Continuing Projects
Jump to: Regular Food Drives | Camperships | Interfaith Food Drives | Clothing Drives and Other Donations | Community Feasts Project | Canned & Fresh Food Drive at the Sunday Farmers Market | Angel Gift Tree | One Great Hour of Sharing
Missions Board Project: Back-to-School Backpacks
September 2010
Backpack drive deadline extended to Sunday, September 5! Please leave donations at the Church Office (temporarily relocated to the Fellowship Room during construction).
Please consider helping children from the Department of Children and Families (DCF) by donating backpacks and school supplies. Often these children have been moved to a new school as part of the placement process and have an increased need to feel like they belong. They also need the right supplies which will enhance their education at school. The children that SCC is providing for are elementary school boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 9.
Please purchase a backpack and fill them with school supplies and anything else you feel will help an abused or neglected child feel like he or she is ready for school. Please no used items unless they are in very, very, good condition. As you back-to-school shop for your own children, why not double up for a good cause! SCC has committed to providing 15 backpacks by August 28th.
If you can commit to buying and filling a new backpack for a DCF child, please contact Nancy Nessel at nbnessel@optonline.net or 203-662-6653, or contact Jeff Boak.
Backpacks will be collected in Hoskins Hall on Sunday, August 28.
Elementary School Supply Suggestions:
- book (age appropriate)
- tissues
colored pencils (dull or unsharpened) - crayons, drawing pad
- Backpack
- erasers
- file folders, colorful
- glue sticks
- composition books
- markers
- notebooks
- pencils, sharpener
- ruler, clear tape
- scissors (blunt / child)
- white glue
- Key chain toy
Regular Food Drives
The Mission Board sponsors an ongoing in-church food drive benefiting different area agencies that distribute food to those in need. Our members bring the food to the worship services throughout the month, and it is collected and delivered at the end of the month. The food banks receiving donations range from Norwalk Emergency Shelter and Christian Community Action in Norwalk, to the Gillespie Center in Westport, and agencies within the Bridgeport Hunger Outreach Network, such as Bridgeport Rescue Mission and Pivot Ministries.
Please click here to view a list of suggested non-perishable food drive items, or click here to download the list as a PDF.
Our food drive for August supports the The Gillespie Center. This month they particularly need cereal, hearty soups with meat, tuna fish and condiments.
There are grocery bags in the back of the church. Please take one to fill, or bring items in and leave them at the back of the church. Thank you for your continued support!
Camperships:
Making the Summer Fun for Children in Bridgeport!
For years, the members and friends of Saugatuck Congregational Church have donated scholarships — “camperships” — to help give children in the Bridgeport area the opportunity to attend summer camp at the McGivney Community Center. Each summer, the McGivney Community Center serves 120 children between the ages of 6 and 14 (students entering 1st–9th Grades in the fall). Led by a dedicated staff in a 15:3 ratio, campers participate in age-appropriate programs that are educational and also engage them in diverse social and cultural experiences.
We truly appreciate all the “Campership Special Offering” donations we received in June 2010 that helped to provide children with invaluable life experiences, and we look forward to continuing this tradition in June 2011. Thank you for prayerfully considering helping to make a child’s summer an even better one!
Interfaith Food Drives
Saugatuck Church participates in special food drives initiated by the Interfaith Council of Westport/Weston, principally a pre-summer drive intended to stock food pantries for the summer months when contributions drop off.
Clothing Drives and Other Donations
In the fall, the Mission Board has sponsored a clothing drive for new or gently used winter clothing and outerwear, for one or more local agencies. In fall 2008, Saugatuck Church also participated in the Connecticut Bike Project, which collected and repaired used bikes for donation to children as well as for adults who use bicycles for transportation to work.
Community Feasts Project
A major church outreach project is our "Community Feasts Project." On Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, hundreds of people are treated to a free, full holiday meal with all the trimmings in our fellowship hall. Countless volunteers are organized by our church members to create a festive, caring atmosphere for anyone who wishes to come. It is an extraordinary experience of true community as people from differing walks of life, religions, ages, abilities and socio-economic backgrounds gather together for food and fellowship.
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Canned & Fresh Food Drive
at the Sunday Farmers Market
Where: behind the Church
When: May 30 – Mid November 2010
Purchase produce or other food from the vendors, or bring your non-perishable goods (see a list of suggested items for donation) to donate to a food kitchen in Bridgeport that is part of the Hunger Outreach Network administered by The Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport.
The Canned & Fresh Food Drive originated out of the Church in 2007, to help food pantries and soup kitchens during the summer months of lean donations, while also supporting the local vendors.
Find out more about the Sunday Farmer’s Market here.
Angel Gift Tree
As Christmas approaches, the Mission Board prepares the annual “Angel Gift Tree” in Hoskins Hall, adorned with tags for gifts to buy for someone in need. Local agencies supply us with the names of men, women and children, along with their gift requests. In 2008, these agencies included the Christian Community Action; CLASP Homes; Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport; Department of Children and Families/Covenant to Care; Domestic Violence Crisis Center; Homes with Hope; Pivot Ministries; and Project Return.
In 2008, all 188 tags on our Angel Gift Tree were fulfilled for 188 happy gift recipients, thanks to the generosity of the members of Saugatuck Congregational Church, including one anonymous donor who, at the end, offered to pay for the last remaining 21 tags.
One Great Hour of Sharing
www.onegreathourofsharing.org
www.ucc.org/oghs
One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) is the relief, refugee and development fund of the United Church of Christ. The UCC works with international partners to provide sources of clean water and food, education and health care, small business micro-credit, emergency relief, and advocacy and resettlement for refugees and displaced persons. OGHS also supports domestic and international ministries for disaster preparedness and response.
One of the Special Mission Offerings received by the United Church of Christ and part of Our Churches Wider Mission (OCWM), UCC sets aside the fourth Sunday in Lent for congregations to receive the One Great Hour of Sharing offering.