It all started when
Vine's Founder Woody Woodson and his family adopted a child from Guatemala. During their year working at a children's home in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, medical missionaries invited Woody on a remote mobile medical clinic. It was the first time he had seen groups of people gather, each one wanting to see the doctor. About noon, the team ran out of medicines, so the clinic had to end. The missionaries asked him to tell the people their resources were spent. Woody said as he stood before the crowd to make the announcement, it seemed like a thousand women and children waited out there. He heard a voice - not audibly, but in his heart - say, "Woody, don't ever forget this picture."
The Vine calling was planted.
“Without Vine, we would have closed our clinic many times. ”
When the Woodson family moved back to Knoxville in 1990, Woody had a keen understanding of the lack of medical care for the desperately poor in Guatemala. He had come to two conclusions. One, the Lord places His servants all over the world to help and serve the poor medically, but the resources may have to come from other places. Two, medical missions may be the best platform for the gospel in the developing (majority) world. When a person meets the need of another, they have formed a relationship and an avenue to share Jesus.
The very early days. Until we could fill oceangoing containers, Vine volunteers drove buses full of supplies to Guatemala.
In 1993, the Vine calling took root. Those servants to the poor in Guatemala needed resources; Woody could procure and ship them. They could then be equipped to serve the poor with excellence and love, glorifying Christ and advancing the Kingdom. Thus, Woody Woodson founded Vine.
Since then, Vine has developed this network with a collection center near Knoxville and a distribution center just outside of Guatemala City. In recent years, annually over $13 million in aid has gone to a network of over 120 project partners, including clinics, hospitals and orphanages throughout the country. As a result, they are better enabled to follow their God-given calling to heal the sick and share the good news of the Kingdom.
Getting supplies to where they're needed most.
“Vine equips men and women to serve the poor with excellence and love, glorifying Christ and advancing the Kingdom.”
Since 1993:
- $144,860,651 value of medical aid delivered to our partners in Guatemala
- $41 How many dollars of medical supplies Vine puts in the hands of local providers for every $1 you give
- 128 partners who receive supplies from Vine
- 19 40-foot shipping containers shipped last year
- 17,536 Wheelchairs delivered to families in need
- 234 Shipments successfully brought through Customs, Fumigation, Inspection, Documentation, and inland shipping.
- 47% The percentage of Woody's gray hair that is due to dealing with Customs, Fumigation, Inspection, Documentation, and inland shipping.
- 1516 Families and institutions in the US who have used Vine to multiply their generosity
- Thousands Families in Guatemala who have are helped by donors through Vine, every year