Love INC of the Tanana Valley, serving as a ministry of its partner churches, offers free help to residents of the FNSB who are in need. We seek to serve everyone who needs help, regardless of religious affiliation (or non-affiliation).

Because we have limited resources, we take care that we are meeting real needs. While yearning to share freely what we have, we seek to offer help that builds up and we avoid efforts that tend to foster unhealthy or self-defeating patterns that rob an individual of vitality and God-given dignity.

We assure our church volunteers that their service, offered lovingly in the Name of Christ, will meet real needs within workable boundaries:

Manageability – church volunteers need to know that the need is not beyond their capability to respond to.

Legitimacy – Love INC cannot, in good conscience, send volunteers to do work for others who are perfectly able, physically or financially, to do the work themselves.

Residency – church volunteers agree to serve FNSB neighbors in need; therefore, Love INC will refer persons who live outside the Borough or who are just passing through our area to other helping organizations.

Integrity – in order to be good stewards of the resources God has gifted us with, we must strive to make sure our efforts are directed to people who are truly in need; therefore, we work hard to reduce misrepresentation of facts and fraudulent requests for help.

Duplication – our volunteers need to be assured that the service(s) they provide are not duplications of services being given by another agency/organization.

If you have a real need, and if our volunteers have the skill to meet your need (usually we can find someone who does have the necessary skill), it is not difficult to “qualify” for help from Love INC:

1. Your need must be manageable – in other words, a need that a church volunteer can meet (typically, this rules out requests for significant financial assistance).
2. Your need must be legitimate – in other words, the need truly exists and you are unable to meet it yourself.
3. You are a resident of the Fairbanks North Star Borough.
4. You have not misrepresented the facts of your situation.
5. You provide documentation or sign “release of information” forms as requested by us; if more information is requested, you contact the Clearinghouse and provide it.
6. If you are asked to participate in the Relational Ministry program, you go, starting with IMAGE classes prior to acceptance in the mentoring program.
7. You fall within the appropriate guidelines and policies as required for an agency or church referral (i.e. gasoline referrals require having a valid drivers license, insurance and registration, etc.)
8. Patience – it can take a week or more from the time you call us until a volunteer meets your need.

Here is a sample listing of the helping services offered by Love INC church volunteers. This list is not exhaustive, but it gives you an idea of ways we help. If you do not see a certain service listed here, we may still be able to provide it.

Family Help – Life Skills classes, Budget Mentoring, Light housecleaning, Occasional daycare, Respite care, etc.

Personal/Social Help – Visits to shut-in’s at home or care facilities, Assurance phone calls to shut-in’s, Picking up and delivery of groceries, Meals when recovering from hospital stay or illness, Help in filing forms (insurance, Medicare, Medicaid), Transitional support (hospital discharge, prison release), On-going friendship with developmentally disabled person, Accompanying an elderly person to the mall, etc.

Specialized Help – Appliance repair, Computer help, Furnace repair, Plumbing repair, Dental, Legal, Language translation service, Haircuts, etc.

School-Related Help – Tutoring, School supplies, school clothes, shoes, etc.

Spiritual Support – Prayer chain (many Christians praying for a person), Answering questions about God and listening to questions, Christian encouragement, Praying personally with a person, Visits by a pastor or church leader, Rides to church, Accompanying a person to church or church activity.

Transportation & Housing Help – Rides to appointments or work, Car repair, Car assessments, Bicycles

Housing Help – Help in locating housing, Minor home repair, Moving and packing help, Snow removal, Yard work, Household chores

Crisis Help – Meals, Emergency housing (very limited basis), Temporary storage of household items, Emotional support during crisis, Pet care during hospitalization or stay at a shelter

Longer-Term Friendship & Support – Assistance in achieving life goals, Help in forming and reaching financial goals, Mentoring, etc.

Material Help – churches offer a wide variety of goods such as furniture, computers, personal needs items, diapers, cleaning products, paper products, clothing, firewood, coats, hats, gloves, boots, socks, bedding, linens, household items, food, gasoline, oil changes, etc.