Missions and Outreach 2010
This year marks our third year, partnering with KIVA in providing micro loans to the worlds working poor. We were able to help change the lives of people in more than thirty countries around the world. To date, we have made over 100 loans and reinvested $3800.00, (52% to women), in more than 30 countries, with money paid back from our original loan/donation of $900.00.
We also took part in another Project Start Right for 2010, providing new backpack filled with the school supplies for children in need in Clackamas County. This year, we were able to contribute, fill and personally hand out 314 backpacks directly to the children.
One of our big activities in 2010 was our Mission Trip to Mexico that included a group of our kids and adults. This year, the focus was at the Love In Action facility in Chapala and Villa Infantil, a home for abandoned infants/toddlers. The projects included the planting of fruit trees and vegetables, installation of a garden drip system, and other general repair projects.
The annual Coat and Sweatshirt Drive was held again this fall and is now a regularly sponsored activity for the church. The proceeds from the drive provided warm clothing for those in need to Wilsonville Community Sharing/Oregon Food bank clients here at Frogpond.
The Pies in the Park project continues to be an annual event, delivering 100 pies and seven cakes to help provide a holiday meal for the homeless in Portland.
And finally, we completed another very successful year of Alternative Christmas Giving. Through charities chosen locally, and internationally, Meridian United Church
Of Christ Missions and Outreach Team was able to reach out and touch the lives of those in need around the globe. This year's organizations we chose to support were Outside In medical clinic in Portland, North Willamette Valley Habitat for Humanity and Mayan Hands.
As part of our Alternative Christmas Giving program this year, we also sponsored a Christmas Giving Tree in our Narthex to assist members of our church family to make ends meet during the Holidays. The Missions and Outreach Committee has decided to make it part of our Alternative Christmas program in the future.
Our ongoing Coffee Creek Project continues with so much help from everyone at Frog Pond. On average, the team puts together twenty to forty backpacks per month for inmates at Coffee Creek Women's Correctional Facility in Wilsonville.
Thank you, Frog Pond congregation family for your generous hearts and all the help you gave us in accomplishing what we set out to do. With your help and support, we look forward to another successful year in 2011 and many years to follow.