Christ Church Outreach News: October 3, 2024
Last Call: Please Join In the Fall Food Drive at Dorsey’s Search Giant Supermarket from Noon to 4 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 5
Walk-ins and children are welcome when Christ Church holds its Fall Food Drive from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5. Please take a one-hour shift outside the Dorsey’s Search Giant supermarket, 4715 Dorsey Hall Drive, Ellicott City, Md., 21043. For information, email Christ Church Outreach at outreach@christchurchcolumbia.org.
We’ll be asking shoppers to collect non-perishable groceries for the Howard County Food Bank and its partner, SAFE Food Pantry (SAFE). Christ Church held its Spring Food Drive at a Giant store in Clarksville last April (above photo), when shoppers enthusiastically responded to our requests to buy suggested items on a list.
The Community Action Council of Howard County (CAC) operates the Food Bank, using a client-choice model just like a grocery store to help low-income residents. People can fill their shopping carts without having to use up their federal food assistance benefits, known as SNAP, making a slim household budget go much farther. CAC tells us demand is greater this year than before, so please do your part to help fill the gaps.
The Food Bank’s partner, SAFE, provides free gluten-free and allergy-safe foods to eligible households. It celebrates its 10th anniversary in October as a volunteer-run nonprofit whose full name says it all: Supplying Allergy Friendly and Emergency Food Pantry. SAFE distributes through the Food Bank and at its own site and maintains a donation bin at Christ Church at the rear of Parish Hall.
Christ Church Sends Disaster Aid to Victims of Hurricane Helene
After Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida on Sept. 26 as a Category 4 storm, it unleashed massive flooding throughout the Southeast. At least 166 people have lost their lives and countless others have lost their homes and livelihoods and are suffering through power outages, the Associated Press reported.
Episcopal Relief and Development is helping as it collaborates with faith-based and community-led organizations in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina that have been impacted by the destruction. Similarly, Global Refuge (formerly Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service), is in Florida assisting nearly 600 immigrant families in mobile and single-family homes and is working with Inspiritus (GA) and Lutheran Services Carolians to help in those states.
Please join in praying for those harmed, from residents of flooded communities in mountainous North Carolina to those in the flattened Big Bend section of Florida. ERD offers these Hurricane Season prayers.
Christ Church is among donors aiding survivors. Members of the Outreach Commission voted to contribute $500 to ERD and $500 to Global Refuge, which are the latest humanitarian aid donations in 2024. The most recent went to UNICEF for humanitarian aid in Sudan and to ERD to help U.S. wildfire survivors. Before that, two donations went to World Central Kitchen to help victims of Hurricane Beryl in the Caribbean and to feed displaced people in Gaza. These are Vestry-approved funds derived from your pledges and contributions. Heartfelt thanks go out to one and all who make this possible.
Columbia Community Care Calls for Teens to Volunteer at Its Pantry
Columbia Community Care (CCC) said on the CCC Facebook Group that it has lengthened its pantry hours in hopes of attracting teenage volunteers who can earn community service credits at their public schools by sorting supplies. The longer hours are on Wednesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please spread the word.
Go online to learn how to volunteer at the pantry, located in the rear of the Long Reach distribution site at Long Reach Village Center, Suite 107, 8775 Cloudleap Ct. Also consider volunteering at that site on Saturdays from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. or one of the other locations: Wilde Lake Interfaith Center, 10431 Twin Rivers Rd., and The Barn at Oakland Mills Village Center, 5853 Robert Oliver Place.
Those who need groceries and other necessities can find information by going online to “Get Help” on CCC’s website.
CCC continues to request baby-care items and diapers, especially sizes 4-6. It currently has an inventory of pullups. Put these along with sanitary and personal care items and adult diapers in the yellow bin, marked “CCC,” inside the Parish Hall. Drop off items on weekdays when the church office is open or on Sundays. The Christ Church point of contact is Leigh Smith, who monitors the bin and delivers items.
Look for the FISH Bin on the Breezeway near the Parish Hall
FISH of Howard County requests non-perishable foods and toiletries, which we collect in the basket at the altar or in a marked yellow bin on the breezeway between the Parish Hall and Old Brick. FISH provides committed support to select families in need. The neighbors you help give thanks for all you do in their support.
In general, if you have suggestions about ways to help the community, if you want to get involved, or if you need assistance, please email Christ Church Outreach at outreach@christchurchcolumbia.org. Your help is greatly welcomed and appreciated. Thank you.
