First Baptist Church of Salem raises nearly $700 for Outside the Walls

This morning, Friday, February 6, the First Baptist Church of Salem presented a $673.40 check to Connie Ray from a local organization called, “Outside the Walls.” The money for the check was collected on Christmas Eve during the Christmas Cantata concert at First Baptist Church. Each year for many decades, the church selects a charity to collect donations for during this program. This year, they decided to collect for Outside the Walls.

Connie Ray (left) and Cheryl Backherms (right)

Outside the Walls has been around for 15 years, and it is a non-profit organization dedicated to unifying Washington County through a community outreach program. This community outreach program includes emergency assistance in the form of shelter, utilities, counseling and referral services. There are approximately 25 current service providers in Washington County. These organizations work tirelessly to offer the best service possible, but the need in the county is so great and the resources are so limited that some deserving residents fail to receive the assistance they need.  Outside the Walls works in conjunction with existing service providers to bridge the gaps for the people of Washington County and also to assist the community service providers in fundraising, grant requests and other related efforts.

Connie Ray described how donations like this one can drastically help those in need.

“This much could possibly pay for an entire ramp,” said Connie Ray. “But we pay electric bills and we pay rent. I'm taking a gentleman today to get his tags on his truck and get his first month's insurance paid. He was incarcerated and has gotten out, and we're trying to get him on his feet. So, we're going to do that because he's got a new job and he can't get to that job if he doesn't have a vehicle to drive. He has a vehicle, but it's an old thing. We're going to license it and get his insurance on it so he can head to work. But we do things like that, and we give people gas cards. The food bank pretty much takes care of the food for them. If I have somebody that's in an emergency, she'll go and open the doors and let me get food for people. So, we take care of the needs of Washington County.

“Every dollar counts, and we are not wasteful,” she continued. “No one is paid in this organization. There is no big overhead. We have one little cell phone, and we have a website. That's how we operate. We do pay for that website, and we pay for our liability insurance. When we go out on a job building a ramp, or we're doing a repair in someone's home we have to have liability insurance. So, all this helps us in every way. But we are very frugal. We do not waste a penny. Anything that we see that is not helping us, we cut it out. But the community has been so kind and so faithful. And of course, we have our largest fundraiser running this Valentine's Day. We'll have our dinner and just about every merchant on the square has given something for the silent auction. I'm just overwhelmed at how this community supports us. It's been wonderful. We couldn't do this without the community. We solely operate on donations. Every now and then, we manage to get a little grant from somewhere. But, not very often because we're not a government entity. We're just volunteers who want to help the community in any way we can. And sometimes people can't get help from certain organizations because they have a limit. If they're under a government entity, then they're limited to who qualifies for those things. We don't limit people. If you have a need, we're going to help you. We don't allow people to abuse it and just keep coming back. And right now, we're working with Central Credit Union. We're sending people there and they're putting them on a budget and teaching them how to save their money so they don't fall back into this trap. Our motto is, we're going to give you a hand up, not a hand out.”

Connie went on to describe how their organization has specifically helped a young lady enroll in college at Ivy Tech, and they have helped another attend CNA school. She is now working to get her LPN.

“God's a good God. He's been working miracles right and left for people. So, why is He going to stop now? He's not. He'll do it for you just like He can do it for me. This miracle right here for instance [the check from First Baptist]. We didn't even ask these people to do this. And they did it. When we pray, God always meets our needs. Honest to God. We've gotten low in our accounts from time to time. I'm like, okay, Lord, now you have got to do something. And there will be another church in town that – they draw out of a hat – they'll draw our name right when we need it. So, God is faithful. And we must be faithful and be good stewards. That's what I try to tell people. Be a good steward of whatever you've got. God will meet your needs, but He's not going to let you just be lustful. Let's do what we can do to get you on the road to being a good citizen here, where you can help other people yourself, just like we're doing.”

Outside the Walls will be holding their annual fundraiser dinner on Valentine’s Day, February 14, at 5:00 pm. The event will be held at Southern Hills Church located at 1645 IN-135, Salem. They plan to have plenty of food, live music featuring Dallas Sargent on the piano, a silent auction and a dessert auction. The fundraiser is free for anyone to attend.

Cheryl Backherms, the music director at First Baptist Church, explained that seeing the community give to this wonderful organization means so much to her and the other members of the church.

“It means an enormous amount to us,” said Cheryl Backherms. “Every year at Christmas during our Christmas Eve service, we take an offering. And because this is not just a service for our church, it's always, as any of our services would be, but this one especially is open to the community. So, that offering never goes back to our church. It always goes to an organization somewhere in the region that is a charity, or just some organization that is doing good work. This time, someone recommended Outside the Walls, and I did not know anything about it at this point. So, I am thrilled to know that we are helping an organization like this. One that helps people in our own community.”

As many families in our community, and around the world, struggle to make ends meet, it has never been more important to have organizations like Outside the Walls in our communities. Such organizations play an unbelievably important role in helping members of our own community get back on their feet and live a successful life. The generosity shown by the community at the First Baptist Christmas Cantata service is just one example of how these organizations come up with the funds to help those in need. If you feel led to donate your time or funds to this organization, or any others like it, please do not hesitate to do so. You can donate online by Clicking Here.