helping where it hurts locally and globally

Your generosity helps people where it hurts both locally and globally through initiatives with hunger, education, foster care, relief, justice for the oppressed and by taking the gospel to unreached demographics.

10% of everything you give to Open Life supports a specific strategic partner or initiative each month.

hunger

Community Big Give

Your giving provides every family experiencing food insecurity the opportunity to enjoy an excellent full Thanksgiving Meal. Currently, this represents the students in the Sumner-Bonney Lake  and White River School District Schools as well as those who use the Bonney Lake and Sumner Food Banks (approx. 1200 families will receive meals). In addition we assist the Food banks distribute another 500+ meals beyond this amount at their own establishments. Mark your calendars now to serve on the morning of the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

Bonney Lake Food Bank (The Market)

The Market serves communities within the 98391 and well beyond as they have become a regional food bank. Through their open market concept they have created an equitable access to nutritious food, with dignity, to those in the community facing food insecurity. They have experienced an increase in demand of 700% over the past few years which has increased their level of need drastically. 

Convoy of Hope

Approximately half of all deaths of children under 5 can be linked to undernutrition. These deaths primarily occur in low-income and middle-income countries.  When we partner with Convoy, even in disaster relief zones, one of their main focuses is to make sure basic nutrition is being supplied to children and families through local churches they partner with. 

education

Elementary Schools

Since 2010 Open Life has partnered with the local schools to supply needs above and beyond their ability. School supplies, teacher lounge remodels, playground painting and equipment and much more has been done. We have partnered with Liberty Ridge Elementary this entire time and look to forge a new partnership with Foothills Elementary next to The Gathering Place in the coming years. 

School Supply Give

Every summer we supply needed items to Liberty Ridge Elementary School. When needs were severe we have supplied 100% of the items for the school years. The need each year is unique. Keep a watch for this amazing event where we purchase, then sort and deliver to classrooms all of the needed items for their year in August. 

Christmas Giving Tree

Another way your giving supports the schools in our community is to partner with their Christmas Giving Trees. Open Life takes a number of the gift tags and you have the blessing to supply gifts to students from LRE  and homeschooled kids under the age of 18 through these tags. Your generosity also helps with the City of Bonney Lake’s efforts to supply Toys for Tots to all the schools and kids not yet in school within the 98391 zip code.

Encouragement

Some years we take cookies to every school administration office to kick off the year. Other times we have remodeled a teachers lounge, supplied items for a special project, scholarships for supplies and encouraging gifts for educators. We always want to be prepared to serve those within the education system to be present with them in their efforts to raise up this next generation. 

foster care

Foster Care

Your generosity makes an impact in one of four ways; fostering, adopting, assisting or supporting the foster care needs of our county, state, nation, and the world. Pierce County is in is one of the highest counties for foster care in the state of Washington. The vision is to help meet the needs here in your own community first and then increase engagement until Open Life models for churches and organizations all across the globe how to engage the needs of orphans, and foster children in order that we can take our rightful place as the body of Christ in caring for those in need this way.

Olive Crest Puget Sound

Here in Washington, there are 10,665 children in the child welfare system. Every one of these precious kids needs a strong family to protect and nurture them, and give them hope for a bright future. Together we can put a stop to child abuse and ensure that families are whole, children are protected, and the cycle of abuse is broken.

Sweet Cases

No child should come into Foster Care and get a trash bag of needed items.   Together We Rise is an organization that has amazing buying power to supply our local foster kids with a duffle bag and essential supplies when they come into the Foster System. They will have a sense of comfort and hope with these bags we will assembly in a party moment together and distribute through Olive Crest and DSHS Pierce County.  Your giving has already provided 10% of all the children coming into care within Pierce County a Sweet Case.

relief

Locally

Family Center

The Sumner-Bonney Lake Family Center offers a wide variety of human service programs, resources, health services, information and referrals. The Family Center’s mission is to educate, strengthen and support children and families. The Family Center provides services that focus on empowerment and enable families to become self-sufficient, active and contributing members of our society.

White River Community Outreach

White River Community Outreach is here to help area residents navigate their way through the maze of social and human services. We supply them with hundreds of dollars worth of items for homes we partner with World Vision to acquire every month. 

Globally

Convoy of Hope

At Convoy of Hope their goals are to provide help and hope to people in need in the United States and around world through children’s feeding initiatives, community outreaches, disaster response and partner resourcing. We have partnered with them in providing relief to Haiti, Chili, and the Tsunami in Japan. When disaster strikes you can always point resources to the disaster and Convoy of Hope and those funds will be immediately on the front line of need.

Vital Solutions

2022 has brought the war in Ukraine and we have partnered with Vital Solutions to supply emergency care to those who have made the long journey to cross the Romanian boarder to flee the war. Millions are being displaced and your generosity has exceeded all imagination to supply this need. 

World Vision

A very special relationship has begun between Open Life and World Vision made way by your consistent giving. There are many resources World Vision has access to and they need a local community focussed church to distribute these through. Open Life is that church in East Pierce County. Many resources from World Vision will meet the needs of individuals beyond what your giving has been able to provide within the first 12 years of Open Life.  You paved the way and now the community is better for it

Justice For The Oppressed

Speak Up For The Poor

Speak Up For The Poor exists to transform the world on behalf of the poor. Their mission is to create a new reality for girls in poverty. They will pursue this mission by building an international network of Justice Centers which speak up for the poor; particularly, girls in poverty. They will do this through providing homes, education, and justice. We aim to support an entire village and school as a church by 2030. 

Rescue Freedom

Rescue Freedom provides safe homes and care for women and children who have been rescued out of sexual slavery. They believe that rescue and restoration happen best in a local context, with local leaders who know the culture, the unique challenges and are committed to being a part of the long road to healing. We current have partner sites in 11 countries.

Unreached Demographics

ICA Surabaya Indonesia | John & Korie Taylor & John Vincent

ICA Surabaya is a multi-site english speaking church pastored by missionaries John & Korie Taylor that gathers in malls in Surabaya. John Vincent assists their work and is strategizing how to get the gospel to many unreached demographics through technology. ICA has the vision to reach the 6.8 million people in their city, to build 100 churches for unreached people groups by 2025 and the planting of the first 6 churches among the 4 million Banjar people (where there are currently no known believers).

Dominican Republic | Jamie & Berly Bello

Jamie & Berly Bello’s next four years in the DR are all about an initiative to DRive student success in the Dominican Republic by innovating pathways to hope and transformation for at-risk youth, vitalizing communities through partnerships with public schools, and empowering 10,000 students to be the catalyst for change. The plan is to coach 50 church leadership teams to become outward focused, and strategically invest in 12 communities by helping the local church develop a long-term community care plan.

Pacific Northwest Chi Alpha | Dan & Becky Guenther

Open Life is supporting the Guenthers monthly so they can lead the Chi Alpha Ministries on the college campuses of Alaska, Washington, Northern Idaho and Oregon. They currently have 16 campuses going and there are many more to be launched. We see the students within Chi-Alpha as being a critical piece to mobilizing people to launch a healthy church in every community.

Church Multiplication Network

Church Multiplication Network collaborates with church multipliers to effectively equip, strategically fund and innovatively network new faith communities. Your giving funds new churches and Open Life leaders collaborate and share resources with this vital network that launches nearly 275 churches annually.  The result is new churches in communities that will reach out to those who have yet to follow Jesus.

Speed The Light

The concept is simple: your students initiate the funding for this vital partner, so people can speed the light of the gospel to the world. This is accomplished by providing the “essential transportation and creative communication” equipment for missionary evangelism. Through modern transportation, radio, television, the printed word, and equipment for mass evangelism, our missionaries can better fulfill the Great Commission.  90% of what missionaries do on the foreign field depends on the items supplied through STL.