Drive up to Life Community Center and you’ll find a crowded parking lot.
That’s because there’s a lot going on in the modular building, at 6542 Applewood Drive in Wesley Chapel, which is affiliated with Life Community Church, formerly known as Victorious Life Church.
For instance, there’s a weekly community luncheon on Tuesdays in the modular building, and anyone is welcome to drop in for a hot meal and some fellowship.
During one of those recent luncheons, Riley Brannon greeted people as they entered the building. Later, as they prepared to eat, he offered a blessing.
Carol Smith, a regular at these gatherings, said she enjoys the food.
Carmen Robles, a volunteer, helped Smith settle in for a pasta lunch, prepared by Nancy Frankulin, of Bosco’s Italian-To-Go. On alternate weeks, the meals are prepared by Taco Sun.
The center also has a food pantry that operates on Friday afternoons, routinely providing food for 300 to 375 families.
The groceries are donated to the church by Costco and Feeding Tampa Bay, said Terence Gaston, the food ministry coordinator. “Our motto is nobody goes hungry,” he said.
Brannon said Life Community Center is doing important work.
“People are getting food that wouldn’t otherwise,” Brannon said, plus it helps in other ways.
One program, called “Raptime,” is aimed at keeping kids in school.
Fourteen children have been with the program since elementary school, and now they’re in middle school, said Robin Granger, director of Life Community Center.
The goal is to help them to graduate from high school.
(Courtesy of Life Community Center)
Angus Valley, where Life Community Center is located, has a high dropout rate, Granger explained. “It’s generational. Their parents didn’t graduate from high school. Their grandparents didn’t graduate from high school,” she said.
Because of that, when a problem arises at school, parents often feel intimidated when they are trying to stand up for their children, Granger said.
That’s where Life Community Center comes in. It provides guidance for parents to help them take the needed steps to support their children, Granger said.
“We’re not going to do the work for you, but we’ll walk beside you,” she said.
“When you’re not sure what to say to the social worker, or your kid is suspended, or your kid has to be transferred — what can we do to advocate for you? We coach parents. We don’t do it for them,” Granger said.
Helping people find gainful work
The center also has a program aimed at helping people to enter or re-enter the workforce.
Its Work Ready program helps people to put together their resumes, brush up on interview skills and to even learn skills that can help them land a job.
For instance, it provided scholarships for students to be trained to become certified nursing assistants. Seven of those people now have full-time jobs, Granger said.
The idea is to provide a hand up, not a handout, she said.
The center aims to help equip people who haven’t had the opportunity to be employed, or haven’t had the chance to understand what it takes to get a job, Granger said.
There’s another program, called “Celebrate Recovery,” which focuses on assisting people who are in recovery.
“People are more willing to walk in a community center than they are a church,” Granger said.
At the church, about 10 people showed up to a recovery meeting; at the life center, about 30 did, Granger said.
The center helps in other, practical ways, too.
“We have a Back to School, where we help do socks, shoes and underwear,” she said, noting that those items are provided for families who need the help. And, there’s a program that supplies food for children who would otherwise go hungry over the weekend.
On top of all that, every fourth Friday of the month, Florida Hospital and Pioneer Medical Services bring a mobile unit to the center to see people who do not have insurance, Granger said.
The center aims to provide the kinds of services that people want and need, Granger said.
It also wants to be a source of information regarding programs it doesn’t directly provide, but that can be useful for community residents.
Creating a paradigm shift for helping others
At Life Community Center, people get help — but it’s not just a one-way street, Granger said.
The center has a program called Time Exchange.
It works like this: “If they need an electricity bill paid, or a water bill paid, we’ll partner with them to do it, but in return, they have to give us Time Exchange,” Granger said, meaning a number of service hours in exchange for the help.
“If they have $100 electric bill, we’ll work with them, but then I expect to see them here, whether it’s at the community lunches or at food ministry,” she said.
And, at Christmas, they’ll help a family give their children nice presents, but they expect some hours of service at the center.
Again, the goal is to give a hand up, not a handout.
Time Exchange helps people see how they can contribute, and it fosters a way to connect to others, she said.
“Poverty isn’t about the lack of material things. Poverty is about broken relationships,” Granger said.
The lack of resources can be demoralizing.
“When we think about people who are living paycheck to paycheck, or they get behind in bills, they feel like there’s no light at the end of their tunnel.
“They’re just depressed. They’re feeling hopeless,” she said.
What the center has discovered is that people who began helping as part of Time Exchange often continue helping.
That’s because they feel welcome and appreciated, Granger said.
Besides, she added, “there’s a lot of laughter, and there’s a lot of fun.”
Want to help?
These are some items on Life Community Center’s wish list:
- 10 Chrome Books/Laptops: to help job seekers and Stay in School programs
- 1 printer
- Books for teens
- Do-it-yourself ideas/projects for children and teenagers
- Board games for kids
For more information, call (813) 994-0685.
Ways that Life Community Center helps:
- Celebrate Recovery: A 12-step program celebrating God’s healing power for any hurts, hang-ups and habits
- Raptime: A stay in school program servings youths who live in Angus Valley
- Community lunches: A free hot lunch on Tuesday for anyone who wishes to come
- Food ministry: Families are welcome to pick up a box of fresh produce, meat, bread and groceries on Fridays between 2:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.
- Little meals: A partnership with Quail Hollow Elementary School to provide nutritious supplements on the weekend for chronically hungry children in the community
- Community Service House: Those needing to earn volunteer hours can do so at the Life Community Center.
- Work Ready Services: Help is provided with resumes, interview skills and classes to help members in the community to obtain jobs
- Grants: Help can be provided when someone encounters an unexpected hardship, but that help must be repaid through volunteer hours at the center.
- Thanksgiving in a box: Life Church provides 500 families with the ingredients for a Thanksgiving meal, including a turkey.
- Imagine Christmas: Parents complete 10 hours to 18 hours of community service in exchange for quality Christmas gifts for their children.
For more information, call (813) 994-0685.
Published April 18, 2018
