December Community Outreach Update

And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God. (Hebrews 13:16)

Hello WCC! Welcome to our latest Community Outreach Update… As we head into the holidays, there’s no shortage of needs in the community, so we’re highlighting some opportunities to help single moms in our own church and hurting families in our community, some events to serve at or attend, and some needs that will go beyond the holidays and through the winter. In addition, we’re continuing to put out a call for some exciting future teams we’d love for you to be part of. Take a look and jump in whenever or wherever you can. Have any questions, please let our Community Outreach Team know. And now for this month’s update…

ADOPT-A-FAMILY
Don’t miss this opportunity to bless a family in need. We want to help the single moms in WCC’s The River: Single Moms Ministry. By adopting them, we can alleviate some of the financial burden and stress they face at the holidays. You can find out more details and instructions here. In addition, you can also help a family in need through Combined Community Services Adopt-A-Family program. You can find full details and sign-up instructions here. These are great opportunities for growth groups, families, and ministries to participate in. Can’t adopt a family entirely, consider donating pajamas and a Bible through Sonlight’s PJ’s & Bibles drive. Drop-off locations are available throughout the WCC building.

NEW EISENHOWER NEEDS & OPPORTUNITIES
As part of our focus on caring for vulnerable children and supporting our school partners, we want to help Eisenhower Elementary School fill the shelves of their new food pantry and clothing closet. To learn more about what’s needed and how to provide items, check out our blog post here. Another opportunity at Eisenhower is to help them with their Christmas Market the week of December 12. Not much is cuter than being able to assist kiddos as they shop for loved ones. Sign up for these fun 20-30 minute slots through the link here. For questions about Eisenhower’s Christmas Market, contact: Jill Boyer, (574) 540-6145.

UPCOMING EVENTS & QUICK SERVING OPPORTUNITIES
As the holidays approach, we wanted to point out some upcoming opportunities that are fun to participate in and easy to serve through, while making a huge difference.

• Community Life ESL Christmas Party is Tuesday evening, December 6, at Harrison Elementary School. Help our team celebrate the students, our coaches, and their families. There are simple opportunities of less than one hour for set-up and tear-down or to help provide drinks or desserts.
• Angel Tree Gift Wrapping for Salvation Army is Thursday, December 16, 9:30am at the Salvation Army building (501 E Arthur St. Warsaw). You can come at any time between 9:30am and mid-afternoon, helping for an hour or as long as you’d like.
• Bell ringing for Salvation Army is now underway. With a few locations in the community and lots of opportunities to ring, sign up to be part of this American tradition.
• Annual Night of Hope & Inspiration Concert with Danny Gokey for Fellowship Missions on January 29, 2023, 7pm. Tickets are now on sale with multiple options to choose from.

BABE BOUTIQUE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Our local outreach partner Heartline Pregnancy Center is in need of volunteers at the BABE Boutique, which provides expectant parents and parents of children up to age 5 an opportunity to shop for much needed baby items. Volunteers can serve for as little as an hour and no experience is needed. The boutique is located in the K21 Health Services Pavilion, Suite 230 at 1515 Provident Dr in Warsaw. If interested, please call or text Dave Koontz (574) 551-0239.

LOCAL PANTRY & SHELTER NEEDS
Our local pantries at Combined Community Services, Salvation Army, and Our Father’s House are continuing to serve an increased number of households. Each month seems to have more families in need being served. Please consider picking up a few extra items when you shop or join with your growth group to stock up and drop off at one of the pantries. You can find a current list of regularly needed items, with drop-off locations and times here: Local Food Pantry Needs. In addition to the items needed, each organization can regularly use volunteer help in their pantries. Whether it’s just an hour or multiple days a week, every bit of help allows our partners to care for more people. Fellowship Missions also has some shelter needs and volunteer opportunities. A list of needs can be found here, and to learn more about the latest volunteer opportunities check here.

EISENHOWER & PIERCETON SCHOOL TEAM SUPPORT
As part of our focus on helping vulnerable children and supporting our school staff on the front lines of care, we’re looking to expand our Eisenhower and Pierceton Elementary School volunteer teams. Whether you can help regularly, or your time is limited, the teams would love to keep you in the loop. We’ll have some different opportunities throughout the year, special events to volunteer for, and a new food and clothing pantry to help keep stocked. Want to help at Eisenhower, Pierceton, or curious about other schools? Send a message with your name and contact information to our Outreach email and we’ll get you plugged in.

FUTURE VOLUNTEER TEAMS We’ll be putting some additional teams together to serve the different needs of our county, but we’d like to get a list of interested people we can keep in the loop as more details become available and we can share next steps and answer questions. If you’d like to learn more, please contact our Community Outreach Director, Greg Demopoulos, by email or call 574-268-0188, x256 for more details.

NEWS AND TEXT ALERTS
As a heads up, when we have urgent needs, we post here on the WCC News Blog and often send a quick text message to our Community Outreach Response Team. You can sign up for the text message alerts by texting the word WCCRESPONSE to the number 877-329-2240.

Thank you for making an eternal difference at WCC and in our community!