Work together

Love INC doing good work

MARQUETTE -- Marquette County churches are celebrating their first year of working together -- creating a better outcome for the community and those in need.

Love INC of the Upper Peninsula, an organization that connects area churches to residents in need, is asking for community support in order to continue to provide a hub between people who need services and the churches and volunteers who stand ready to fill that need.

The organization will hold its inaugural Year-End Celebration and Fundraiser at the Wesley United Methodist Church starting at 6 p.m. Friday.

The night of live music, hors d'oeuvres and desserts comes complete with a silent auction of over 100 items donated by local businesses, artisans and crafters, said Love INC Central Upper Peninsula Director Fiona Banfield.

"It's a perfect opportunity to enjoy some food and fellowship, do some Christmas shopping and contribute to a good cause at the same time," she said. "We have had some wonderful donations from throughout our community -- handmade rugs, paintings from local artists and other donations from local businesses."

The local Love INC, which is affiliated with a national organization of the same name, gives 15 churches across Marquette County the ability to coordinate and network among themselves, enabling them to work as a whole, Banfield said. And it's not all about money, it's about efficiently using what those individual churches already have.

"We are the connector for the churches. We don't actually have a pot of money that we are paying rent or electric bills for clients," Banfield said. "Instead it is all about building relationships with the clients to the churches and the volunteers within the churches."

Unity across denominations is a binding principle in the Love INC organizational model, according to the national website.

"Love INC believes in local churches working together to address needs in their community. This demonstrates a unity of purpose … not a unity of theology," the website states.

Love INC uses a clearinghouse model where requests for assistance are received and assessed, then referred to the most appropriate resources and followed up on, the website states.

Through coordination with Love INC, church members from across the county have put in hundreds of volunteer hours in the last nine months, Banfield said, creating connective solutions to solve everyday problems that are sometimes taken for granted.

Providing medical transport has consumed a good portion of those hours of late, she said, with volunteers providing transportation all the way to Green Bay, Wisconsin, in some cases.

"Working through our churches that have different programs, we can plug these in," Banfield said. "People within the churches also have talents, like plumbing, or maybe a client needs help moving."

Love INC volunteers have helped to build a wheelchair accessible ramp for one client, roof repair for several others, all by using the resources the volunteer pool provides.

"When we work with a client to fill out an intake form, we will say, 'What else do you need? Do you need food, or do you need clothing?'" Banfield said.

In addition to networking with local churches, Banfield said, office staff are also familiar with other organizations in the area that provide services to those in need.

"We do know about the agencies in the area and we try to plug (clients) into those too," Banfield said.

The organization hopes to raise $15,000 before the end of the year to pay for its annual operating expenses, she said.

Tickets for Friday's event are $10 and are available in advance at Uptown Gifts, Little Miss Sew and Sew and the Box Car in Ishpeming, in Negaunee at Midtown Bakery and at The Flying Moose in Marquette.

Questions about the event or the organization can be directed to the Love INC CUP Facebook page, via email loveinccup@gmail.com or by phone 906-486-8287.

Lisa Bowers can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 242. Her email address is lbowers@miningjournal.net.