Community Caring Resource Network
Encouraging connectedness for residents and support for those in need in University Place, Tacoma, Lakewood, and the surrounding communities.
What is an apartment Chaplain?
The Community Caring Resource Network has partnered with Boulder Park Apartments to provide services to residents that will promote the connectedness, vitality and holistic health of the residents and community. John Golling serves as Apartment Chaplain, and is available to assist in a variety of ways.
What does an Apartment Chaplain do?
- Organize events to help residents connect with one another and build friendships within the community
- Provide referrals for things such as counseling, substance abuse help, and emotional or mental health services
- Provide crisis intervention or conflict resolution
- Provide a listening ear and support for those facing loneliness or isolation
- Provide emotional and spiritual support to those facing the death of a loved one, a traumatic experience, or difficult circumstances
- Help organize funeral services
- Support a resident coping with a severe health issue or terminal illness
- Network with local organizations to help residents locate resources such as a food or clothing bank, pregnancy services, family services, finding a church or faith community, or other needed help
Friendship, Faith, and Bible Discussion
THANK YOU to Sunset Bible Church for providing this event!
This event was held on April 30, 2024. Promotional information provided in emails, door-hangars, and signage:
Would you like to meet some new people in an open and friendly environment? Are you interested in discussing faith in a non-threatening and encouraging atmosphere.
This event is brought to you by the Community Caring Resource Network and Sunset Bible Church.
Boulder Park has partnered with The Community Caring Resource Network to provide events that promote community, friendship, and neighborhood vitality. If you have an idea for an event that you would like to see, please email [email protected].
Leap Day Party and Bingo Night
A Life Group from Resurrection Church put together a Leap Day Party and Bingo Night for the residents of Boulder Park Apartments.
Group members assembled invite bags with donated items along with an invitation to the party. These were given to each resident.
At the party, 15 small group members volunteered to serve as greeters, hosts, bingo and game leaders, bringing snacks, and helping create an atmosphere of joy and friendship for the residents.
About 17 residents were in attendance, and the feedback was very positive!
christmas party and bingo night was a major succes
Christmas Party sponsored by Community Caring Resource Network. Over 30 residents and More than 10 volunteers came out to enjoy food, friendship, free pictures with Santa, games, and Bingo.
“I saw residents meeting one another, striking up conversations, and getting to know each other.”
We believe that as residents get to know each other, it changes the atmosphere of the whole apartment complex.
The Puyallup Food Bank provided gifts for participants, prizes for Bingo, and some bags of food to distribute to everyone.
The University Place Life Group of Resurrection Church provided goodies and volunteers.
Our Mission
Community Caring Resource Network … Caring is what we are about. Community is how it happens. Our mission is simple: we want to encourage relational connections among residents and build a local network of those who work in the people caring professions. We also want to provide a list of resources for neighbors who want to help neighbors.
The purpose of this page is to create a list of current, local and regional resources for those seeking a wide range of support (emotional, spiritual, relational, financial, mental health, etc.) in the University Place, Fircrest, Lakewood and surrounding communities.
Please feel free to contact us with corrections or additions, see our Contact Us page for resource criteria and guidelines. See the About Us page to learn more about the project.
This page is provided as a ministry of Covenant Bible Seminary to the chaplains, pastors, neighbors, and followers of Christ who are seeking to love their neighbors in the South Puget Sound Region.
If you would like to learn about Covenant Bible Seminary visit our webpage: HERE.
Volunteers at Angel one "pop-up" food bank
teens learn to serve their neighbors
volunteers join hands with clients and pray for their needs when asked
There is a human connection made when these volunteers take food to the client’s car, and loads it for them. They and ask the clients if they would like prayer, and if requested, they join hands and pray together with the client.
Is food a blessing or a right?
by John Golling, Director, CCRN
Is food a blessing or a right? And what difference does it make? Does our philosophy of caring for others affect the manner in which we serve? And if it does, how will the underlying philosophy we adopt impact the results of our service?
Those who are called to work in the people caring professions have a responsibility to communicate the underlying principles and values that form the foundation, motivation, and measurements of success by which they operate. In other words, those who are in the people caring professions should be able to clearly articulate their philosophy of service.
When it comes to fighting hunger in our communities, how we view food is an important part of that philosophy. If food is seen as a right, then this will affect the way that food is distributed. What if food is seen as a blessing and a gift, this too, will affect the interaction that takes place when food is given.
Even the words that naturally came to mind as I typed that last paragraph, demonstrates the difference. When talking about food as a right, it is to be “distributed” and if it is a blessing, it is to be “given”. Giving a blessing to another person implies- yes, even requires- some kind of relationship.
Food that is seen as a “right” should be simply “distributed” in the most efficient way possible (even if devoid of any human interaction), because the measure of success is in pounds of food, not in changed lives. Food that is distributed without relationship, means that there is no means to discover if lives are actually being changed.
But when food is seen as a gift and a blessing, the connections that are formed in the giving and receiving of the food, begin to form a network of relationships that, in time, become a support system for all those involved.
This is the philosophy that drives those who serve at the Puyallup Food Bank. They are seeking to emphasize the relational nature of food, and the blessing of giving and receiving nourishment within the context of a supportive community.
We will be exploring more about this and other important topics related to caring for people in ways that nurture the connections that lead to health, hope, resilience and flourishing.
Resource Directory
Below are a list of links to community service organizations in our area and documents that may be helpful for those with specific needs. Please contact us using this form if you find an error or outdated information.
Our goal is to list those organizations that operate with similar values as the CCRN. That being said, a listing here does not indicate full endorsement by the administrators of the CCRN.
