OUr Signature ministry

For many years we heard about, read about, and sought after a "signature ministry" for our church. A signature ministry is a ministry that helps identify a church - the work a church does that people think of when they think of the church, or which prompts them to think of the church when they think about the work. After years of searching, in 2015 God led us to what has become our signature ministry, Helmets of Hope.

the birth and life of helmets of hope

In 2014-15, we collected basic hygiene supplies for homeless veterans which we donated to what was then the VA’s Homeless Veterans Outreach Center in Rock Island. That was a satisfying ministry, but following the second such collection we caught a vision for an expanded ministry to the local homeless veteran population.


Consultations with the Outreach Center identified a need for essential household supplies - cleaners, paper- and laundry products, a broom, rags, etc - for veterans who were transitioning out of homelessness and into housing of their own with the help of VA housing subsidies. In response, we birthed the ministry now called "Helmets of Hope," in which we provide essential household supplies to said veterans through partner agencies,  currently, the VA's Community Resources and Referral Center(CRRC) and the Veterans Accessing Long-Term Opportunities and Resources program (VALOR) of the Humility of Mary Shelter, both located in Davenport, as well the Elks Lodge #298 in Davenport. We held the first Helmets fundraisers in August 2015, then delivered around 100 "move-in kits" - each containing one of every supply item we provide - in December of that year. 


Since those first steps, Helmets of Hope has served veterans in a wide area in Illinois and Iowa. For a time, our service area reached to the Illinois-Indiana border. 


As of August 2023, we've made nearly 150 supply deliveries to our partners, providing nearly 29,000 supply items to as many as 1,000, if not more, veterans. Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we averaged about two deliveries - nearly 400 items total - per month. 


Here are some images of Helmets of Hope in action:

oNE DELIVERY, two MILESTONES!

On Thursday, August 10, we made the 150th supply delivery in Helmets of Hope history: to the VA's Community Resources and Referral Center in Davenport. In addition, that delivery also provided the 700th move-in kit in the ministry's 7-1/2 years of operation.


The 38-item move-in kits provide a collection of essential household supplies such as cleaners, and laundry- and paper products as well as a small supply of ready-to-eat and quick-to-prepare food items for veterans as they move out of various forms of housing disruption and into housing of their own.


We expect to delivery the 30,000th item in Helmets history within the next month or two. Praise God!

Read the brand new helmets of hope report for 2023!

We're excited to announce the release of this year's annual report for Helmets of Hope, our congregation's signature ministry. For more than 7-1/2 years we have provided essential household supplies to veterans facing various forms of housing disruption. The new report summarizes the ministry's history, points to a record-setting current year of operation, and invites you to join us in our support for those who have served all of us. We encourage you to read the report and respond as you feel led to do so. Access the report by clicking the image to the left of this paragraph.

25,000 items delivered... finally!

On September 27, 2022, we delivered the 25,000th item in the nearly seven year history of Helmets of Hope: to the VA's Community Resources and Referral Center (CRRC), on Perry St. in downtown Davenport. Praise God! 


It was fitting that the 25Kth item went to CRRC given that through the years, Helmets has made more deliveries (59), providing more items (11,763) to CRRC than any of our other partners. 


We praise God and express our thanks to ALL of our partners who since December 2015 have welcomed the essential household supplies (cleaners, paper products, etc) and, in the last eighteen months, food items we offered as contributions to their great work with veterans.


The COVID pandemic dramatically affected our partners', and hence our own, ability to serve vets. Please join our prayers for our partners and for every group or agency in every part of the country that works on behalf of those who served us all.


[NOTE: Pictured in the photo that accompanies this article is Jessica Mohr, one of our contacts at CRRC, as she welcomed the delivery that included the 25,000th item.]


tHE LATEST UPDATE ON OUR HELMETS OF HOPE MINISTRY

Every year... or year-and-a-half in this case Alternate Grinning Face... we publish a report that chronicles recent activity in our essential household ministry to veterans called Helmets of Hope. After considerable delay, we make available to you our latest report. 


We hope you'll discover something about the ministry and in the process consider encouraging our efforts with your financial support. Details on ways to donate to our cause can be found on the last page of the report, the document in PDF format you can download by clicking the graphic to the left of this introduction.

*** CURRENT STATUS REPORT ***

Our Helmets of Hope ministry to veterans is currently FULLY OPERATIONAL, though our partner agencies continue to experience COVID-related limitations to their services, which means their demand for the supplies and food boxes we provide is lower than in pre-pandemic years. Pray hard!

find out more about helmets of hope

Click the image links below to review, even download, basic information about our ministry to veterans.

  • The helmets of HOpe flyer

    The promotional piece we created to introduce to our signature ministry.

  • our Fast facts sheet

    A regularly updated one page summary of the mission and impact of Helmets of Hope on the lives of veterans.

IMAGES From the august 2021 craft sale

Our August 14, 2021, craft sale was blessed by great weather and a steady stream of customers who purchased our homemade crafts and voiced their affirmation of our ministry to veterans. By the end of the day, we totaled just more than $1,000 in sales, the most we had received in any craft event. We thank everyone who visited our sale, and we praise God for blessing our efforts to raise the funds needed to provide essential household supplies to veterans who face various forms of housing crisis.


Presented below are a few images from the sale to give you an idea of the creativity of our team's crafters:

The Helmets of Hope Craft sale

Help us put essential household supplies in the hands of veterans who escape various forms of housing crisis (e.g. homelessness; living out of their vehicles, or with friends or family; living in a shelter) AND explore a variety of handmade  craft items designed and created by members of our Helmets of Hope ministry team.


This sale is not open to vendors (sorry!) but it IS open to shoppers (and that means you!) All proceeds from the sale will support our work with veterans. All craft items purchased will decorate the homes and lives of those who purchase them. 


Weather permitting, we plan to hold the sale outside, on the east side of our church building. Enter off of 7th St and drive toward the building. You won't miss the sale on your left.


Hope to see you there!


SATURDAY, AUGUST 14

8:00-4:00 P.M.

First Christian Church of East Moline

3501 7th St.

2020 Year-End report for helmets of hope FINALLY available!

We are pleased and excited to announce the arrival of the 2020 year-end report for our signature ministry, Helmets of Hope, which provides essential household supplies and food boxes to veterans dealing with or escaping various forms of housing crisis.


Click the image at the left of this announcement to download the report, or find it on our Downloads page by clicking THIS LINK.


This is a critical year in the five-plus year history of our ministry to veterans. We won't be able to hold the number of in-person fundraising events we've held in recent years, which adds urgency to our invitation to the public to make financial donations. We invite you to review the report to discover the difference Helmets of Hope makes and how you can help us grow the ministry in 2021.

hELMETS OF HOPE MINISTRY SHOWING SIGNS OF REBIRTH!

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's been a long, difficult, challenging year for our community, nation, world, AND congregation, including our signature ministry, "Helmets of Hope." HOWEVER, there's light at the end of the proverbial tunnel!


We're currently in touch with our partner agencies, asking about their expected need for supplies - both household and food - in the coming months. To-date, one agency has responded with a substantial list of items, mostly in case-lot quantities that we'll soon be able to deliver because we recently placed one of our largest supply orders ever with our principal supplier, a shipment of nearly 1,900 items that we expect to receive by the end of this month.


While we've made deliveries since COVID arrived, our activity level has been greatly reduced (down 60% in 2020 compared to 2019). But there are signs that we're moving back toward a time of active support for veterans. Please pray for our ministry, and consider donating financially to support our efforts to provide essential supplies, including a welcoming food box, to vets escaping housing crisis.

A milestone anniversary: Four YEars!

After months of planning and fundraising, we made our first-ever household supply delivery on Saturday, December 5, 2015, to the VALOR program of the Humility of Mary Shelter in Davenport. That day several team members drove to the west end of the city to meet Cathy Jordan, then the VALOR program lead, and witness our provision of 200 essential supply for veterans who moved off the streets and into housing of their own with the help of VA housing grants. 


Little did we know or would we have predicted that four years later we would have recently made our 90th such delivery - to one of four partner agencies or groups - that raised to more than 19,150 the total number of items we have provided to vets through Helmets of Hope.


We praise God for the last four years and for the doors that God opened to lead us to a ministry more satisfying than our prayers ever imagined.

Quarter auction 2019 wows with final tally

Our first-ever quarter auction, held November 15, produced a final result of $2,637.75, FAR beyond our wildest dreams when we first decided to create one as part of the fundraising efforts of our Helmets of Hope ministry to veterans. That total includes money we raised selling pop and water, and also what we raised selling items created by the talented crafters of our Helmets ministry team.


Thanks to everyone who attended the event (we hope you won!) worked the event (we hope you've recovered!) and prayed for the event (we hope you won't stop praying for Helmets of Hope!)

THE FIRST-EVER HELMETS OF HOPE QUARTER AUCTION!

Find out all you need to know about the next fundraiser for our ministry that provides essential household supplies to veterans moving off the streets and into housing of their own with VA support by clicking THIS LINK.

Ministry to veterans sets full-year record in august; still climbing!

"Move-in kits" are the 20-item household supply collections our Helmets of Hope ministry provides - through our partner agencies - to veterans as they move off the streets and into housing of their own. The kits contain one of every cleaner, accessory, and paper- and laundry product we offer.


At the end of 2018, we praised God that we set an annual record by delivering 101 of the kits to our partners. Imagine our praise to God now that in the month of November we delivered the 125th move-in kit of 2019! We broke the full-year record in August, and continue to grow it in November! Watch this space for updates on the record's status.



Helmets of Hope makes a difference in the lives of veterans who are rebuilding their lives. Scroll to the bottom of this page to learn how you can help us make the difference.

Helmets of hope is on the air, june 25, 2019

On June 25, our Helmets of Hope ministry household supply ministry to veterans was the subject of an eight minute segment on Channel 4's "Living Local" broadcast, which highlights QC-area events, groups, and activities. We can't say much for the spokesperson we sent to represent us, but on the upside, every chance we get to deliver the Helmets story to the community is an opportunity to invite others to help us help vets.

If you didn't see the show, or want to see our segment again, CLICK HERE to view the YouTube video WHBF created and sent to us.



NOTE: And as an additional blessing today, it turned out that Ashlie Ledbetter, one of Noelle and Jim's daughters, appeared on the same "Living Local" broadcast, in support of Planet Fitness's current promotion that gives teens free entry to their fitness centers for the rest of the summer. If you want to watch Ashlie perform as she showcases various exercises, CLICK HERE to view her segment (she first appears at about the 4:00 mark in the video).



some images from a recent craft fair fundraiser

On June 1, the crafters among our Helmets of Hope ministry team anchored a site in a craft fair in Andover, Illinois. The $420 raised by the sale of their handmade items will help us purchase supplies for the veterans we serve. Here are some images captured at the event, which had a veterans theme, as you will note by the American flags (the alpacas in these images were stationed across a walkway from our site).

On the occasion of our 80th supply delivery!

Click the image link below to read a one page summary of the history of our supply deliveries published on the occasion of our 80th such delivery in June 2019.


  • A ministry update (and celebration!) created on the day of the 80th Helmets of Hope supply delivery.

You can help!

Because we receive no money from the FCCEM congregational budget, Helmets of Hope operates almost solely on money raised from fundraisers and donations from groups and individuals. In the first half of 2019, we're grateful to God to report, we received more money in donations than during any previous FULL YEAR in Helmets history, nearly $2,500! Additionally, we're witnessing the birth of a new crafting group in our church, one whose current mission focus is Helmets of Hope. Money raised from the group's craft shows will augment what we raise from other fundraisers.


But to expand the reach of our ministry, and to meet the increased requests for supplies we expect to receive from our Peoria partner as a result of our recent service area expansion, we ask for your support. You can provide that support in either of two ways:

  • You can mail your tax-deductible donation to First Christian Church - 3501 7th St - East Moline, Illinois  61244. Make your check out to FCCEM, using the memo line to identify Helmets of Hope as the recipient of your donation.
  • You can also support Helmets online by using our safe and secure online giving service tithe.ly You'll find a tutorial on how to make a donation through tithe.ly on our "Donate" page (link is in the navigation menu, or simply CLICK HEREWhen you make an online donation, be sure to select Helmets of Hope as the target of your donation from the drop-down list of options found in the upper right corner of the tithe.ly donation box. 
  • All money donated to Helmets - whether by cash, check, bank transfer, or credit/debit card - benefits Helmets of Hope solely and exclusively. No other area of our ministry receives any part of the money donors direct to Helmets of Hope.
  • If you don't need the tutorial about our online giving option, or simply want to check the process out for yourself, click this button...





Thank you for making your way through this page's introduction to FCCEM's signature ministry!