Highlighting Volunteers, Organizations, and Partners
COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT Granada Heights Friends Church When I stepped into Starbucks earlier in the year to meet with a friend and a pastor from her church, I had no idea of the opportunity that was going to unfold. We were meeting to discuss how to help equip Granada Heights Friends Church to become Trauma-Informed so […]
Kathleen Dische Volunteer of the Month Kathleen Dische is the perfect example of servant leadership. Since 2016, she has volunteered at OC United, especially within our young adults THRIVE program. She is dedicated, selfless and extremely humble. Over the past three years, she has faithfully attended THRIVE nights, giving rides to young adults who wouldn’t […]
On Sunday, Aug 17th we partnered with Hope International to challenge their new incoming students to do a serve day together. The new students were all put into groups of 20 and were introduced to dorm life, the cafeteria, the campus and church on Sunday. After lunch, we had the joy of leading them into […]
One of the amazing realities of our culture at OC United is that the spouses of our team are “all in” as well. Casey has been married to Renae for 21 years and they have two beautiful girls they adopted 8 years ago, Diamond and LaRoyana. If you just met Casey you might at first […]
For anyone walking into our office for the first time, the response is always the same, “Wow! I love the look of your office! Who decorated it?” The answer is none other than our very own Lisa Gillis. We owe the “coolness” of our offices and the work space to Lisa Gillis. Lisa and her […]
Karen Eckberg : Volunteer of the Month Karen came to us in April of last year. When we asked her if there was anywhere in particular that she would like to serve, she said, “Nowhere specific. Wherever you need me!” She loves serving older adults and senior citizens, wellness and recreation, and helping others find […]
From Donna Mroz, Director of Domestic Abuse Initiative: A shout out to Tim Muehlhoff for coming monthly to Fullerton PD domestic abuse support group. He is teaching us physical self-defense as well as self-defense against emotional abuse. For Valentine’s Day, his students came and gave all of the woman roses, knowing how much it would […]
“Because when you’re hit at your wits’ end Can’t bare the screaming anymore You’ll take one look at their impressionable eyes And see you’re bound to this eight-year-old human as a friend” —-From “Non-Biological Children” by Hannah Pennock Imagine a sixteen-year-old girl wearing a powder blue dress with lace appliques and a poufy tulle skirt […]
In Romans 15:13, the Apostle Paul explains how God sources hope into our hearts, which fills us with peace and joy as we trust in Him while waiting for Him to make our dreams happen. God then gives us power to overflow this same hope to others. Franklin Garcia is the pastor of Calvary Chapel […]
When a child from hard places begins blessing others, restoration has begun for the whole community. In our neighborhoods initiative, we all thrive when there is a two-way stream of giving and receiving. Here’s one story of restoration. Andrew was nominated for Valencia Park Elementary’s (VP) mentoring program where he met Gaby, our director. As […]