ANTIQUE FURNITURE MANUFACTURER

Toxic Charity: How the Church Hurts Those They Help and How to Reverse It

Public service is a way of life for Americans; giving is a part of our national character. But compassionate instincts and generous spirits aren’t enough, says veteran urban activist Robert D. Lupton. In this groundbreaking guide, he reveals the disturbing truth about charity: all too much of it has become toxic, devastating to the very people it’s meant to help.
In his four decades of urban ministry, Lupton has experienced firsthand how our good intentions can have unintended, dire consequences. Our free food and clothing distribution encourages ever-growing handout lines, diminishing the dignity of the poor while increasing their dependency. We converge on inner-city neighborhoods to plant flowers and pick up trash, battering the pride of residents who have the capacity (and responsibility) to beautify their own environment. We fly off on mission trips to poverty-stricken villages, hearts full of pity and suitcases bulging with giveaways—trips that one Nicaraguan leader describes as effective only in “turning my people into beggars.”
In Toxic Charity, Lupton urges individuals, churches, and organizations to step away from these spontaneous, often destructive acts of compassion toward thoughtful paths to community development. He delivers proven strategies for moving from toxic charity to transformative charity.
Proposing a powerful “Oath for Compassionate Service” and spotlighting real-life examples of people serving not just with their hearts but with proven strategies and tested tactics, Lupton offers all the tools and inspiration we need to develop healthy, community-driven programs that produce deep, measurable, and lasting change. Everyone who volunteers or donates to charity needs to wrestle with this book.

Public service is a way of life for Americans; giving is a part of our national character. But compassionate instincts and generous spirits aren’t enough, says veteran urban activist Robert D. Lupton. In this groundbreaking guide, he reveals the disturbing truth about charity: all too much of it has become toxic, devastating to the very people it’s meant to help.
In his four decades of urban ministry, Lupton has experienced firsthand how our good intentions can have unintended, dire consequences. Our free food and clothing distribution encourages ever-growing handout lines, diminishing the dignity of the poor while increasing their dependency. We converge on inner-city neighborhoods to plant flowers and pick up trash, battering the pride of residents who have the capacity (and responsibility) to beautify their own environment. We fly off on mission trips to poverty-stricken villages, hearts full of pity and suitcases bulging with giveaways—trips that one Nicaraguan leader describes as effective only in “turning my people into beggars.”
In Toxic Charity, Lupton urges individuals, churches, and organizations to step away from these spontaneous, often destructive acts of compassion toward thoughtful paths to community development. He delivers proven strategies for moving from toxic charity to transformative charity.
Proposing a powerful “Oath for Compassionate Service” and spotlighting real-life examples of people serving not just with their hearts but with proven strategies and tested tactics, Lupton offers all the tools and inspiration we need to develop healthy, community-driven programs that produce deep, measurable, and lasting change. Everyone who volunteers or donates to charity needs to wrestle with this book.

Donate your Christmas lights to The Mustard Seed of Central Florida. We'll give the good ones away to families who come to us for furniture, we'll recycle the broken ones.

Here's my year end letter to the community:
As the year 2010 comes to a close, we are eager to share with you some exciting new developments and direction at The Mustard Seed of Central Florida.
The founder of the charity retired on February 1st and since then our organization has seen a number of delightful changes that have considerably enhanced the efficiency and productivity of our endeavors. There is a new face at The Mustard Seed and we could not be more elated about what is to come. We are actively involved in numerous different aspects of improving the welfare and well-being of the community, and in addition to being a place for people to come for assistance, we joined the Green Initiative and took our efforts to a whole new level with our recycling programs. We now offer ways for local businesses, hotels and individual donors to recycle and conserve the environment.

It is exciting for us to report that as one of the very few mattress recycling programs in the nation, we have recycled over 1600 mattresses in less than six months. In addition to this innovative new program, we continue on in our efforts for conservation by recycling paper, metals, Styrofoam, plastic, and appliances.

In the meanwhile, we continue our core mission of being the only furniture bank and one of the few clothing banks in our community for over 25 years. Those that come to us are experiencing personal tragedy, disaster, refugee status, abuse or illness. Last year alone, we were able to redistribute over 200 tons of furniture, household items and clothing to 1590 families! Thank you to our individual and business donors who help to furnish their homes with the necessities that they do not have due to personal circumstances. This furniture program offers a fresh start and a healthy home for the individual families to be nourished in and to help them build for the future.

More exciting news is that with our new team, you can expect an infusion of fresh perspectives and energy in our programming and contributing to the green economy, all while helping families make a new beginning in their lives. We have received many kind notes of appreciation from our clients and wanted to share the most recent one: “Thank you so much. It’s nice to see people come together to help. One day I will be able to help someone in need- it feels good to be able to give. Thank you again so much to everyone at The Mustard Seed.” We should all be proud to be associated with this great group of individuals who make it happen on a daily basis.

As we celebrate our accomplishments for the year and anticipate our bright future, we want to encourage you to make an especially generous year-end donation to The Mustard Seed of Central Florida. Your gift will reflect both your appreciation of all we do to provide the basics to families and to transform their barren living environments into a place to call home. If you have already made a donation this year, please consider an extra gift in the spirit of the season!

The store had only just opened when Fluffy took this photo. The shop was full after an hour or so. The Hospice shop is fab as you can get just about anything from there. As you can see there are lots of clothing there and many are designer names and never being worn. Although you cant see it here there is the most amazing huge collection of furniture you could ever wish to see and lots of antiques too.

All monies go to the sick, the ill , the dying and those that care for them known as Katharine house hospice. I have lost a few people who have died there over the years but my decision is to play for other hospices too. My own mother died at St Giles Hospice so I will contact them too.

It was strange: I looked after her every day and then she went to the hospice and died that same night. The nurses were very kind and they indeed deserve all the support that they can get.

The multi talented frontman of Little Brother and the Foreign Exchange drops his long awaited solo album. Phonte Coleman is a Grammy nominated Artist hailing from North Carolina. In addition to his impressive body of work as part of rap group Little Brother. He has also achieved substantial critical acclaim as a singer and songwriter for the genre bending soul ensemble The Foreign Exchange. Anticipation for this solo album has been building for years as the ranks of Little Brother and Foreign Exchange fans have swelled over the last decade.