our winter Journey:  cold weather care kit fundraiser

This week, we're talking about connecting with others through service. Jesus tells his disciples, "Whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant." How do you serve others?

One way that we serve others at Journey of Faith is by hosting Washtenaw County's Daytime Warming Center for those dealing with homelessness and housing insecurity during the winter months. For the first two weeks of December and during the month of March, we offer a space for shelter and rest, relaxation and healing, and, of course, lots of nutritious, high quality food. It’s a place where people care enough to keep you warm and love you enough to listen to your story.

When folks leave this space of love, we want to make sure they can carry the warmth and love with them. Our Cold Weather Care Kits allow us to make that possible. These kits are stuffed with essential care items like soap, shampoo, warm gloves and socks and even water and food. We pass them out to people that need them throughout the year, but we work especially hard to make them available while we host the warming center, first in December and then in March. These are the times when the weather puts particular strains on those who live and/or spend significant time outside; when things like chronically damp feet can lead to infections and sores and unprotected hands can lead to frostbite. 

Our Cold Weather Care Kits let those who have to deal with homelessness and housing insecurity during the winter months know that there are people who care about them and want them to be warm, fed, and safe. Because of the care we put into the kits, they are not inexpensive, however. One fully packed single kit costs $50. That's where you come in. We've made the goal of proving 100 Cold Weather Care Kits to the warming shelter during their time with us. If we can get 100 people to donate the cost of one bag ($50) or 50 people to donate the cost of two bags ($100), we'll have the entire cost of supplying Cold Weather Care Kits to the warming center covered. 

We know that 100 bags is a big goal. But we know that we've accomplished much harder goals than this! And we know that making sure that people have the little things, the things that nobody thinks about as important, can make surviving a cold Michigan winter so much easier! If you can donate, click on the button below! You will be led through the steps from there to make your secure online donation of any amount. You can also send checks to the church--please make sure to designate that your check is meant for the Cold Weather Care Kits Fundraiser. Every single penny you donate will go towards making sure that each person that visits our day time warming center leaves with a Care Kit! 

Thank you for your generosity!

"Above all, I am determined to be generous because God is generous.  It is the delight of Your daughters and sons to share Your traits, and to show what You are like to all the world."

1900 Manchester Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48104 | 734.971.4245 | jofdisciples@gmail.com