We will be supporting 3 different organizations. As with many things this year, to keep everyone as safe as possible, our gifts will look different than previous years. However, the impact these gifts will have on our community will be just as great!
Wellspring Lutheran Services is a merger of Lutheran Child and Family Services, Lutheran Homes (for Seniors), and Lutheran Refugee Services with offices and residential facilities throughout Michigan.
Hope Clinic is a Christian agency in Ypsilanti that provides free medical and dental services, a food bank, and other services for low income people in our community.
Both Wellspring Lutheran Service and Hope Clinic this year are asking for monetary gifts they will then use to buy gift cards to give to families to do their own Christmas shopping. This will minimize the number of people in contact with gift cards. To make a monetary gift thru St. Luke, bring or mail a check to church that is made out to St. Luke, and indicate on the memo “Giving Tree”. Or Online – there is a fund called “Christmas Giving Tree” on the St. Luke website and the St. Luke app under “Give”. No amount is too small, and together, St. Luke will make this Christmas special for so many families! We will split the monetary gifts received evenly between these two organizations. Please have all monetary gifts to St. Luke by December 6.
Circles Program is based on developing relationships across socio-economic lines to have a dramatic impact on moving families out of poverty. The Circles program matches a person in poverty with middle or upper-income partners for at least 18 months. These relationships help break the cycle of generational poverty by creating circles of support, assisting families in creating their own personal paths out of poverty to thrive and achieve economic independence. This year, the Circles Program is asking for 17 Christmas gift bags with snacks and age-appropriate family board games or card games for a family game night. You may also include an appropriate greeting or message. Please keep the total cost of each gift bag to no more than $25. Please put the family’s designation on a tag attached to a handle of the gift bag.
Ideas for snacks could be popcorn, chips, candy, cookies, hot chocolate or your favorite game night snack (please avoid nuts). Ideas for games could be Uno, Bingo, Jenga, Connect 4, Checkers, Pictionary, Candyland, Mouse Trap, Chutes and Ladders or your family’s favorite game! Please sign up to provide one of these gift bags at this Sign-Up Genius link.
Children’s ages will be indicated for each family on the Sign-Up Genius. Please return these bags to St. Luke by December 13.
Last year, we provided more than 300 gifts and almost $3000 in gift cards to these 3 organizations to make Christmas special for the families they work with. This year, the need is just as great – let’s surpass what we gave last year as we come together as the body of Christ to shine His light in this world! Any amount you can give will make that light shine even brighter this Christmas!
Since there will be no ornaments with tags to take off the tree this year, the amount collected will be shown by the color of the ornaments. They will begin as all red ornaments. The appropriate number will be changed each week to silver to reflect the monetary gifts received. Let’s make that tree shine!
