Church Family Moment for Sunday, November 17, 2024
November 13, 2024
Church Family Moment for Christ the King Sunday, November 24, 2024
November 20, 2024CLICK HERE TO SHOP ONLINE
Searching for the perfect Christmas gift can be a challenge – Do I have the right size? Is it something the recipient will treasure? Is it something they will remember? Is it perfect?
When the gift is a book for a child, it’s just the right size. When the gift is access to a hot shower or a well-trained service dog, it is treasured. When the gift is a meal for those who are hungry, it is remembered. All are perfect gifts.
Donating to ministries that support our neighbors in need is an alternative and perfect way to honor loved ones at Christmas. With each purchase you will receive a gift card and note that can be given to your recipient acknowledging the gift that has been given in their honor.
You are invited to shop at the in-person SMPC Alternative Gift Market (AGM) on Sunday, December 8 from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. in the hallways surrounding the sanctuary.
Purchases may also be made online from November 21-December 25 here:
Cash, debit and credit cards are accepted, as well as checks made out to “SMPC.” Contact: Donna Brown, donnamatt89@gmail.com.
The Children’s Market
The Children’s Market, an extension of the Alternative Gift Market, is designed to provide a teaching opportunity for parents to encourage children to select moderately priced alternative gifts for loved ones. Please look for specially marked items at displays throughout the market.
Ballantyne Families Helping Neighbors in Need
- $2.00 will buy a box of pasta to make a family meal.
- $4.00 will buy a box of cereal for a child’s breakfast.
Freedom School
- $2.00 will buy colored pencils.
- $3.00 will buy glue sticks.
Nourish Up
- $2.00 will buy a jar of peanut butter to feed the hungry.
- $3.00 will buy juice for someone who is thirsty.
Promising Pages
- $2.00 will provide a family with two bedtime stories.
- $5.00 will buy a new book for summer reading.
- Donate a new or gently used book for a child.
Project 2 Heal
- $5.00 will help purchase food for a puppy..
Salvation Army Center of Hope
- $5.00 purchase kitchen items for Welcome Home Baskets.
Haiti – OFCB
- $2.00 will provide four meals for students.
LOCAL COMMUNITY OUTREACH GIVING OPPORTUNITIES
AUGUSTINE LITERACY PROJECT
Augustine Literacy Project works to improve the reading, writing, and spelling skills of young, aspiring readers in under-resourced communities by providing free, long-term, one-on-one instruction from highly trained tutors. ALP does this by recruiting, training and supporting volunteer tutors who provide free, long-term, one-on-one instruction using research-based methodology. You will find ALP tutors in Charlotte-Mecklenburg elementary schools, working primarily with first- through third- graders at Title I schools.
Augustine Literacy Project has served the Charlotte community for 20 years. Last year, ALP volunteer tutors provided highly effective one-on-one tutoring lessons to 364 students – meaning over 9000 reading lessons were provided at no cost to the families, students, schools, or community partners ALP serves.
The gift of a donation will help ensure all children in our community have the key to a brighter future – literacy! https://alpcharlotte.org/give/
Are you interested in learning more about being a volunteer tutor? ALP will train you to be a highly effective in-person or virtual tutor. New tutor trainings are kicking off in the new year! https://alpcharlotte.org/tutor/
BALLANTYNE FAMILIES HELPING NEIGHBORS IN NEED
Ballantyne Families Helping Neighbors in Need (BFHNIN) is a grassroots, 100% volunteer, 501c3 organization supported by a growing group of over 800 Ballantyne families and organizations. Our primary goal is to address food insecurity in our community for families who work in or attend one of the 11 public schools in the Ballantyne area* by bringing together our community to care for our neighbors in their time of need. Since March 2020, we have given food support to over 13,000 people, and given over $350,000 in grocery gift cards, over 4000 bags of groceries and 1000’s of encouraging notes from the community to Ballantyne families in need.
South Mecklenburg Presbyterian Church has played a large part in BFHNIN’s journey. SMPC hosted our 2nd food drive within the first month of schools shutting down at the beginning of the Covid pandemic where we distributed over 650 bags of groceries to over 100 families!
Here’s how it works. The school counselors/social workers identify the families in need who attend or work in their schools. Ballantyne Families meet their needs in two ways. First, we have a weekly food pantry at Community House Middle School. After the counselors/social workers create an account for each family in need, the families go to our pantry website and select the food that they need. On Thursday mornings, volunteers go to the pantry, select the food that was requested and deliver the food to the schools who made the requests. Second, we provide food support via food and grocery gift cards through 4 annual givings when kids aren’t in school (Thanksgiving, December holidays, spring break and summer).
It has been truly incredible to see the generosity of our community helping our neighbors in their time of need!
To find out how to get involved, go to www.ballantynefamilies.org
*Ballantyne, Elon Park, Endhaven, Hawk Ridge, Knights View and Polo Ridge Elementary Schools, Community House and Jay M Robinson Middle Schools, Rea Farms STEAM K-8 and Ardrey Kell and Ballantyne Ridge High Schools
COMMUNITY CULINARY SCHOOL OF CHARLOTTE
Community Culinary School of Charlotte (CCSC) is a nonprofit organization that provides Workforce Development Training and Job Placement Assistance in the in the hospitality industry for adults who face employment barriers in gaining and retaining long-term successful employment. Our goal is to provide culinary and life skills training to disadvantaged adults and assist placing them in jobs where they make a living wage ($16+/hour). Our vision is to transform the lives of our students and their families and positively impact our community. We provide paths to careers in the food service industry for adults whose barriers include lack of skills, incarceration, addiction, homelessness, and Veterans’ re-integration issues.
CCSC creates permanent, measurable, life-changing impact within the Charlotte region. Our culinary and life skills training program is a creative solution to the interwoven problems of unemployment, hunger, and homelessness. We focus on three core values: financial self-sufficiency, personal development, and economic mobility. CCSC’s overarching program goal is for graduates to move from dependency to self-sufficiency through stable employment.
CRISIS ASSISTANCE MINISTRY
Crisis Assistance Ministry’s mission is to provide assistance and advocacy for people in financial crisis, helping them move toward self-sufficiency. Mecklenburg County families receive help with life’s basic needs: emergency rent and utility assistance, clothing, household goods, furniture, beds, and appliances. Along with financial assistance, donations help provide one-on-one coaching and counseling with a caseworker to help families get on the path to economic mobility. In addition, our Civic Engagement Program increases awareness of the complex issues facing thousands of neighbors in Mecklenburg County living in poverty. Our vision is to inspire our community to justice and generosity as we provide help, hope, and understanding to people struggling with limited financial resources.
FREEDOM SCHOOL
Freedom School partners with the Children’s Defense Fund to change the future for under-sourced students by giving them life-changing tools: literacy skills, character strengths and a community that believes in them. Through a summer reading and enrichment program, scholars focus on meaning-focused literacy skills and active reading, while building personal libraries, participating in energy-filled activities that get them geared up for a fun day of learning, and building connections and social and emotional skills. Freedom School serves children who are currently in kindergarten through 8th grade at multiple locations around Charlotte. In 2022 84% of children who participated in Freedom School maintained or gained reading ability, and 97% of parents reported an increase in their child’s confidence in their reading ability. Access to the Freedom School experience can reduce or eliminate the academic achievement gap, a key factor in students’ long-term success.
VIA HEALTH PARTNERS (HOSPICE)
VIA Health Partners, formerly Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region, is the Charlotte area’s “hometown hospice.” Founded in 1978, VIA Health Partners was the first hospice organization established in North Carolina. Since its founding, VIA Health Partners has helped thousands of families care for loved ones living with a terminal diagnosis. Our mission is simple: to relieve suffering and improve the quality and dignity of life through compassionate hospice care for those at the end-of-life and offer palliative care for those struggling with a life-limiting illness. Our care is patient-centered and family-focused. Donors from South Mecklenburg Presbyterian Church help fulfill our promise to the community, which is to accept all patients regardless of their age, medical complexity, or ability to pay. We proudly serve patients in 35 counties throughout North and South Carolina. Please contact Nancy Cole at colen@viahp.org for more information.
NOURISH UP
Formerly Loaves & Fishes/Friendship Trays, Nourish Up provides groceries, meals, and hope through a network of food pantries and as the primary Meals on Wheels program for Mecklenburg County. Last year, Nourish Up provided groceries and meals to more than 137,000 people – that’s almost TWO Bank of America stadiums full.
Groceries – providing a week’s worth of nutritionally balanced groceries to individuals and families experiencing a short-term crisis through a network of emergency food pantries located throughout Mecklenburg County.
Meals – as the primary Meals on Wheels program in Mecklenburg County, Nourish Up delivers nutritious meals to elderly or infirm individuals who are unable to obtain or prepare their own meals while also providing human connection to the isolated and lonely and peace of mind to their families.
Food Drives: We are always in need of more food drives to feed our neighbors in need. Please reach out to Martha Cochrane to register and get a priority needs list.
Volunteer Opportunities: Delivery drivers is our biggest volunteer need. We use volunteer delivery drivers Monday-Saturday to deliver both a week’s worth of groceries and our prepared meals. Children of all ages can ride along to make these deliveries. We welcome individuals and groups of up to 20 people to work in the warehouse doing a variety of activities. The most frequent activities include sorting, inspecting, and/or packing donated food items. Volunteers must be 14 years old to participate in the warehouse. For more information, contact volunteer@nourishup.org for more information.
Please contact Martha Cochrane, mcochrane@nourishup.org for more information about Nourish Up or Jane Royther, jroyther@gmail.com our South Mecklenburg Presbyterian church contact, for more information.
PROJECT 2 HEAL
Project 2 Heal is dedicated to increasing the availability of service dogs for veterans, children with special needs, and adults with disabilities. The organization focuses on breeding and nurturing exceptional Labrador Retriever puppies, and donating them to select service dog training programs nationwide. This year, Project 2 Heal launched its Started 4 Service Training Program, helping service dog organizations by providing pre-trained puppies ready for advanced training.
Notably, Project 2 Heal celebrated the graduation of its first Service Team this October: Veteran Scott Carnes and his service dog, Jovi, whose initial care and training were made possible by the organization’s 2023 Giving Tuesday Campaign. This December, Project 2 Heal will begin its 2024 Giving Tuesday Campaign to raise funds for Peter Chryst, a 22-year local veteran of the USMC and Army, for his Mobility Assistance Service Dog’s specialized training. The 2024 Giving Tuesday Campaign will take place from December 1 – December 30, 2024.
In addition to its service dog placements, Project 2 Heal has achieved significant milestones in 2024, with 31 puppies placed with organizations across the country and eight adult dogs placed with local, regional and national recipients. The organization’s efforts extend beyond placements through educational outreach, Stress Down Days, and community events, spreading awareness of the need and value of service dogs for those medically qualified, and facing daily challenges.
PROMISING PAGES
Promising Pages works to remove literacy barriers and increase book access for under-resourced families, schools, and child-serving organizations by collecting new and donated books and shares them with children living in the Charlotte Area Book Desert: those with few, if any, books at home. With only 21.5% of economically disadvantaged 3rd graders in Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools reading on grade level, it is critical that students have access to books in their homes to support literacy and learning.
Last school year we distributed 283,651 books and served 64,180 children through our network of 18 Free Little Libraries and the following programs:
Books on Break – FREE in-school book fairs that provide five summer reading books to elementary school students to help prevent “summer slide”. 11,712 students in 23 Title I schools received over 68,213 summer reading books in May of 2023.
Feed the Body, Feed the Mind – Partners with local food banks and pantries to provide books alongside groceries and meals. 24 pantry sites distributed 15,009 books to 5,488 children receiving food assistance.
Bookseed & Reading Resource Centers – The Bookseed Program works in affordable housing communities to “seed” home libraries (25 books per child) and provides ongoing access to books & literacy resources for 1,000+ children and their families.
Community Partner Program (Book Bank) – This past school year, 154 nonprofit and child-serving organizations received free books for their students, schools, libraries, programs, and families in 56 zip codes throughout 14 counties.
Books: Books are donated via book drives, individuals, organizations, and purchased through our wish lists at local retailers and online. Visit http://promising-pages.org/donate-books-2/ to see our 17 drop-off locations!
Volunteers: Volunteers help us clean, sticker and sort donated books and are a critical element of our process. Our warehouse volunteers must be 16 years+ but we have lots of projects on the Get Involved page for younger volunteers! https://promising-pages.org/get-involved
ROOF ABOVE
Roof Above is an interfaith organization dedicated to uniting the community to end homelessness one life at a time. Roof Above was born from the merger of Urban Ministry Center and Men’s Shelter of Charlotte; now one comprehensive homeless service provider working to end homelessness. Roof Above offers everything from street outreach and basic services, to shelter and housing. Our services and programs reach over 1,200 individuals every day across seven campuses in Charlotte – and during COVID, we have added one more campus, converting dorms into an emergency shelter for working men.
Homeless Services:
Basic services (showers, laundry, mail, lunch)
Resource Center (IDs, prescriptions)
Room in the Inn (offsite emergency shelter Dec-Mar)
Approx. 500 shelter beds for men
Income and Employment Programs
Housing Programs:
SECU The Rise on Clanton – 88-unit permanent supporting housing for the chronically homeless
Moore Place – 120-unit permanent supportive housing (PSH) for the chronically homeless
Hillrock Estates – 341-unit Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH)
Scattered Site and Rapid Rehousing
SABER – Recovery Program and transitional housing community
Forest Point Place – 98-unit permanent supportive housing (PSH) for the chronically homeless
Volunteer Opportunities:
Roof Above depends on the generosity of community to meet the daily needs of our neighbors. This winter season we are in need of in-kind donations such as food, special winter items and new welcome home kits. You can support us through hosting a collection drive and donating these items or purchasing from our Amazon Wishlist.
Check our Wish List Items where you can order and have our most needed items delivered directly to us!
To become a volunteer and to see all opportunities to engage in our mission, please visit www.roofabove.org/volunteer.
SALVATION ARMY CENTER OF HOPE
Homelessness creates hopelessness. Loss of hope is a tragic condition, and yet this tragedy persists in ever-increasing numbers in our community and nation. The potential causes are many: lack of affordable housing, loss of income due to job layoffs and losses, domestic violence, addiction or mental illness. Our foundation of faith compels us to do everything we can to help restore security and hope to these families.
At The Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte, we help people experiencing homelessness get back on their feet and avoid having homelessness become their permanent status. We do this through our Center of Hope shelter, Booth Commons Family Center, housing programs and support from people like you.
Volunteer Opportunities:
Individuals and groups are welcome to come on site to prepare and serve a meal, or just be an extra pair of hands for our kitchen staff.
Groups are welcome to donate ingredients for meals or prepared meals that can be heated by our kitchen staff.
Volunteers can also provide “Welcome Home Baskets” – laundry baskets filled with necessary household goods for families transitioning to permanent housing.
GLOBAL MISSION GIVING OPPORTUNITIES
PRESBYTERIAN DISASTER ASSISTANCE
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance enables congregations and mission partners of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to witness to the healing love of Christ through caring for communities adversely affected by crisis and catastrophic event.
DR000148 – General Relief and undesignated program support: supplements the One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) offering and enables members and congregations to make general designations to use funds where they are most needed as determined by PDA.
DR999999 – International Disasters and Emergencies: supplements the OGHS offering to enable a significant, initial response to major international disasters and emergencies.
DR 000015 – U. S. A. Disasters and Emergencies: supplements the OGHS offering to enable a significant, initial response to major national disasters and emergencies.
OFCB MINISTRIES – SCHOOL, MEDICAL CLINIC, and COMMUNITY in Bayonnais, Haiti
– SCHOOL, MEDICAL CLINIC, and COMMUNITY in Bayonnais, Haiti
SMPC has supported OFCB Ministries since its inception in 1994. SMPC members have traveled to Bayonnais regularly, and we have strong, personal relationships with the leaders of the school, medical clinic, and community.
SCHOOL
OFCB educates 2,300 students ages K-13th grade in 4 locations. Currently, 70-80% of high school graduates are attending Haitian colleges, the teacher education school in Bayonnais, or local trade schools. More than 80% of the employees of OFCB graduated from the high school. Donations to the OFCB school are used primarily for school food and secondarily for other school needs like teacher salaries. See next page for information about student sponsorships.
MEDICAL CLINIC
OFCB’s medical clinic was the first in Bayonnais and was built to support a community of 80,000 people. Several OFCB graduates are employed by the clinic. Donations to the clinic support salaries and medical supply needs.
AGRICULTURE
Families in Bayonnais are very poor. One way to help is by providing for agricultural needs. SMPC provides funds for the purchase of goats and chickens for families to raise. The offspring of these animals are sold to increase family income. We also provide funds for farming tools.
OFCB STUDENT SPONSORSHIPS
SMPC partners with EWO (the Haitian Creole word for hero), a non-profit organization based in Charlotte, to secure school sponsorships for OFCB students. Annual sponsorships are $480 ($40/month) and help provide education, meals, a school uniform, and access to a medical clinic. In addition to prayer, sponsors can build relationships with students by writing and receiving letters. Students available for sponsorship are pictured below; visit our table for additional students or contact Judy Jones: judy21jones@gmail.com.
Beverlie Djinaica Ulysse
Guerdensley Archelus
Prescarline Pierre
Sodelin Vercius
