Christ Church Outreach News: September 19, 2024
Howard County Walk to End Alzheimer's - September 21
The Walk to End Alzheimer’s, an important annual drive at Centennial Park in Ellicott City, is on Saturday, September 21st this year, and your help to raise funds and awareness for Alzheimer’s care, support, and research is needed and appreciated. You can learn more about the event and how to register or donate on their website. Whichever way you choose, it helps to remember those who have been lost to this disease and bring attention to the critical research needed to eradicate Alzheimer’s and mental deterioration.
Home Sweet Home
The WOCC, in partnership with Grassroots, is providing new home kits for those who have recently been homeless and have now found an opportunity to have a home of their own. The kits include much-needed, common materials for anyone who needs assistance with starting a new life chapter.
Please visit our sign-up sheet here, which has specific items you can provide. From trash cans to gift cards, each item will make them feel more at home. Your item donations can then be deposited into the marked bin near the Outreach table in the Tower Room of New Brick. If you have any questions or need assistance, please speak with JoEmily Knox or Sara Kirkpatrick at church, or email WOCC@christchurchcolumbia.org. We hope you'll participate in this program, which ends on September 22nd.
Hands-On Volunteer Opportunity: Grab a 1-Hour Shift on Saturday, Oct. 5th at Dorsey’s Search Giant Supermarket to Aid Two Food Pantries
On Saturday, Oct. 5, Christ Church will hold a food drive at a local Giant supermarket, engaging shoppers to collect hundreds of pounds of non-perishable groceries for the Howard County Food Bank and its partner, SAFE Food Pantry (SAFE).
Several of you have already signed the clipboard in the Narthex to take a shift of an hour, or more. Choose a time between noon and 4 p.m. at Dorsey’s Search Giant, 4715 Dorsey Hall Drive, Ellicott City, Md., 21043, located near MD Rt. 108 and Columbia Road. Walk-ins and children are welcome! We are continuing a family-friendly, hands-on activity that Christ Church most recently held in April at a Giant store in Clarksville (see photos).
During the Spring Food Drive, shoppers enthusiastically responded to our requests to buy suggested items on a list. The yield was 1,440 pounds of non-perishables for the Food Bank and 120 pounds for SAFE. Let’s do even better at the Fall Food Drive!
The Community Action Council of Howard County (CAC) operates the Food Bank, using a client-choice model just like a grocery store to help people struggling to make ends meet. CAC tells us demand is greater this year than before. For example, in the first four months of 2024, CAC reported a 23 percent increase in shopping visits per month and a 21 percent increase among households with children when compared to the same period in 2023.
The Food Bank’s partner, SAFE, provides free gluten-free and allergy-safe foods for low-income households. It is celebrating 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 to registered households through the Food Bank and at its site and maintains a donation bin at Christ Church near the rear exit of the Parish Hall.
Donate a Used Bike on Saturday, Oct. 5th from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. during Free Bikes 4 Kidz Annual Collection Day at Howard County Fire Stations
Please help Free Bikes 4 Kidz Maryland (FB4K) on its annual collection day, Saturday, Oct. 5, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at every fire station in Howard County. No matter how dusty –or rusty – FB4K wants your used child- or adult-sized bikes. As the organization says on its Facebook page, “We take bikes in any condition--even if your bike can't be fixed, we'll take usable parts off of it and correctly recycle the rest.”
Volunteers for FB4K will refurbish the bikes and give them away to local children in need and to nonprofit organizations in December. Since 2019, FB4K has given away 9,000 bikes, including adult bikes last year and in 2022 at the request of Christ Church. A bike went to one of the Afghan refugee families who are supported by the Interfaith Refugee Ministry and another went to St. Luke’s Youth Center (SLYC) for a college-bound youth as described in the Outreach Blog of Sept. 22, 2022.
Columbia Community Care Needs Diapers and Other Baby-Care Items
Columbia Community Care (CCC) continues to need baby-care items and diapers. Sizes 4-6 are in the greatest demand. It currently has an inventory of pull-ups, thanks to a generous individual donor. Also, consider collecting sanitary and personal care items and adult diapers. Put them 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 its contents.
Those who need groceries and other necessities can find information by going online to the “Get Help” section of CCC’s website. Or learn how to volunteer at CCC’s distribution sites or as a translator or a shopper at its pantry. Check for updates on the CCC Facebook Group.
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.
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