Christian Salandra

1/23/17
COMM 406
Dykstra

Blog # 1: Organizational Overview

For my blog #1 the organization I chose was Christian Help, Inc. It is an organization
designed to give back to the community by being a non-profit, non- denominational group that
distributes goods, foods, and clothing to those in need. They also hold personal development
classes for people struggling. Their mission statement is To respond to situations of emergency
and need with immediacy and simplicity, respecting the dignity of all persons in the spirit of
Jesus Christ. This responds to the mission of Coordinating Council on Homelessness because
the organization is trying to help end homeless by giving out free food and clothing to those who
need it and homeless people are encouraged and welcome to come to their organization for the
help they need to survive without a home. Like the Coordinating Council on Homelessness,
Christian Help, Inc. is here to help people in poverty and give them the necessities that people
who are not living in poverty might take for granted or not use. Christian Help, Inc. responds to
the CCOH by responding to certain situations of people in poverty immediately and hold special
programs and events specialized to help homeless people. 40 percent of the families in
Monongalia county have low income and 1 out of 3 children live in poverty and that is who
Christian Help, Inc. want to serve. They want to help guide and support those people out of their
current situations, and I believe that is a great response to the CCOH.
The target audience and demographic that this organization aims at assisting is simply
everyone in need. No matter their background identity, their purpose is to serve whoever it may
be in need. Their goal is to help show people there is hope and that the elimination of poverty is a
huge possibility. In the Morgantown area for instance Christian Help, Inc. wants to assist families
in need, their children and people who are homeless. Christian Help doesnt aim for any
particular person whether their gender, age, education level, religion, or size of the family. They
only aim to whoever walks through their doors in need.
Christian Help provides many different services and programs, along with events. First
their store is free. Their store is open to the public and offers an array of items. From clothing to
food, and different goods. These are all available for free from community donations. A H=huge
program they offer at Christian Help, Inc. is their Career Closets which a program available to
men and women that help people who are seeking employment. The program helps job clothing
in any field, resume assistance, interview help, and job training. The next service is their food
pantry, which offers 3-5 days supplies of food for families every 2 months. The best thing about
the food pantry is that it is available to homeless people anytime they come in and request it.
Another program of theirs is the Emergency Financial Assistance (EFA). The EFA is there for
individuals and families with immediate financial burdens. It also helps out with eviction
prescriptions, first months rent, security deposits, and even transportation. The last of their
programs is called Jobs for life (JFL). JFL is a solution to poverty, homelessness, and
unemployment in the Monongalia community. They conduct personal development classes, job
training, and assistance to individuals looking for jobs. Christian Help, Inc. also has different
special projects that are aimed at helping those in need in this community.
On St. Patricks day they hold a huge fundraiser to help further their programs and support. They
also have a semi-annual Children Consignment Sale of Morgantown in which is solely geared
towards the sale of childrens clothes, toys, seasonal clothing and much more. They also hold a
back to school fundraiser to help get supplies for children going back to school and cannot afford
school supplies, and lastly is their Christian Help Christmas fundraiser to help get toys to bring
joy to 961 underprivileged children in the Monongalia county.
A concept from Chapter 2 Critical Approach that this organization deals with is
Hegemony. Hegemony can be defined as the process by which organizational members
actively supports the goals an aspiration of the dominant group when it doesnt benefit
organizational members. The consent is caused by prestige which the main group enjoys because
of its position and function in the world. It can also be defined as the struggle over the
establishment of certain meanings and ideas in society. The organization of Christian Help, Inc.
addresses this issue by serving and helping the people who are not in the dominant group and
cannot enjoy their position and function in the world. The people that Christian Help aim to serve
the people in the Monongalia county who do not have a social life or function because of the
horrible poverty they suffer in. They also promote hegemony by trying to help people get jobs
and teach them how to go out and get what they want and find their own function in society. For
Hegemonys case in Chrsitian Help the organization members help this cause and it doesnt even
benefit them, but thats what good people do. Christian Help tries their hardest to help families
who can not be in the dominant group, because they are trying their best to keep their family out
of poverty. It is also Christian Helps mission to respond to situations of emergency and
immediacy and respecting the dignity of all people while doing so.
Christian Help addresses the issues of hegemony while also promoting it and making the
line even between people in dominant group of society and those who are struggling to be in the
functional group of society, giving them the needs and service to help them get to that point.
Christian Help, Inc. is a great alternative to the Coordinating Council on Homelessness and
responds to all types of their needs by helping people in poverty. As organizations go Christian
Help, Inc, is one of the most promising sounding in the Monongalia county, doing everything
they can to help the homeless and poverty in Morgantown, West Virginia.