dventist Community Services (ACS) is the humanitarian agency of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the United States and Bermuda. It aims to "serve the poor and hurting in Christ's name" through social services such as tutoring and mentoring programs, youth volunteer corps, health education, medical services, food and clothing distribution, and disaster response. ACS recognizes that effective community services entail adapting to people's needs, which are becoming increasingly more complex. "We must not only work for our community but with our community," says Sung Kwon, executive director of Adventist Community Services. "We must be agents that will bring positive change to our society."

More than 1,100 ACS programs make a difference in their communities, and some are blazing new trails. Here are some of the ways ACS programs are touching the lives of others. To know how you can get involved or to make a donation, visit www.adventist. communityservices.org/, or call 877-ACS-2702.

W. C. Atkinson Memorial Community Service Center
In Coatesville, Pennsylvania, Seventh-day Adventist Church members led by Minnie McNeil envisioned the reopening of an inoperative community hospital to provide housing for homeless and lower-income families. In the 1920s, the closed hospital was built by Dr. Whittier C. Atkinson to treat poor African-Americans.

In his honor the Allegheny East Conference purchased the former hospital and developed the W. C. Atkinson Memorial Community Service Center, currently the only agency in Chester County that offers a continuum of housing that runs from an emergency shelter to permanent housing for single men. The agency also provides community health services, resources, and job-training opportunities by employing former shelter residents to manage the shelter.

The Atkinson Center cultivates partnerships with area churches and the local Brandywine Hospital to continue the positive impact it has been making in its community for more than 20 years.

Good Neighbor House
"My son and I visited [Good Neighbor House] purely on a mission for his sake. Squandering his money on riotous living, he was down and out and in need of dental care. I knew I had the means to help him, but I thought it would be better for his sake to experience the consequence of his actions by settling for 'second-rate dental service.' Little did I know that this lesson would be for me that day. As I sat in the waiting room and watched people from all walks of life come through the door, I marveled at the attitude of your servants. There was no hint of judgment in their voices. There seemed to be much joy in their service, and tears filled my eyes as I witnessed firsthand the genuine, unconditional love of Jesus."--GNH client.

Since 1994 Good Neighbor House in Dayton, Ohio, has provided dental, optometric, and general medical services to people who lack medical insurance in Dayton and surrounding areas. Its collaboration with local area churches and Kettering Medical Center facilitates its efforts to provide wholistic ministries through an array of community services in an atmosphere of dignity.

Portland Adventist Community Services
At Portland Adventist Community Services (PACS), food and clothing distribution has taken on a new meaning. With its mission to serve low-income families in Oregon, where hunger ranks as one of the highest in the United States, PACS has fashioned a supermarket, thrift ministry, and gift shop for clients to buy with pride.

In its Client Choice grocery warehouse, PACS volunteers offer nutritional education to clients to help them select healthful food items. PACS's thrift ministry is managed as a department store, and its gift shop provides new quality items at inexpensive prices so clients can make purchases they could not otherwise afford. This innovative approach to community services has made PACS one of the leading agencies in Portland.

_________________________
Jerrica Thurman, Communication Coordinator, Adventist Community Services