I
n
1994, The G.T. Outreach Program (GTOP) began ministering to Tucson’s poor
population by providing social services, resources, food, clothing and
housing. The ministry expanded to
include transportation, a weekly feeding program, activities
for homeless children, counseling, case management and mentoring.
The GTOP is a non-profit,
faith-based organization of volunteers who are focused on helping homeless and
needy children, families, elderly and disabled individuals in the Tucson
community. Pictured above are two
girls whose just received school supplies from the program.
We provide material assistance which includes food/toiletry boxes, hot
meals to children and their families, clothing, clothing vouchers, school
supplies and miscellaneous needed items.
Services include a safe haven for abused and neglected children,
mentoring, personal and spiritual guidance, social activities and games for
children, school placement assistance, tutoring, referrals for housing,
shelters and crisis centers, individual assistance for job placement and
referrals and transportation to children’s group homes and foster care
placement.
The
Grace Home
The
Grace Home, a ministry of the GTOP, intends to provide a safe place for
children between the ages of birth and 18 years that would otherwise be
homeless, or living in abusive, neglectful or unhealthy
circumstances. The seven-bedroom home can house up to ten children.
Qualified house parents, in tandem with volunteer caregivers and
professional child-care specialists, will ensure a nurturing family
atmosphere. Each child will enjoy
a safe cozy bed & personal belongings to call his own with a guaranteed
place at the family dining table for three fine meals daily. For most of these
needy and homeless children, this will be a first-time positive living
experience.
The Weekly Feeding
Program
The GTOP
offers a weekly feeding program on Thursday nights to
provide the homeless and poor with a hot 
meal
and a warm smile. Each month this
feeding program provides over 600 meals for children and adults who
desperately need the food. Volunteers
from all over the community come together to minister to the needs of the poor
at the feeding site in central Tucson. Jimmy,
pictured on the right, came to the feeding program in a shopping cart for 3
months until one of the GTOP volunteers donated a wheelchair.
Tammy’s
Story on the road to success
When
the GTOP starting helping Tammy, she was no stranger to difficulty. At the
young age of 15 she has been physically abused and abandoned by her mother and
left alone to care for her 4-year old brother and 3-year old sister.
She was forced to drop out of school in order to provide their care.
Her father took her in and together with her siblings, she now lives in
a hotel that consumes the majority of the father’s minimum wage salary.
The GTOP has been providing their family with weekly food boxes,
clothing, and toiletries. In an
effort to help Tammy continue her schooling, a volunteer at the GTOP took
Tammy to register in an alternative high school that would provide childcare
for her brother and sister while she attended classes.
In addition, a donated gift certificate for clothing made it possible
for Tammy to have a couple of new outfits to wear to school.
GTOP’s mentoring program has made a profound effect upon her life, as
she expresses in the letter she recently wrote. Although Tammy is still faced
with many challenges that other girls her age don’t face, she doesn’t have
to do it alone. The GTOP has ministered to many young people like Tammy,
making life-changing differences in their lives.
Libby:
Thank
you for everything you've done for me. No one has ever cared so much
about my life. You showed me that there are people out there who will
go out on a limb to help me when I have problems. Now that i know
someone believes in me (you), I will finish school and I will do something
with my life. You made a very big impact on my life, now I have
something to live for, knowing someone cares!
Tammy
Volunteers
Make it Happen!
One
reason why the GTOP has worked so well so far is because of many volunteers
who come from a wide network of employee groups, service organizations,
business owners, interdenominational faith-based organizations and churches.
Other volunteers are caring individuals from all walks of life who just
want to give of themselves, each trained and proficient in his or her own
unique way. Their
donations of time, talent and special skills benefit those in need — often
dire need — of assistance.
Our CPA, board members, Director, Staff & all volunteers donate
their expertise and services to the GTOP, allowing more financial donations to
go to the people who need it most — the homeless and poor of the Tucson
community. Thank
you to our volunteers who give so much of themselves.
Libby
Wright (center), the Director of the GTOP, was honored this year with
Special Recognition at the Volunteer of the Year Awards Ceremony.
Libby is pictured here with her husband, Carlo Giovingo, and GTOP
Board Officer, Betty Bitgood.
Hal
Fuller, the volunteer who, along with his wife Mary, transports the food
each week for the feeding program, was awarded an AARP award for outstanding
service to the community.
