Danita Bye | CityServe – Bringing Relief to Millions of Displaced Ukrainian Families

CityServe – Bringing Relief to Millions of Displaced Ukrainian Families

Posted at h in Spiritual Leadership by Linda Dippenaar 0 Comments

When disaster strikes, governments, organizations, communities, individuals, and various leadership development organizations quickly respond with emergency relief.

Unfortunately, these efforts are often marred by corruption and theft. It is unimaginable that people steal from the most vulnerable. Yet, it is a sad reality in today’s world.

I understand that people are hesitant to donate to charities they don’t know.

Why?

Because I am!

That’s why I am honored to introduce you to CityServe. Our family has known Dave, Kristie, and the entire CityServe leadership team for many years.

Who is the founder, Dave Donaldson?

Dave Donaldson has invested his life equipping and resourcing leaders in more than 100 countries. He’s been involved in bringing aid and opportunity to tens of millions of needy and under-resourced people. As the former Director for Operation Blessing under the Bush Administration, and co-founder of Convoy of Hope, Dave spearheaded global partnerships with churches, businesses, governments, and leadership development organizations to mobilize tens of thousands of volunteers worldwide.

To promote his passion for compassion ministry, Dave compiled CityServe: Your Church-based Guide to Compassion. This book, co-authored with Wendell Vinson, includes forty leading experts in community-based and global compassion. Dave invited me to contribute a chapter on Millennial leadership development.

Last summer, Dave, Kristie, as well as their leadership team held a leadership retreat at the TTT Ranch. It was inspiring to get to know the character and passion of each of the leaders, as we hung around doing “ranch things.”

From right to left: My brother Burl Evans, Dave Donaldson, and Burl’s wife Wendy.

They also value healthy families and marriages, a passion that Gordon and I share. A number of years ago, we participated in a partnership visit with Focus on the Family. You may recognize some of the faces in this photo… Wendell and Lynda Vinson, Canyon Hills Assembly of God Church in Bakersfield CA; Dave and Ruscell Pavlin, Springfield MO; Karl and Jen Hargestam, Bakersfield CA; Scott Wead; Darren and Marci DeLuane, New Life Church in Conway AR; and my brother Burl Evans and his wife Theresa.

You can read more about CityServe’s work, here.

Along with Todd Lamphere, Dave serves on the National Faith Advisory Board.

Current CityServe Ukraine Relief Report

(Left to right) Dave Donaldson, Co-founder & Chairman, Wendell Vinson, Vice Chairman & President, Todd Lamphere, Vice President of Government Relations, Karl Hargestam, Executive Director

CityServe International leadership team arrived safely in Poland last week and is working with partners and churches at the border to help the Ukrainian people.

They are sourcing food and emergency relief supplies from the United States and the Baltic countries to resource local churches so they can adequately respond to the Ukrainian crisis.

Though part of the leadership team is launching CityServe Europe with the main HUM warehouse in Warsaw, Poland, they are now assembling a team of volunteers from the U.S. to transport. Many local businesses in Poland are overcrowded as they graciously serve the refugees with free lodging, food, and supplies. It would be irresponsible and unkind to add to the chaos they are experiencing.

In the USA, the City of Destiny church in Orlando, Florida, gathered to pack 1 million meals to ship to the region. This effort is being spearheaded by CityServe International.

Invitation to support CityServe, a Trusted Resource

Now I’m honored to invite you to help CityServe make a difference in the lives of people in need – even if they are on the other side of the globe. I know that any money you donate to their cause will be used wisely and with integrity.