Dear friend of OCC,
Orlando Children’s Church is a community endeavor. One of the most exciting developments of 2019 has been building relationships with other organizations that are working hard to promote children in our community. Our goal is, and always has been, to share the love of Jesus with children in need. We’re realizing more and more that we can best do this by taking full advantage of the unique position OCC is in to provide access to care that kids can’t reach on their own.
Every Saturday, Orlando Children’s Church sends 12 buses to neighborhoods in Orange, Seminole, and Osceola County to bring children and teenagers to a program that is specifically for them. At OCC, they are loved, encouraged, and fed — physically and spiritually.
Thanks to our community partners, we can bless our kids with shoes, clothing, backpacks, and haircuts throughout the year. Now, we’re building a child protection program that will offer children at OCC the chance to develop coping skills and awareness that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. We’re training our volunteers to recognize the effects of trauma and toxic stress that are common among the OCC population and to know how to respond to children who carry these burdens. We would also like to extend this training to churches and community members so that we can all work together to build a more hopeful future for our kids.
We’re breaking the barrier of access, but it is costly. It takes 45% of our budgeted costs to run the angel-wing buses that bring children to OCC each week. Would you help us keep the buses running to help the children of Central Florida?
We believe that if we intervene early in the lives of children, we can help break the cycles of poverty that leave them hungry, homeless, and lonely. We can point them toward freedom and hope.
“How precious is your unfailing love o God! All your children find shelter in the shadow of your wings.” —Psalm 36:7
There are only a few days left in 2019. Will you help us finish strong as we look ahead to great things in 2020?
In Christ’s love,
Isabel O’Driscoll, Co-Founder
Orlando Children’s Church