|
Faith
United Church participates in several Outreach Ministries
Heifer Project International
One of our longest outreach ministry associations is with Heifer Project
International, an international organization founded in 1944. Each year through Advent or Lenten Offerings, Ark Collections and the Living Gift Market, Faith United Church raises enough money to purchase gifts of livestock for families struggling to make ends meet somewhere in the world. In some countries, owning one goat can provide enough financial income to support an entire family for years! The Heifer Project is also a wonderful way for Christians of all ages to work together in sharing the love
of Jesus with our neighbors around the world. We also come together to visit Overlook Farm, a 270 acre working farm right here in Massachusetts which educates the public about world hunger, poverty and solutions through animal agriculture. Overlook Farm is also home to HPI's Northeast Regional Office and we are blessed to have the opportunity to see the Heifer Project International at work!
CROP
WALK
Every October, our Board
of Social Concerns and many members of our Faith United Church
family participate in CROP WALK, a five mile walk to
raise funds to help support the overall ministry of Church World
Service, especially the grassroots, hunger-fighting development efforts
of partner agencies in more than 80 countries.
CROP WALKS help to provide tools of hope that empower people to
meet their own needs. From
seeds and tools, to wells and water systems, to technical training and
micro-enterprise loans, the key is people working together to identify
their own development priorities, their strengths and needs-something
Church World Service has learned through more than 55 years of working
in partnership around the world. In
addition, each local CROP WALK can choose to return up to 25 percent of
the funds it raises to local hunger fighting programs.
This year’s Western
Massachusetts CROP WALKS will take place on October
20th. Please
join the Faith United Church walkers or form a group of your own to help
make a difference in the lives of people around the world.
Rebuilding
Together With Christmas
in April
Rebuilding
Together with Christmas
in April is a volunteer community outreach program designed to
provide assistance to people who own their own homes but who, because of
physical limitation or income, are not able to make necessary home
repairs.
Taking a cue form the
old fashioned idea of “barn raising,” our volunteers donate their
time and talents on the last Saturday in April to improve the homes and
the lives of their neighbors. Since 1993, the Springfield Chapter of Christmas in April has repaired and improved a total of over 60
homes in t local neighborhoods.
On April 26 2003,
Faith United Church once again sponsored a site in the Forest Park
neighborhood, bringing a “miracle” to a house on
Belmont Avenue, where amazed and thankful homeowners watched 30
volunteers lovingly complete the preparation and painting of their
three-story home. Mark your
calendar for April 24, 2004 and be a part of next year’s miracle
through Rebuilding Together with Christmas in April.
AIDS
Walk from the Heart
In June of 2000, 2001 and 2003,
teams of walkers from Faith United Church raised approximately $5000 for
the AIDS Foundation of Western MA and in 2002, the congregation became
an official sponsor of the AIDS Walk
from the Heart with a generous gift of $3500.
In June of 2004 the
AIDS Foundation will sponsor the 8th annual Walk
from the Heart, a pledge walk to raise much needed money for
neighbors in our community who are living with HIV and AIDS.
Over the past seven years, thanks to the participation of
thousands of people in the annual Walk from the Heart, the AIDS Foundation has distributed more than
$362,000 to more than 670 people in Hampden and Hampshire Counties who
are living with HIV and AIDS. 100%
of the money raised by walkers from Walk
from the Heart provides emergency help for shelter, utilities, heat
and other basic needs for men, women and children in our community with
HIV and AIDS.
Please show that you
care about people with HIV and AIDS in our community by walking with the
Faith United Church team on June 5, 2005 or by forming and sponsoring a
team of walkers from your neighborhood or place of business.
Your caring and participation will make a huge difference to the
quality of life for people with HIV and AIDS in the Pioneer Valley.
For more information about the AIDS Foundation of Western, MA,
call their office at the United Way of Pioneer Valley; 413-737-2691,
extension 122.
ACTS
Program
We are a long-time host for the
Action Centered Tutoring Services (ACTS) of Springfield. The ACTS
program is a non-profit ecumenical organization, backed by area
professionals, which provides a program of free academic tutoring
designed to meet the educational, emotional and spiritual needs of
children from the greater Springfield region. ACTS serves children from
kindergarten through eighth grade who have been identified by their
teachers as behind grade level. A one-on-one tutoring and mentoring
relationship is established which is founded on Christian principles of
care and nurture.
Habitat
for Humanity
We
are on the verge of embarking on a “Habitat for Humanity” project.
Habitat seeks to build safe, affordable homes with families that need
them. The families work along with the volunteers who help to build the
homes, putting in a significant number of “sweat equity” hours to
help to complete the house. The
balance of the cost of the home is paid by the new homeowners. Our goal
is to work with other organizations to offer the hope of home ownership
to those who otherwise would never be able to have a home that they can
call their own.
|
