Items for the Hat and Mitten Tree, Bedford Prison, and Toys for Teens will be collected during the services on Giving Sunday, December 6. You can find details of what is requested below. (If you are unable to attend services on December 6, you may drop off items in the church office). There are a number of ways to benefit the Food Pantry, detailed below. And remember our goal of $10,000 in donations to the Food Pantry by the end of the year so that we can make full use of our matching grant. We ask you to consider giving to one or more of these efforts.
And don’t forget to make your holiday purchases at the Alternative Giving Market on November 15 and 22!
The Food Pantry Needs Your Turkeys!
The Food Pantry appreciates gifts of turkeys for our clients’ Thanksgiving dinners. They can be dropped off on Saturday, November 21 at the back door to Room 16 (cemetery side) any time between 7:30 am and 10:30 am (we open at 9, but turkeys arriving late will certainly find a home!)
Food Pantry Cards
Need a gift for someone that has everything? Looking for an alternative to the commercial Christmas gift? Need a hostess gift to take to Thanksgiving dinner or a holiday party?
Why not make a donation to our Food Pantry in honor of a friend or family member? Donations can be made in any amount AND they will be doubled via our matching program with the FPCY Food Pantry Trust! For each donation, you can select a card that you can mail or deliver in-person. In November, stop by the table in the gathering space after church. We’ve created some new designs to choose from!
Help Buy Hams for the Food Pantry
Our Thanksgiving Offering will buy hams to supplement the food we give through our food pantry in December. Christmas hams are an “extra” that would not normally be provided. Please give generously so that we can help everyone enjoy the holiday season.
You can either use your Thanksgiving offering envelope, or mark your check with the memo “Thanksgiving Offering,” or you can contribute online using the line item for this offering.
The Hat and Mitten Tree
Please give children’s and teen’s new hats, scarves, and gloves for the Food Pantry’s “hat and mitten tree.” Families will be able to select one item from the tree; hat and glove sets are especially desirable. You may also bring your items earlier and place then on the tree in the Gathering Space. Your donations will help keep children warm.
Bedford Prison Children’s Center
The Bedford Prison Children’s Center is requesting donations of toys and other items that will be Christmas gifts for the kids that visit their Moms. The idea is that kids can play with their Moms when they visit. This is an integral part of the parent training in the Prison Children’s Center. Moms earn money and “spend it” to choose a gift for their child. This has been a highly successful program for supporting children and working the promote healthier family relationships while Mom is in prison.
ITEMS REQUESTED: toy cars, trucks, dolls– especially dolls of color, games, puzzles, science kits, craft kits, and baby toys. Basketballs, footballs, nerf balls, etc. and other sports equipment. We also need items for older kids and teens: for example, gift cards, grooming sets, make-up kits, wallets, appropriate movies, fashion accessories, art supplies, slippers, cozy socks, etc.
We CANNOT accept STUFFED ANIMALS, TOY GUNS, OR VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES, MOVIES, ETC. or clothing items in ORANGE, BLACK, or DARK GREEN. Thanks so much!
Toys for Teens
The church runs the Toys for Tots distribution each December. Most of the donations people give are for young children (not too surprising given the name). However, many of our food pantry clients and other people in need have older children as well. We are asking the congregation to help us supplement the Toys for Tots program with Toys for Teens — gifts for older children and teens (ages 12-18).
Some ideas for gifts are below (not all inclusive, just some examples):
For girls: nail polish sets, perfume, handbags, makeup kits, dress scarves.
For boys: cologne, Axe body wash, shave kits, hair gel, model cars.
For both: basketballs, soccer balls, diaries, books, games, CDs, winter scarves, grooming kits, sketch pads, art supplies, gift cards.
