!

Phoenix Children's Project:  602 955 2228

Winning isn't Everything..but it Helps!

No one is more cherished in this world than someone who lightens the burden of another. Thank you. 

~Author Unknown

Many people do not realize that Phoenix Children’s Project is run solely by volunteers and all of the monetary support is received by caring donors like you and local companies. Phoenix Children’s Project is grateful to have such a wonderful sponsorship network, but it is also a balancing act for Mary Frieling, since the funding and donation support has been raised solely by her efforts.

So when Mary heard about the Spirit and Word contest for local charities late last year, her ears perked up…especially because the winning charities would win $10,000. Since PCP does not have an operating budget like all big name charities, $10,000 is paramount to an organization our size.

Mary was in her car that morning last year when she heard the announcement on the local phoenix radio show, Beth and Friends, on KEZ 99.9. The Spirit and Word Award was started by the late Bill Austin, formerly of Beth and Bill. Before he passed in 2010, he donated the money to Spirit and Word, a non-denominational spiritual resource. To date they have donated $80,000 to Phoenix charities.

When Mary got to her office, she immediately signed up for the contest on-line, and then sent an email to her distribution list, urging our network to nominate Phoenix Children’s Project. Over the course of the contest, at least 3,000 local charities were nominated, and Mary’s email had started a chain reaction of support for PCP.

The judges of the contest had a tough task ahead of them, but they narrowed the list down  to the top five charities nominated. Although PCP did not receive the most votes or nominations, the proposals they received were remarkably written and full of love. There were about twenty nominations, and some from our families who have internet access. One recipient of PCP support described our organization and Mary Frieling as lifesaving.

Although, PCP didn’t have the most votes, it had the most meaningful nominations, and we were selected as winners! Thank you everyone who helped make this happen. Your words and votes were instrumental in helping us, not only to win the money, but also to gain more exposure in our community.

The prize money was used to help purchase a property that will be used as an additional facility. We will need everyone’s help once again to get it up and running, but we know we can count on you. This new project will require a lot of time, hard work and vision, but we know we can do it with the help of you, our wonderful volunteers and donors.  Thank you again, for all you do, your efforts touch the lives of so many.

Stay tuned for more details about the new project!