Greetings, friends! I hope you all have had a wonderful Fall.
It’s certainly been a great one for the Food Basket Ministry. In November we packed 300 baskets which were delivered to WFCM for Thanksgiving. There they were combined with the 60 “Fresh Food Packs” we sponsored as part of the communitywide effort to help feed families in need this Thanksgiving. Thank you to everyone who has contributed their gifts of time, talents, and donations of food and funding that helped make this effort as a success!! We are now turning our sights toward the Christmas baskets that will be prepared on December 13. As noted below, we have several needs below in order to help reach this year’s goal of 300 Christmas baskets and another 60 Fresh Packs.
Donate a Needed Food Item of the Week
Over the next month, CUMC will also be accepting donations of the food items for the Baskets. These can be dropped off between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. M-F, or on Sunday mornings. For Christmas, the food items of the week for the 300 baskets we are preparing are:
November 16: Cheerios Cereal (or similar) Family Size
November 23: Box of Instant Potatoes
November 30: Sugar (1 or 2 lb bag)
December 7: Cooking Oil (48 OZ of less)
Sponsor a Basket or Fresh Pack
We are very close to reaching our goals for this year. If you haven’t already done so, please consider sponsoring a basket or a fresh food pack. You can utilize CUMC’s online giving page (select the fund "Hunger Missions/Food Baskets) or place a check in the offering plate on Sunday morning (please write “Food Baskets” on the memo line). 100% of all donations go directly to feed the hungry in our community, and are fully tax deductible.
Make a Basket at Home
You can also support this effort by purchasing the supplies and making a basket at home! If you would like to make a basket at home, please sign-up here. Approximately 48 hours after you sign-up, you will receive an email with a printable packing list to include with your basket and specific instructions to guide you. Thanksgiving Baskets should be delivered between November 1 and November 15, to Centreville UMC (6400 Old Centreville Road, Centreville, VA, 20121).
Volunteers Needed for Multiple Events in December
As you probably guessed, the Christmas Baskets will the largest we’ve ever attempted, and multiple helping hands are needed to help make it a success. This will be an all-hands event, and we are currently requesting volunteers for the following events, all of which will be at CUMC:
Friday, December 12 (7 p.m.)—Box Making Party! We are looking for multiple volunteers to help us prepare the 300 boxes (baskets) that will be filled on Saturday, Dec. 13.
Saturday, December 13 (11 a.m.)—Set Up Crew. Volunteers are also need to help us prepare for basket packing, setting up tables, moving and organizing food, and other tasks.
Saturday, December 13 (12 p.m.)—Basket Packers. Help us pack 300 baskets, tape & stack completed baskets, etc.
Saturday, December 20 (7 a.m.)—On the 20th, we’ll be transporting the 300 baskets to WFCM in Chantilly for distribution later that morning. We are hoping to have multiple folks with multiple vehicles to caravan over to WFCM that morning.
If you would like to volunteer, click here.
Thank you again for your support of this ministry!
Blessings & Peace
Chris Granberg
(202) 570-5768