While most communities are suffering from shrinking resources and charities closing their doors for lack of funding, Bartow is about to open its doors to a new agency that will help people in the community who need help the most. Faith In Action, a national program with a thousand chapters throughout the United States has recently backed willing members of the Bartow community and helped to create a Faith in Action chapter for Bartow.

"In tough economy times, it has traditionally been the church and faith community who has provided charity," says Sheila Hollowell, State Coordinator of Interfaith Florida, The Faith in Action Charities Network. "We held two organizational meetings with the Bartow community and found excellent talent, resources and commitment to pull together everything needed to expand services to this area," commented Hollowell.

In addition to working with local faith congregations, Faith in Action Bartow has the backing of several businesses in the local Bartow community. "We have certainly had community support," said Shanna Harris, CEO of Golden Touch home health services and board member for the new Bartow Faith In Action, "including Polk Works and Congressman Putnam's office."

The Bartow Faith in Action will recruit volunteers from various participating church and spiritual congregations that will be trained, supervised and assigned to people who are elderly, disabled, alone and in need of everyday help such as transportation, assisted grocery shopping, help with minor home repairs, lawn work, medication monitoring, housework and most of all-friendship. The Bartow Faith In Action will also provide respite care where volunteers are available without charge to families who are caregiving family members and need a few hours relief. The new agency will also conduct daily safety and reassurance phone calls to people who are receiving care.

Faith in Action is a program of Interfaith Florida, a non-sectarian statewide alliance whose 45 chapters are all charitable organizations. "Our chapters represent a wide variety of nonprofit projects and programs," said Hollowell. "Some provide for the care of the frail and elderly, some are children's disability agencies, others are hospices, mental health agencies, asthma, AIDS, and Alzheimer's foundations, or family service centers, senior centers, parish nursing programs, ministries, nonprofit housing projects or just care-giving organizations in general." Each participating chapter is a separate organization with a separate mission, serving people in their individual communities. Interfaith Florida's Faith in Action chapters have over 3,000 volunteers who provide10,000 hours of free help monthly to those who need some type of personal assistance.

The purpose of Interfaith Florida is to help nonprofits increase their funding and produce additional programs and services while keeping operating cost down so that more money can go directly to the people who need it most. All participating organizations have a faith-based program component within their organization where they recruit volunteers to help others through the churches and spiritual congregations located in their communities. Interfaith Florida will continue to assist the new Faith In Action chapter in Bartow with help from the central administrative headquarters in Lakeland and help from other Polk County Faith in Action chapters such as Faith in Action of North Lakeland, HONOR, Inc., One World Insight, The Neighborhood Service Center of Winter Haven, Garden Grove Emergency Food Pantry in Winter Haven and the nearby Parrish Nursing Faith In Action program at Sebring Hospital.

Anyone wanting further information about the new Bartow Faith in Action or interested in volunteering may contact Angie Strickland at Turning Point Worship Center who will be the Volunteer Coordinator, 863 533-7287 or visit www.interfaithflorida.org on the internet.