At the recent Church Council meeting in August, Jane Russell, chair of Missions and Community Outreach, gave an informative update about all the wonderful work happening at Emmanuel and in our community.
Project 20/20
One of our oldest church ministry projects, 20/20 is also the most stable and dependable program that Emmanuel offers to our community and beyond. Through the steady guidance of Grace Bonner, this program is financially sound and often shares its monetary resources with other Emmanuel missions.
20/20 needs volunteers on Thursdays at 10:30am. You will be trained and can work as long as you would like sorting glasses, washing glasses, packing and unpacking boxes,
Food Pantry
We serve between 30 and 50 families each month. Each family receives boxes of food according to the size of their family, plus a bag of items purchased by Emmanuel. Emmanuel buys the food boxes from Catholic Charities for $5 but each box contains substantially more value.
Because of new federal guidelines which took effect on July 1, we now have a better way to determine if a family is eligible for this assistance. Each home must be receiving SNAP benefits, SSI Disability payments, subsidized rental assistance or sign a declaration of total income that the household receives from other sources.
Because of the success of our Easter pancake breakfast the Food Pantry has begun to offer our families an additional fresh or frozen food item each month. In the last 5 months, we have distributed frozen sausage, frozen vegetables, sliced cheese, fresh milk, and fresh eggs.
We also offer a choice of household or personal hygiene products each month.
We ask our recipients for any prayer requests, have copies of the Upper Room available, and offer gently used children’s books.
RITI
We had a successful summer season hosting women and children at the Cottage at Germantown UMC twice each month during June, July, and August. With so many volunteers out of town for summer vacations and kids out of school, sometimes it was a challenge to find enough volunteers for every job.
In November we will start a new season at Emmanuel and are looking forward to using the new shower facility and washer/dryer that is currently under construction in the old kitchen pantry near the gym.
We recently embarked on a new mission to find more volunteers by making visits to Sunday School classes, revamping our Signup Genius to better highlight our needs, and using the bulletin boards, our newsletter, weekly email blasts, and worship guide inserts. We have invited families to join our group of volunteers by bringing their children to introduce them to service work and provide quality family time. Both Sunday School classes and family signups were a big success.
On September 10, at noon, we will have a combined thank you lunch and “job fair” in the gym. We will explain the different kinds of volunteer opportunities available to prepare for hosting, the actual process of hosting, and cleanup procedures. There are so many jobs that only take 1 hour or so to complete and are such a big help. Sign up for lunch HERE and come learn more about Room in the Inn.
Currently, we only have 3 sets of coordinators to work every Saturday from November until March. Since most months have 4 or 5 Saturdays, we are actively looking for one or two more couples to get involved and be trained to be coordinators.
We are planning a work day to organize the kitchen and RITI closet to get ready for the fall season on Saturday, October 28.
If you are interested in volunteering, go to the RITI page to read the job descriptions.
Golden Cross
Golden Cross continues to need help with donations for their seniors. There is a list of needed items on the Missions and Outreach bulletin board across from the church office and you can leave your donation items in the blue basket outside the office. These items are delivered to Golden Cross once a month and are all appreciated.
Belle Forest
We hope to revive our involvement with Belle Forest Elementary School and will know possible ways we can help soon.
Project Transformation
Project Transformation is mostly a summertime program of reading camps. We will schedule a week for Emmanuel to participate in the 2024 season. Also, PT offers summer internship programs for college age students.
Hannah’s Hope
Hannah’s Hope is holding their fundraiser at Emmanuel on September 30, 6-8:30pm. Come for the Dinner and Silent Auction in the Fellowship Hall. Click HERE to buy a ticket or make a donation.
As you see, Emmanuel is very involved in Missions and Community Outreach, and with so many wonderful programs we hope you can find a place you are interested in serving.
READ MORE ABOUT the different Missions and Outreach HERE