Our 2011 Annual Report

That's an average of 4,686 meals per year since we started.

The deadline for non-profits (whose fiscal year ends Dec. 31) to file tax returns with the IRS is May 15. We got ours in for our Tulsa and Denver ministries on April 21 – almost a month ahead of schedule.

The form we file for both ministries is called a 990-N. It’s very simplistic since we have typically averaged less than $50,000 in donations per year.

The occasion gave us another opportunity to assess 2011 and to recall just how much we are blessed.

The level of revenue we’re receiving in Tulsa continues to pave the way for the future of Filling The Void, allowing us to supply the startup funds for our new ministries like we did in Denver and are preparing to do in Dallas.

This gives our new ministries strength right from the start, allowing us to put all of our focus on finding and serving the homeless and needy – not fundraising.

We’re also simply serving a lot more meals. In 2011, we served a total of 8,475 to set our all-time high for a single year – and up 46 percent from 5,800 in 2010. 

Filling The Void Serves No. 40,000

Wanda, center, received our 40,000th sack lunch.

Last year was a record-setter for Filling The Void on all kinds of fronts.

With the awesome support of our donors and volunteers, we served more meals (8,475), held more outreaches (97) and received more donations than in any prior year.

All of that activity boils down to meant-to-be moments where we get to meet and minister to some pretty special folks.

Take Wanda, for example. We saw her twice in 2011. Both times defined what this ministry is all about – seeing lives go from meals to miracles.

On Friday, Oct. 14, in Tulsa, we served our 40,000^th sack lunch. The recipient, of course, was Wanda. She was surprised, excited and honored.

Two weeks later, we ran into her again as we were combing the streets. We didn’t recognize her at first. We just spotted a woman on a bike riding away from one of the shelters.

It turned out to be Wanda. She had begun going to a women’s Bible study there. She said it was just what she needed. We agreed, and encouraged her to continue.

That’s what we do – plant seeds of hope that we believe will bear much fruit in very hungry hearts. 

Major Milestone Ahead

Can you guess how many of these sack lunches we've served?

It's time to mark your calendars for a major milestone in the life of our ministry.

Here's the scoop. Going into 2011, we had distributed approximately 33,700 sack lunches dating back to when we started in 2003.

So far in 2011, we've delivered another 1,050 meals in Denver and about 4,800 in Tulsa.

When you do the math and factor in a few of the vouchers we've given, we're pretty close to a total of 39,600.

That, tenatively, puts us on schedule for distributing our 40,000th meal on Friday, Oct. 14. Stay tuned.

Prior Sack Lunch Celebrations

No. 10,000: July 11, 2007
No. 20,000: Sept. 12, 2008
No. 25,000: Aug 14, 2009
No. 30,000: May 21, 2010
No. 35,000: April 1, 2011

September 2011

LARRY: A HOME AT LAST

These days, life is a lot different for Larry Reese.

He started 2011 at Tulsa’s Day Center for the Homeless, where he had laid his head at night for the better portion of the past four years.

Before that, he had been on the street for a year following the passing of his wife and then her twin sister. For Larry, he just couldn’t cope with the losses.

This February, life took a big turn for the better. That’s when case workers were able to land Larry a place of his own – an apartment in east Tulsa.

His portion of the rent requires a third of his Social Security income. He keeps the place spotless and loves having a couch, coffee cup and stove again.

We had the privilege of visiting with him twice this summer. We delivered groceries once when he needed some meat and dairy, but for the most part, Larry’s pretty well set.

In fact, he proudly took us on a tour of his kitchen in early September where he was sautéing franks and sauerkraut. He opened up his cupboard, too, which was full of pasta, soup, pinto beans, tuna, mac-n-cheese and tomato juice.

He’s been able to find friends in the apartment complex, eat pizza with a neighbor and watch robins hatch in a tree outside his front door.

We’ll have to tell you more the bigger picture of Larry’s life another time – why he was given up for adoption, how abuse shaped his early years and eventually turned into anger, and how he finally got to meet his birth mom.

In the meantime, it’s good to know that Larry is enjoying the comforts of home, and we’re so happy for him. The change is a welcome site even for our eyes since we had only known him at his depths.

On Nov. 4, he’ll celebrate birthday No. 63. We’re thinking that a cake has to be in order for this very special friend of ours.

Spring 2011

Friends remember Sherry Scott at a May 4 memorial service.
Photo courtesy and copyright of the Tulsa World newspaper.

URGENCY, ALWAYS

On May 5, one of our friends was on the front page of the Tulsa paper. It was not the kind of news anyone wants to read.

Sherry Scott, a homeless woman, was dead at the age of 40. Her body was found on a boulevard just west of downtown. Cause of death? Unknown.

We knew Sherry. We had fed and prayed with her many times. She liked to be hugged. And by our account, she had a really hard life on the streets.

Of course, we wonder what her life could have become. How many more years would she have walked on earth if she had not been so afflicted?

Sherry does have a daughter named Andrea who’s 18. She’s been in the state’s care most of her life. Now she’s on her own. Please, pray for her.

Ministry, like life, is filled with emotion. Some times are sweet. Others are bittersweet. In Ecclesiastes 3:4, God prepares us for both. It says:

"There’s a time to cry and a time to laugh, a time to grieve and a time to dance."

April 1 was one of those sweeter moments. It was the day we distributed our 35,000th sack lunch. We’re always eager to see who gets the special bag.

This time it went to a young man named Kyle who’s the same age as Sherry’s daughter. He’s been coming to our Tulsa outreaches for several months.

In every single city, you can find a Sherry, a Kyle and multitudes like them – people wanting to be loved and needing to know their purpose.

God mentions the poor and needy at least 200 times in scripture. As we’ve seen with Sherry and others, we need to reach them now.

Kyle, left, received our 35,000th lunch bag, as well as a big chocolate bar and a Bible.

January 2011

2011: MORE MILESTONES TO COME

We can't say "thank you" enough to all of our friends, donors and volunteers. Your kindness and contributions helped us serve 5,800 meals in 2010 – up 8 percent from what we served in 2009.

You fed Cliff in Tulsa, who wants to persevere in his faith and be a blessing to others. And Janelle in Denver, who’s trying to retain custody of her two-year-old son.

Of course, our prayer for every person we serve is that the meals we provide and the moments we spend with them will lead to much greater God-sized miracles in their lives.

That's why we believe that Lydia, who's mute, will one day speak and praise God with her lips and her tongue. It's why we prayed for Bobbie and Lenny to get a roof over their heads.

Financially, we were blessed in 2010 with $36,400* in donations – down slightly from 2009, but well above our annual average of about $29,300.

We’re really excited about 2011. We’ll soon serve sack lunch No. 35,000. It’s entirely possible that we’ll serve No. 40,000, too, since the Denver ministry is equipped to do more than ever.

*Denotes donations for charitable purposes only in both cities – Tulsa and Denver. We also receive additional funds for our administrative expenses.

A Brand New Day in Denver

For two years, we’ve been telling you about our upstart outreaches in Denver, where volunteers have distributed nearly 2,000 sack lunches since April 2008.

It was a grassroots effort with a grand design – creating a model whereby we could multiply this form of God’s love and affection for the homeless in countless cities across the United States.

As of Oct. 1, a new stand-alone nonprofit has officially unfolded (beyond the original Tulsa-based organization). It goes by the name of, well, what else – Filling The Void Denver.

If you’re keeping score, that’s Filling The Void times two – each with the same mandate to serve the poor, but with separate bylaws, books, bank accounts, boards of directors and donor bases.

All along the way, we sought the counsel of a Christian attorney who understands what God has called us to do and wants to help make it possible from a manageability standpoint.

Separating the ministries allows localized leadership to stay focused on the people and the specific needs in their city.

Our number one priority is to keep our encounters with those we serve evangelistic, intimate and personal vs. just going through the motions of feeding someone and whisking away.

This structure also frees up Filling The Void’s founders to pursue finding our third, fourth and fifth cities, wherever they may be. (We’re praying about that and working on it.)

Not to be lost in all of this is a huge financial story. Filling The Void Denver is already fully and completely funded for one year out, thanks to the faithful and generous support of our donors.

In previous years where our donations exceeded our expenses, we saved and socked the extra funds away by putting them in interest-bearing CDs for just such an opportunity.

And keep in mind, the very first portion (about $800) of Denver’s first-year funds came from offerings that were given by the needy at our outreaches in Tulsa during 2009 and 2010.

Think about that tidbit for a moment or two – the homeless caring for the homeless. It’s totally true. And it’s just one of the miracles we’ve seen God do in the past seven years!

Meet our Denver-based Leadership:

Board Member Dave Warren, VP Andy Forcina & VP Gary Nilson

To Support The Denver Ministry:

Financial contributions can be sent to 4353 S. Quail Court in Littleton, 80127. Checks can be made out to Filling The Void Denver.

100% of your support goes toward charitable efforts to feed and minister to homeless and needy persons. We do not deduct any portion for administrative expenses, which are funded separately by our Board and by certain grants.

Pleased as Punch for Patrick

Patrick (center) received our 30,000th sack lunch. Volunteers Jonathan Woods and David Dickinson are at his side. Please see the full story below.

A MILESTONE TO REMEMBER

We recently sat down to tally our total number of sack lunches served since 2003. We landedon 29,949, give or take a few.

That was Thursday, May 20 – one day before we were scheduled to serve 110 lunches in Tulsa on Friday, May 21.

Plans were quickly put in motion to celebrate sack lunch No. 30,000. We had a very specific prayer for its recipient: “God, let this person be honored.”

We like to have fun with such festive occasions, taking tons of photographs and launching balloons carrying tags that say “Lift up a life – fillingthevoid.com.”

We also filled the 30,000th lunch with all kinds of extras, including a cherry turnover and the largest roast beef sandwich Arby’s makes. The honor came with a prize, too: an official Filling The Void ball cap.

About 95 people passed through our serving lines that day, including Patrick Hand. By no coincidence, we believe God personally handpicked him in answer to our prayer.

As we talked and prayed with him, he shared how all the fuss made him feel special. That’s exactly what we wanted. Helping people see their significance is at the heart of what we do.

Patrick found Filling The Void more than a year ago through a friend. A lot of people find our outreaches precisely the same way.

Life hasn’t been easy for Patrick and his wife, who suffered a heat stroke a while back. Patrick says he helped her as long as he could until she required nursing care. Please pray for them.

Our next big bag will be No. 35,000. The milestone may occur near the end of 2010, but 2011 is more likely. We can’t wait!

Sack Lunch Celebrations
No. 10,000: July 11, 2007

No. 20,000: Sept. 12, 2008

No. 25,000: Aug 14, 2009

No. 30,000: May 21, 2010

Douglas: A Hunger to Help

Douglas is focused on his faith and feeding others now.

FROM RECEIVING TO REACHING OUT

Douglas Hunton used to come to our outreaches to be served. Now he comes to do good deeds and to have a hand in helping others.

He quietly slipped into our Tulsa crowds a couple of years ago. As we became friends, he said he wanted to go further in his faith in Jesus Christ, so we set up extra times to focus solely on him.

Over several months in 2009, we talked a lot, celebrated his birthday, studied the Bible and challenged him to clean out his spiritual life of anything holding him back.

He explained how he was fighting a fear of lack, a fear of rejection and unforgiveness from relationships gone wrong. The result? Not much peace, not much joy, just trying to survive.

We prayed together, encouraged him to reconcile where he could and explained that God can do more than just help us get by – that He wants to give us abundance.

Mostly though, we kept asking these questions: What does God want to do next in your life? How can you serve Him? Have you discovered God’s plan for you?

Well, God watered those seeds we planted. Today, Doug’s life is bearing fruit that is blessing many others. We know it’s not what we said to him. It’s about how God stirred up his heart.

If you were looking for Doug on Feb. 17, you would have found him at Tulsa’s Day Center for the Homeless helping us and the caterer serve dinner.

If you were looking for him on March 5, you would have found him at our Friday outreach praying with us to see lives saved and lifted up.

You can actually find him almost any Friday shaking hands with people where we serve sack lunches, passing out the scriptures we speak about and welcoming people as they arrive.

Beyond all that, Doug asked us late last Fall to start giving our crowd a way to write down their prayer requests in case they weren’t comfortable talking about something in person.

The process gave us a gold mine of insight about those we serve. Prayers have since gone up for healing, family situations, employment and housing – all because Doug had a hunger to help.