Christmas 2007 Opportunities:
Look here for volunteer and gift-giving opportunities for you and your family (Thanksgiving and Christmas.)
Direct Food
The Presbytery supports 21 Care Closets with Bulk Food and Holiday Meal support. In addition, we arrange for the trucking of surplus potatoes to Philadelphia, available to any agencies feeding the hungry through Presbytery Potato Projects. Church members support these initiatives through specific contributions, maintaining the Cents-Ability offering, and volunteering to help at the distributions of food. The Presbytery further offers the SOLE Project, which is Payless Gift Cards to families and individuals, recommended by our churches, who need assistance in purchasing shoes.
Development Assistance
Each Care Closet is encouraged to develop one ministry, beyond just giving out emergency food, so that we can begin to attack root causes of hunger in our area and one day not have to have food closets as the way that people will get their groceries! Examples of such ministries include Food Stamp Pre-Screening, in partnership with the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger; the Benefit Bank, an internet-based program for filing taxes, receiving owed tax credits, learning eligibility for other government benefits, and registering to vote; and nutrition education.
Public Policy Advocacy
As many months as there is a group that is interested, the Hunger Action Enabler will facilitate trips to Washington, DC, on the Second Tuesday of the month, to participate in the issues' seminars and advocacy opportunities held by the Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church (USA). The Hunger Action Enabler helps people in the Presbytery to follow such unfolding policy issues as the state and federal budget, food stamps, the amount of the minimum wage, and health care coverage, as well as international trade policy, aid, and debt relief, because these are issues that have the power to affect what means people have to be able to eat. See also:
www.pcusa.org/Washington the Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
www.bread.org Bread for the World
www.chn.org Coalition on Human Needs
www.frac.org Food Research and Action Center
www.hungercoalition.org Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger
www.pahunger.org Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center
Education
Excellent curricula, such as "Just Eating" (PDS#7436505362) http://www.pcusa.org/marketplace, are available from the Presbyterian Church, for study in our churches, and the Hunger Action Enabler is available to come to speak or facilitate discussion about hunger at any church! During One Great Hour of Sharing 2006, the Presbytery's Hunger Action Enabler and Restoring Creation Enabler suggested an educational/mission focus on global water issues, and the suggested Bible Study (Gospel of John) that they produced is available on the Restoring Creation Enabler's webpage.
Lifestyle Integrity
Churches may participate in one or more of the programs of "Enough for Everyone" (www.pcusa.org/enough), including the Presbyterian Coffee Project (www.pcusa.org/coffee), in investigation of how our lifestyles can reflect our desire to treat people equitably and do away with hunger. At Christmas and Advent, resources are available to help simplify and focus our Christmas celebrations, away from materialism and towards thought about other people.
Calendar
February |
Winter Potato Project |
March (Lent) |
One Great Hour of Sharing
An important time to focus on the work of the Presbyterian Hunger Program (www.pcusa.org/hunger) as this program is one of the three main recipients of the One Great Hour of Sharing offerings in the Presbyterian Church. |
November/December |
Fall Potato Project
Thanksgiving and Christmas meal distributions to the Care Closets |
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