Our Mission, Vision and Values
Our Mission:
Work in collaboration with area-wide partners to provide life building, life sustaining services to the under-served in the greater Dayton community.
Our Vision:
To be a “model” organization in the community, using best practices in guiding those we serve toward self-sufficiency, with the end result being improved quality of life.
Our Guiding Values:
Spirituality – We encourage people to embrace a relationship with God to realize their potential through Him.
Inclusiveness – We value, accept, and embrace all people as demonstrated through our behaviors and established policies and practices.
Encouragement – We purposefully engage others to consider what could be by encouraging them to create positive change.
Learning – We provide meaningful and insightful holistic experiences that shape personal and professional development.
Integrity – We employ honest and ethical practices in all that we do.
Collaboration – We partner with others to provide maximum benefits to those we serve.
Service – We suggest serving others as a means of personal and spiritual growth.
___________________________
PEOPLE are our … #1 PRIORITY
Families seeking assistance from the LEC come from many walks of life. Some have not completed their high school education, are unemployed, live in single parent homes, or rely on a fixed disability or retirement income. Most are trying to survive with incomes below the federal poverty level. We also aid families who have a break in their normal income, whether through loss of a job, illness or change in family dynamics. By offering assistance, we hope to lighten stressful times and give those in need a reason for hope.
PEOPLE are our … #1 ASSET
Led by Executive Director Jeff Sorrell, the majority of positions within the LEC are filled by volunteers from office administration, job placement and educational services to food distribution, and building maintenance. Volunteers give anywhere from four to forty hours a week or more, totaling hundreds of hours each week. They come from a wide array of occupations, educational backgrounds and beliefs. There are a few exceptions: our part-time kitchen manager, Angela Timpson; staff member in the fitness center, Cassandra Guard whose position is funded by a grant from Physician’s Charitable Foundation of the Miami Valley in partnership with Public Health-Dayton & Montgomery County and the Greater Dayton YMCA; and our Director of Volunteer Services, Lee Snead who raises the funding for her salary. Volunteer, or paid staff, all come with one purpose: to help meet a need and make a difference in someone’s life.
People provide the means to operate the LEC as funding comes primarily through individual donations. Local businesses and churches also provide ongoing support and are essential for many of our special events. The LEC has also received charitable and corporate grants and will continue to seek future grants for needed renovation projects and launching new programs.
Turning receivers into givers is a phrase often used at the LEC. Individuals come into the LEC looking for assistance, for groceries, or just a place to warm up and have some fellowship over breakfast. Before long, many clients find they want to give back through volunteering. This has often led to disabled or retired individuals finding a new purpose in life and unemployed individuals being able to furnish a positive reference and work experience to a prospective employer.
Through the Education Department, LEC clients are offered the opportunity to attend a vast, dynamic array of classes taught by very capable, qualified volunteer instructors. Instructors generously share their life experiences, work experience and educational backgrounds to help promote life-building skills. Classes in job placement, relationships, finances, nutrition, cooking, health and Bible as well as GED and ESL (English as a Second Language) are areas of focus.
Health and Fitness are a large part of our mission because chronic disease is a barrier not only to employment and productivity but they directly impact an individual’s quality of life. Nurses from Public Health – Dayton & Montgomery County have an office next to the Fitness Center. Semi-annual free health fairs take place along with scheduled opportunities for mammograms offered by Jewish Hospital and free kidney health screenings offered by the National Kidney Foundation.
Being “faith based” means that the staff and volunteers treat everyone with the love of Christ, letting actions speak even louder than words. God is trusted to lead the LEC into the future through financial provision, a supply of dedicated volunteers and faithful leadership of the Board of Trustees. God has already blessed the LEC with volunteers and partner organizations that make it possible to meet the ever present needs of those served. The prayer remains that the actions and attitudes of the LEC will reflect the love of Christ in the Greater Dayton Community.
