Cy-Fair Lifestyles and Homes magazine Sep 2009: News Around Cy-Fair

Area Ministries Work Together to help Area Children. Northwest Assistance Ministries received nearly 7,000 back packs from the Office Depot Foundation and a year ’s supply of organic children’s vitamins from New Chapter Organics.

State Rep. Debbie Riddle coordinated the donation of backpacks through Nourish America, which has a national partnership with the Office Depot Foundation and New Chapter Organics vitamins.

This year, many area ministries collaborated to help even more children with the aid of Nourish America, a nonprofit organization based in Ojai, Calif., that partners with organizations across the country to provide impoverished American children, families, pregnant moms, seniors and others in need with the nutritional supplements and essentials required to lead productive, successful lives.

CFMCH Volunteers Gather for Fun and a Good Cause. Members of the Volunteer Auxiliary at Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Hospital attended an ice cream social held in their honor by the hospital. Hospital volunteers brought school supplies to donate to the Cypress Assistance Ministries. Items donated included backpacks, notebooks, binders, paper, markers, pencils and glue.

Service project cleans up Nature Trails. As part of its August service project, about 200 members from the Community of Faith congregation cleaned up the Cy-Fair ISD nature trails behind Millsap Elementary School.

Volunteers cleared trails and teaching areas throughout the wooded area, landscaped beds near the pavilion, patched a leak in the pond and installed a valve to maintain its water level. Three shifts of volunteers participated in the clean-up project, which spanned from 7 a.m.-4 p.m.

“Our people were very excited about being out there,” said project leader Steve Saunders, an associate pastor at Community of Faith. “We had a great day serving the Cy-Fair community.”

The volunteers also included 35 members from the Cypress Falls High School football team, who used the project as a team building experience as well as a service effort.

“Our guys came through there like a demolition crew; it was amazing,” said Cypress Falls football coach David Raffield. “The place looked totally different after we were done. Several people said we accomplished in three hours what they thought was going to take the entire day. ”

Community of Faith participates in a community service project the first Saturday of each month.

Proceeds from novel to benefit NAM. Tom McCloud’s new book Riddles in Time is a children’s fantasy novel that tracks four friends as they accidentally discover a secret with the power to alter history during an archaeology competition.

McCloud’s personal story is one of disappointment, loss and heartbreak mixed with love, hope and a desire to help others.

His personal struggle and the transformation of his family are what inspired him to start writing. He started writing down the stories he was imagining, and from those stories came his novel.

Now, he wants to give back to the community that provided so much assistance to his family. He decided that the best way to give back to the community as a whole is to donate part of the proceeds from the book to NAM.

Tom sees NAM as a resource to the entire community, and is grateful that the organization provides a means for him to share his blessings with others.

Riddles in Time is available online at www.amazon.com and at NAM Resale at 10505 Jones Road and at Corner Resale at 15555 Kuykendahl.