The following article was published in the December 20002 issue of Flashpoint, an internal newsletter of the Lynchburg Fire Department.

You've finished your shift, you're on your way home when you drive by the local convenience store and notice a sign in the window stating: "Buy your lottery ticket here, every ticket sold guaranteed to be a winner." Would you stop and buy a ticket?  You probably would.  Well, now you do have a chance to be a sure winner. 

The Lynchburg Fire & EMS Department has partnered with the Lynchburg Police Department and Victory Christian Fellowship Church to build, furnish, and operate "Victory House."  Victory House is a project designed to house victims of a burn-out, accident, or any other misfortune.  While the Salvation Army and Red Cross do an admirable job, it�s only a short-term solution.  Victory House will be available for a family to walk into a completely furnished, 28 x 40 single family dwelling with food in the cabinets, linens on the bed, and all of the comforts of home.  Victory House will be owned and operated by Victory Christian Fellowship Church, 615 Leesville Road, under the leadership of Rev. Ken Parrish.  Here�s a real opportunity to participate in a �no strings attached� project to help people in need.

So, how do I help?  There will be a News Conference on December 18, 2002, announcing the project.  Groundbreaking and actual grading will start on Wednesday, April 9, 2003.  On Saturday, April 26, 2003, the building blitz and challenge will take place.  Under the direction of Tom Gerdy, the construction will begin and the completed project will be dedicated in May 2003.  To complete this project we will need volunteer carpenters, plumbers, electricians, roofers, laborers, cooks, cleaners, and gophers.  At the end of the project, Victory House will be dedicated to the memory of a firefighter and police officer who perished in the September 11, 2001 tragedy.  This is the initial project of this kind in the entire U.S.  We hope to challenge other communities and departments to �put feet on the Gospel� and help those victims who we see almost every day. 

Watch the Flashpoint for various ways you can help with this "sure winner" project.

And the King will tell them, `I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!' - Matthew 25:40 (NLT)