Greetings!
For a number of years our church has participated in giving tree ministries. In brief, the purpose of the giving tree is to help ensure every child in our community receives at least one gift to open for Christmas. We’re experimenting with a few small changes this year, which I’ll outline below, but our purpose remains the same. Above all else, the giving tree is one concrete way we can love the city with the heart of Christ. I strongly encourage you to participate at whatever level you are able this year.
As we have for many years, the church will continue to participate with and support the Some Other Place giving tree effort. This community wide effort blesses around 1000 children each year and is a great way to bless the children of our city.
In the last couple of years, we began including families of the daycare that meets on our church grounds. I understand that there has been some frustration and a few misunderstandings related to this additional opportunity to give. From what I have gathered, little to no information has been shared about what the daycare does or why it was suggested that we support those families. I’ve spoken with various church leaders who have helped with our previous efforts. I’ve been excited in the last few weeks to finally make the short trek over and get to know the leadership and hear their story! I want to share a brief bit of what I’ve learned with you.
Once Upon A Dream moved in a few years ago and has been operating their weekday childcare program since. The organization was founded as a faith based non profit with a special focus on teenage moms and other parents who had no other options for childcare. They work with the school district and with various government assistance programs in order to ensure that parents still in high school and those who cannot otherwise afford care are able to receive high quality care for their children. The school also has open enrollment options for any other families who need childcare in the area.
The families that we’ve reached out to adopt for the giving tree effort are those families who qualify for various assistance programs through the daycare. Several of these families may slip through the cracks with other organizations based on where they live or what organizations they are able to connect with. That’s why we’re working this year with Some Other Place to verify that we aren’t duplicating our efforts and are able to spread the blessings as far as possible. And in future years, we’ll seek further opportunities to join our efforts with other organizations in town. I look forward to learning more about Once Upon A Dream, finding ways we might partner in their important work, and creating opportunities to share the story of the incredible work they do with the church!
Between the daycare and SOP, we plan to sponsor 60 children this year. The exact cost of the gifts varies a bit, but a donation of $60 each or around $3600 in total will allow us to bless all of our sponsored children. I know this amount will stretch us a bit, but I believe we’ll be able to accomplish our goal of ensuring every child receives this incredible blessing. The tree will be out starting Sunday November 12th and gifts are due by Tuesday December 12th. We’ll have one tree, but the tags will look a little different if you would like to support a child identified by either specific organization. Here’s how you can help:
You can take a tag with a name and specific toy requests and bring the gift(s) back by the deadline (December 12th). Please bring back gifts with the name tag (so we can identify the right child) and do not wrap any presents.
You can sponsor a child by donating $60. Label the donation “Giving Tree” or donate online now by going to this link.
You can make a donation of ANY AMOUNT to help with part of a gift, filling in gaps for a family, or to adopt a whole family. Again, label your in person donation “Giving Tree” or click this link.
I hope you will find as much joy in this effort as I do as we seek to bless the children of our city. Please reach out any time with questions, concerns, or ideas as we seek to love the city with the heart of Christ more and more each day!
Pastor Jeremy (jeremy@fumcbeaumont.org)