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Partner Spotlight: One More Child

One More Child and Third Lens Ministries have been partners for many years. They have worked together to build homes, schools and other buildings in many countries. One big project has been centered in Uganda. “One of the greatest impacts between Third Lens and One More Child is what's happened in Uganda,” said Andrew Tattrie, the VP of the Global Childcare Division for One More Child. “We’ve been able to build several school buildings, missionary housing, and a dining hall. So quite a few different buildings that have had a huge impact on the community. It has allowed the Christian school to really expand, allow more students come to the school to receive education and receive biblical education as well. It's been a great partnership.  We really enjoy our partnership with Third Lens and really appreciate the hard work and Christ centeredness to their ministry as well.” The two organizations not only work together, but also act as middle men to help each other find new … [Read more...] about Partner Spotlight: One More Child

Partner Spotlight: Hope Smiles

Hope Smiles was founded in 2005 by Dr. Phillip Kemp. It started as a way to provide dental care to under-served communities in Middle Tennessee. Since then, the non-profit has expanded its operations to other parts of the United States, Haiti and Uganda. Hope Smiles utilizes a combination of mobile and permanent clinics to provide dental care to those in need. People can also receive training and education in dental hygienics at these clinics.  A key component of Hope Smiles’ mission is a focus on a sustainable solution. This starts with creating a dental center in an area that previously did not have access to dental care. Local professionals and international specialists work together to provide a variety of dental care ranging from teeth cleanings to providing braces. Hope Smiles provides local professionals with access to the most up-to-date literature on dental practices and technology. It also hosts educational seminars that are open to all dental … [Read more...] about Partner Spotlight: Hope Smiles

Partner Spotlight: Just One Africa

After traveling to Kenya in 2012 and visiting an orphanage, Amy and her husband Clay Churchill decided they would start an organization helping high capacity local leaders in Kenya who were working hard to improve their communities. After returning home from their trip, Amy and Clay, partnered with another couple, Alastair and Geanna Wilde, to start Just One Africa. One of the biggest focuses of the organization is to provide clean water access to communities in Kenya. The idea formed during that initial Kenya trip when community leaders shared their ongoing struggle with water borne diseases.  While helping build a hut for a woman in Western Kenya, Churchill realized that a very sick baby was living there. The mother of the baby had HIV and was very also very sick and unable to nurse the child. The baby’s father had died of HIV and the grandfather of the baby was also deceased. The owner of the hut was the baby’s grandmother, and she was doing the best she could to … [Read more...] about Partner Spotlight: Just One Africa

Board of Directors Spotlight: Lee Carroll

Leading up to the 2007 economic recession, Lee Carroll was working in the hard-hit industry of real estate. This time of struggle allowed Carroll to take a step back and reevaluate how he could apply the construction and real estate skills he had learned through work and school. This reevaluation led him to create Third Lens Ministries, granting him a way to combine his faith and construction skills into an organization that aides others.  “Leading up to the economic fallout of 2007 &2008, I was in the real estate business and lost a lot of materialistic possessions and financial standing,” Carroll said. “It was a very difficult time, which prompted me to reflect on my prior financial successes, followed by losing everything and having very little to show for it aside from perspective and life experience. I believed that a better way to go forward with my career was to align myself with something that would allow me to leverage my profession and contribute to generational impact … [Read more...] about Board of Directors Spotlight: Lee Carroll

Board of Directors Spotlight: Chris Burch

Chris Burch has been involved with Third Lens Ministries from nearly the beginning of the organization. College friends with Third Lens’ founder, Lee Carol, Burch jumped on board with the new organization relatively quickly.  “Lee founded Third Lens in 2009, and then he told me what he was doing,” Burch said.  “When I heard about it, I told him I wanted to be involved. He knew that I was in construction, and he knew that I had also had a passion for serving the Lord however I could with my time and expertise.” The first trip Burch took with Third Lens was to Honduras in October of 2010. The project was to help Predisan Health Ministries build a clinic in the community of Wasparani, located in an isolated mountain region. “We came in and told them that we were there to help him,” Burch said. “That we were going to be coming back in a few months, and we were going to start construction on this building for them to build a medical clinic. So we called a meeting with … [Read more...] about Board of Directors Spotlight: Chris Burch

Project Spotlight: Blueprint 58

After serving as mentors themselves to two young boys, the Stanleys decided that they wanted to create a way for more kids to receive mentorship and guidance. In 2011 the family moved to the Adair Park neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia, and founded their non-profit Blueprint 58. “We had been mentoring two boys and doing some work with kids in the neighborhoods downtown already,” said Becca Stanley, co-founder of Blueprint 58. “And we decided that we really wanted to put in roots somewhere and go deep in a specific neighborhood. So we bought a house, my husband and his dad finished it, renovated it and we moved in and started our mentoring program. So Blueprint 58 is primarily a mentoring and Community Development Program.” Blueprint 58 is community-based mentoring program that serves the Adair Park and Pittsburg neighborhoods. The goal is to have a positive presence in the neighborhood to help foster community development. “So our mission is to transform youth into … [Read more...] about Project Spotlight: Blueprint 58

Partner Spotlight: McWhorter School of Building Science

In the fall of 2018, the McWhorter School of Building Science at Auburn University made a change to its curriculum. This change paved the way for a partnership between Third Lens Ministry and Auburn Building Science.  “The Building Science faculty revised our curriculum where we actually have a dedicated, required senior level service learning class in our curriculum,” said Scott Kramer, a professor at the School of Building Science. “So in Building Science, starting in the fall of 2018, every single building science student has to participate in what we call Building Science 4360, which is a senior level class and it's required. It's not an elective like a lot of service learning classes.” The way this ties into Third Lens in that through mutual contacts, Kramer connected with Brian O’Neil, the executive director of Third Lens. The two found that the building science students could provide the construction aspect for the nonprofits that work with Third Lens, and in … [Read more...] about Partner Spotlight: McWhorter School of Building Science

Partner Spotlight: myLifespeaks

In 2003, Mike Wilson first visited Haiti. Seventeen years later, Neply, Haiti is now home to his and his wife’s nonprofit, myLifespeaks. Mike and Missy live there along with five of their six children, three of which were adopted from Haiti.  “So we we moved here in 2014 with the understanding that in order for us to really truly effectively lead this ministry we had to be on the ground,” Wilson said. “It could not be done from the United States.” Mike and Missy at A Night to Shine, myLifespeaks' yearly event myLifespeaks was founded in 2012, and it focuses on three main goals: family empowerment, educational excellence and public health impact.  Wilson describes Haiti as a place that has systematic corruption which leads to a lack of education and a high rate of unemployment. “I couldn't understand why something would be so drastically different for being so close to the United States,” Wilson said. “The more I came back, the more I realized that Haiti has a … [Read more...] about Partner Spotlight: myLifespeaks