"To the Staff at Spring Valley:
My time here has been a learning and great experience for me. I have met a lot of wonderful people who have not only become my friends, but a part of my family. Even on my worst days where you think that there is no way out of a terrible situation, the family here kept me strong and made me realize that there is always hope under any circumstance. I will miss everyone here at Spring Valley!  God bless everyone here at Spring Valley!"
Comments from a single mother who recently moved into her own residence and is on the road to a better future for her and her children.

Christian Community Action
News, Press Releases and Publications

Award-Winning Southern Gospel Trio - The Booth Brothers - to Perform Concert in Valparaiso to Benefit Spring Valley Shelter

The trio is known for their harmony-drenched vocals and warm, easy voices Award winning lead singer Ronnie Booth, tenor Michael Booth and baritone Jim Brady make up the trio. Their unique ability to communicate through song and humor have garnered them many fans with their appearances on the Bill Gaither Homecoming tours and their own heavy touring schedule over the last several years.

This concert Sunday, April 27 at 3pm at the Porter County Expo Center will be the only appearance in the area. For additional information and tickets for this high energy, awesome event filled with a life changing message musical event, visit www.expocentertickets.com or call (800)328-2737. For more information about The Booth Brothers, visit www.boothbrothers.com.

Proceeds from the event will be donated to Spring Valley Shelter.

CCA Announces Staff Changes/Additions
Several new additions joined the CCA and its programs' staffs in April.
Erin Miller began as the Program Director for Spring Valley on April 1, 2008. Erin has been working with the CCA staff from since last August as she finishes her Master's in Social Work at IU Northwest.

Tom Isakson, former Program Director for Spring Valley, is now Director of Program Development. He will focus on new and expanded programs for CCA and its programs to better serve our community and clients' needs. (more)

Samantha Grooms joins the full time CCA staff as Program Director of Greenwich House,
April 7. Sam has served on the Greenwich House staff as Residential Tech. Sam is also finishing her MSW from IUN in May.

RG Skadberg, Director of Resource Development, added two new Resource Development Assistants. Glennas Kueck joins the staff with a focus on special event oversight. Michelle Richards will focus on marketing and public relations. All are working to expand grant funding.

Eagle Scout Inspires Spring Valley

Nathan Erxleben found the inspiration for his Eagle Scout project at Christian Community Action’s Spring Valley Shelter. When he finished, Nathan left a

 hall of inspiring quotes for Spring Valley’s clients and made a safe, tidy area to contain the trash.

Erxleben, a senior at Chesterton High School who has been accepted into the US Naval Academy for the fall, saw an opportunity to positively impact clients at Spring Valley using inspirational quotes from Mother Teresa, Oprah, Michael Jordan, Ernest Hemmingway and many others. Erxleben narrowed down the final 19 quotes from many recommendations from friends, family and the community.

“I was only able to finish this project because of the generous support and help of many people throughout the community,” offered Nathan. “I would like to thank The Times, The Chesterton Tribune, Indiana 105, X-Rock 103.9 and Z107 for helping me reach to the community in an effort to compile quotes for the inspirational messages. I would like to thank Ms. Cathy Seely of the Chesterton Middle School for her tremendous support in the effort of collecting quotes.”

He built the frames, produced the quotes and hung them in the hall that leads to the multipurpose room at Spring Valley. The room serves as a meeting and education room for clients, CCA Board and other community visitors. They are near the Child Enrichment rooms, providing easy accessibility for the forty or more children who reside at Spring Valley to be positively influenced during their twice weekly classes.

Nathan wasn’t done though…

Next, he took on task of building an enclosure for Spring Valley’s trash dumpster. The enclosure provides a much more visually appealing and safer area for the dumpster to be located. He and several helpers braved wind, snow and rain to finish the project in the last week.

“I graciously thank Harry Workman for his support and help in the design and donations to construct the gates for the dumpster enclosure as well as the usage of his tools and shop for one of my workdays. Thank you also to Home Depot, Pioneer Lumber, Von Tobel, Entek Fabrications, Family Express, Lakeshore Gymnastics, Walter Erxleben and Dale Kellogg for their generous donations to my project and Northwest Indiana Fence Co. for help with construction of the dumpster enclosure.”

The Eagle Scout Project is one of the six requirements for a Life Scout to complete as he moves to become an Eagle Scout. The projects benefit a nonprofit organization or community in general and provide the Scout a chance to plan, develop and give leadership to others.

“Special thanks to Scoutmaster Mr. David Larimer and Mr. Greg Schoeneck for their help in coaching me through the advancement towards the rank of Eagle Scout,” added Erxleben.

The community can see the enclosure at the Christian Community Action/Spring Valley Shelter, located at 2001 Calumet Ave., Valparaiso. For a tour of the facility to see the inspirational quotes as well as some of the other Eagle Scout and Silver Arrow (Girl Scouts) Projects which enhance the facility and support Spring Valley’s clients during their participation in its programs to build a stronger foundation for  a brighter future, contact CCA, (219) 548-2379 or visit www.ccaportercounty.org.  

New Porter Health and Wellness Fund Provides New Program to Help At-Risk Adolescents

[Valparaiso, 2/29/08] A grant from a new fund at the Porter County Community Foundation will help adolescents at Christian Community Action’s Spring Valley Shelter manage the unique challenges they face as youth dealing with homelessness.

Children make up more than half of the clients for Spring Valley Shelter. Those 13 and older have special challenges brought on by both their upbringing and the stress of losing their homes, transient living arrangements and/or living in a homeless shelter. Many of these youth are dealing with parental relationships that are not providing them the consistent support they need to cope with the challenges they face living in these situations at an age of heightened awareness and self consciousness. These factors can lead to high levels of anxiety, low self-esteem and issues connecting with classmates. This can also impact their relationships with friends, their ability to apply their best effort in the classroom and to make the right decisions about their livelihood.

This new program will provide a peer support group lead by a Master of Social Work professional who will work with the youth to help to empower them to make better, long-term life choices in a stable, safe environment. The group will allow the participants to discuss the challenges they face with peers who have similar life experiences and upbringing. Some of the areas of focus will include coping techniques, proper nutrition as well as appropriate and positive relationship building.

This new program was made possible with a grant from the new Porter Health and Wellness Fund of the Porter County Community Foundation. This new fund is the result of the distribution of the Porter Foundation endowment – which served the former county hospital – into a fund dedicated to addressing health and wellness needs in Porter County. More than $100,000 was distributed via this fund to agencies across the county in ceremonies held at the Portage Township YMCA, February 29, 2008. Porter County Community Foundation Executive Director, Barb Young, cited the significance of announcing these grants on Leap Day as they represented the “leap forward” the Foundation has made thanks to the confidence and contributions of people like those from the former Porter Foundation.

Greater Northwest Indiana Association of REALTORS®
Brings Home Support for 2008

The Greater Northwest Indiana Association of REALTORS® (GNIAR) delivered a wonderful gift to Christian Community Action, February 22, as they became the first Premiere Annual Corporate Sponsor  for 2008. Their contribution was delivered by Pat Pullara, CEO GNIAR® Government Affairs, and Martha Brubaker, President, GNIAR® Board of Directors, pictured above handing the contribution to Spring Valley Program Director Tom Isakson with CCA Director of Development, RG Skadberg.

GNIAR's® support of through the Annual Business Sponsorship Program provides CCA much needed annual support of programs to help clients move forward as individuals and families. In addition, GNIAR® receives recognition as a sponsor of CCA's events throughout 2008, including the Walk for the Homeless of Porter County, Saturday, April 19 at Coffee Creek Watershed Preserve, Chesterton.