Alternative Giving encompasses various ways to give during Advent that connect RCPC with our neighbors throughout Roanoke. Below you’ll find ways to participate in our physical item drives for Stuffed Animals for the Fire Department and Police Department, Sudanese Refugees, and the West End Center, as well as ways to give directly to our many mission partners as a gift for a loved one.
SUDANESE REFUGEE GIFT DRIVE
This year we have both a virtual list and an in-person tree! On our virtual Sudanese Refugee Gift list, you will find the names, ages and gifts requested by/for the children. Please sign-up below to purchase the gifts listed. In the Gathering Area at RCPC, there is a tree adorned with other names, ages and gifts for the children. These tags have 3 parts. Fill out the white one and place it in the basket, so we’ll have a record of who is purchasing that gift. For both lists please be sure to place the name tag and a gift description tag securely on the front of the gift, so that it is delivered to the correct child. Bring in your gifts by December 10, so that they will be delivered to our families in time for Christmas.
Instructions:
-
All presents should be gift-wrapped.
-
Attach two (2) tags - one with the child’s name and one that tells what’s inside (the second one will be removed before delivery)
-
Return the presents to RCPC on/by December 10
WEST END CENTER COLLECTION OF SOCKS AND UNDERWEAR
You’ll sign up through a specific link in upcoming issues of This Week to provide a specific size of socks and underwear for a specific student. Gift drop off information below.
ALTERNATIVE GIVING TREE
To donate to Family Promise, House of Bread, RAM, Hunger Mission Team, Haiti Mission Group, PCC, or West End Center use the link below to fill out an online form with information about your loved one and donate to the specific GoFundMe for the organization. You can also visit our community Christmas Tree on Grandin Road near the prayer line and pick up a paper form to fill in and return to the church in person by Sunday, December 17 or via mail with check enclosed. Whichever way you donate to our mission partners in honor of a loved one, the Deacons will collect the submitted information to mail a card of thanksgiving to your loved ones.
FAMILY PROMISE
Family Promise of Greater Roanoke empowers homeless families with children to achieve sustainable independence through a community-based response.
HUNGER MISSION GROUP
The Hunger Mission Group is a ministry both fully funded and staffed by the congregation. Each week, congregants put together food bags for the weekend for children at Hurt Park and Lincoln Terrace Elementary Schools. Additionally, other volunteers make food purchases, restock the pantry at the church, and bring in grocery bags.
ROANOKE AREA MINISTRIES
Serves a hot lunch to our homeless neighbors 365 days a year. Every day over 90 people benefit from this meal in the west end of our community.
HOUSE OF BREAD
$10 provides ServSafe training for one student. $25 supplies the ingredients for one batch of bread to be sold. $50 provides a weekly stipend for a participating student in this prison-recovery program.
HAITI MISSION TEAM
Your donations will go to support the salaries of the teachers of St. Timothee’s School in Le Revoir, Haiti. An annual salary for a teacher is $1,000 in US dollars.
PRESBYTERIAN COMMUNITY CENTER
The Presbyterian Community Center (PCC) is a ministry designed to help our most needy Roanoke neighbors through prayer and a wide assortment of mission activities. Established in 1967 to provide for the basic human needs of the residents of Southeast Roanoke, the PCC today assists families and individuals living in the eastern quadrants of Roanoke City, eastern Roanoke County and the Town of Vinton.
WEST END CENTER FOR YOUTH
West End Center for Youth is a non-profit organization serving children in the West End and Roanoke Valley since 1979. The center provides an after-school program that helps prepare children for success in school and life. The center offers a variety of resources for families and community activities for the children. RCPC has had a long relationship of supporting this center.