Alternative Giving Bazaar
We are thrilled to provide the opportunity for you to share gifts with loved ones that help those in need. At the bazaar, you can donate to the agencies and projects supported by our local, national and international missions committees, including our long-time partnership with the United Orphanage and Academy in Kenya, which relies heavily on these gifts to provide education and shelter in these challenging times.
One purchase gives two gifts: one, to meet a need of a person, family, or group of people you don’t know; the other to honor your family, friend, co-worker or neighbor. Visit the bazaar in-person on December 8 & 15 in Fellowship Hall following the 11:00 AM service, make a donation online below, or download a donation form and mail it to the church office.
ALIVE!
The oldest and largest organization preventing food and housing insecurity in Alexandria, ALIVE! serves 20,000 individuals each month through three key programing areas: Food, Housing, and Financial Assistance. Founded in 1969 and rooted in community, ALIVE! is supported by a 17 member staff, 50 interfaith congregations and thousands of volunteers, partners and donors. ALIVE! tackles the problem of food and housing insecurity through our Food Hubs; food, furniture, and housewares distribution; and providing financial assistance to prevent emergences and crisis from spiraling.
ALIVE!’s clients are all (100%) residents of Alexandria. They represent every age, gender, religion, race, and ethnicity; and including individuals with disabilities, children, veterans, seniors, the working poor, immigrants and refugees.
Bridges to Independence
Founded in 1985, Bridges to Independence (Bridges) leads individuals and families out of homelessness and into stable, independent futures. In addition to operating Arlington’s only emergency family shelter, Bridges offers a new Community Services Center in Green Valley and provides housing, workforce development, financial empowerment, and a youth development program. For the seventh consecutive year, 100% of Bridges’ youth graduated high school successfully. Additionally, 100% of the students continued to college, technical school, or entered a specialized career of their choice. That’s a true recipe to break generational cycles of poverty, and they can only do what they do with your help this holiday season!
Carpenter's Shelter
Carpenter's Shelter supports children, women, and men experiencing and at risk of homelessness to achieve sustainable independence through shelter, housing placement, guidance, education, and advocacy. Founded over 35 years ago, Carpenter's Shelter has been at the forefront of combating homelessness in the Alexandria community. We provide critical services and resources to help individuals and families transition from homelessness to permanent, affordable housing. Our comprehensive services include educational and employment programs, medical and mental health care, and specialized family support.
At the heart of our services is two 64-bed emergency residential shelters, which serve as a safe haven for individuals and families, alongside David’s Place, a day shelter offering basic needs like showers, laundry, mail, and telephone services to chronically homeless individuals. During the colder months (November to April), we operate the Winter Shelter in partnership with the City of Alexandria, providing overnight shelter for hundreds of individuals.
Child & Family Network Centers
Forty years ago, mothers living in public housing in Alexandria discovered that seventeen of their children would not be moving on from kindergarten to first grade. They immediately sprang into action and founded the Child and Family Network Center(CFNC). Born out of necessity and the intense desire for all children to achieve academic success, regardless of socioeconomic status, CFNC has never strayed from this vision. Our work not only educates the child, but partners with families to remove barriers to success. CFNC’s mission is to provide free high-quality, multilingual early education and wrap around services to under resourced children and their families in their own neighborhoods to prepare them for success in school and in life. The funding we seek will meet the immediate needs that we see for our children as they enter preschool as “COVID Babies” with unique and extensive needs.
The vast majority of their families live at or below 130% of federal poverty guidelines and cannot afford private preschool programs. Many are essential workers and have been hit hard by the economic ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their diverse families served in FY24 speak 12 languages -- English, Spanish, Amharic, Dari, Arabic, Farsi, Krio, Mali, Potois , Tigrinia, Twi, Urdu.
Community Lodgings
Since 1987, Community Lodgings has served Alexandria with a mission to lift families from homelessness and instability to independence and self-sufficiency through Transitional Housing, Affordable Housing, and Youth Education programs. Daily, they address housing, education, and food insecurity for hardworking, low-income families in Alexandria. 98% of resident families are working - and that is one job - most have two jobs and many have three, yet they cannot afford market rate rent, escalating food prices, and basic necessities.
Friends of Guest House
Friends of Guest House helps women successfully reenter the community from incarceration. Since their founding in 1974, Guest House has helped more than 5,000 women break the vicious cycle of incarceration, reunite with their families, and reintegrate into their communities. Guest House is the ONLY 24/7 residential reentry program for women in Northern Virginia and is the largest program in the state. Without reentry support, more than 70% of ex-offenders nationwide reoffend within two years; among Guest House graduates 15% reoffend. Friends of Guest House believes in women, families and second chances—envisioning a world where your past does not define your future.
Just Neighbors
The mission of Just Neighbors is to provide high-quality immigration legal services to low-income immigrants, asylees, and refugees in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia; and, to build community among clients, staff, volunteers and the larger society through education, advocacy, and volunteerism. They provide humanitarian legal services to victims of political upheaval, natural disasters, armed conflict, and crime. Just Neighbors Ministry is a mission project of the Northern Virginia District of the United Methodist Church.
Neighborhood Health
Neighborhood Health’s mission is to improve health and advance health equity in Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax County by providing access to high-quality primary care regardless of ability to pay. They operate 15 clinics in Northern Virginia, 5 of which are in the City of Alexandria. This year, they provided primary health care services - medical, dental, and behavioral health - to more than 40,000 under resourced residents in Alexandria and the surrounding communities.
Neighborhood Health is:
- Ensuring access to cancer screenings for uninsured patients
- Providing access to free/low-cost medications for low-income patients
- Ensuring at-risk groups know their HIV status by providing free community testing events
OAR
For 50 years, OAR of Arlington, Alexandria and Falls Church has had the honor of journeying with individuals of all genders impacted by the criminal legal system and their loved ones. OAR’s direct services programs include alternative sentencing options (including community service for youth and adults) and diversion programs so people can avoid the trauma of incarceration and instead help the community thrive and pre- and post-incarceration reentry services for adults. OAR has also pushed for racial and economic justice to ensure a better future for all. OAR is grateful for fifty years of working in solidarity with Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church, and the surrounding communities. Thanks to your unwavering support, OAR has so much to be proud of. At the same time, OAR also wants to acknowledge how far we must go to achieve a just and equitable world. Together, we can make it happen.
Rebuilding Together DC • Alexandria
Multiple studies show strong connections between housing stability and improved student achievement, workplace productivity, and increased health and wellness. When people have access to safe, stable housing, they put down roots, which enhances community stability and fosters more socially, culturally, and economically diverse neighborhoods throughout Alexandria. Rebuilding Together’s work promotes stable housing. Through their Safe and Healthy Homes program, contractors and volunteers of all skill levels provide free home repairs, correcting multiple health and safety hazards in homes occupied by low-income individuals and families.
Senior Services of Alexandria
The City of Alexandria is home to approximately 27,000 residents aged 60 and older, with over 7,500 living alone. Senior Services of Alexandria (SSA) is dedicated to fostering independence and self-sufficiency among these older adults, enabling them to age with dignity in their own homes. SSA offers a range of services focusing on nutrition, transportation, social engagement, and access to information, all of which contribute to a better quality of life for Alexandria’s seniors.
Together We Bake
Together We Bake’s mission is to provide a comprehensive workforce training and personal development program to help women gain self-confidence, transferable workforce skills, and invaluable hands-on experience which will allow them to find sustainable employment and move toward self-sufficiency. The program revolves around a small baking business in Old Town Alexandria.
Make a donation through the AGB, or order products directly from Together We Bake. All proceeds from sales go directly back into supporting their program. Choose from delicious, handmade chocolate chip cookies, cinnamon pecan granola, and/or trail mix. Order today at togetherwebake.org.
Westminster Community Grant
The Westminster Community Grants program was started in 2012 by the Local Missions Committee. Through this program, agencies that provide critical social and humanitarian services in Alexandria and Northern Virginia are able to apply for program and project support in the areas of children, health and hunger, education, shelter, and self-sufficiency. While our congregation, through Local Missions, gives on-going support to several worthy local organizations, Community Grants offers additional agencies across the region the opportunity to apply for one-year grants up to $5,000. Since 2012, Westminster has provided grants to support fifty separate projects totaling $230,000. These grants have served a wide range of needs, and greatly expanded and deepened our relationships with the recipient agencies. Their accomplishments and gratitude are immeasurable! Please consider a contribution to help fund WPC’s 2024 Community Grants.
National Partners
Appalachia Service Project
Appalachia Service Project is a Christian ministry, open to all people, that inspires hope and service through volunteer home repair and construction in Central Appalachia. Today, with the help of 17,000 volunteers each year, ASP’s goal remains to make homes warmer, safer and drier for families in need. Westminster is pleased to have taken multiple successful adult and youth ASP trips since 2010, including a high school summer mission trip in 2022 and 2024.
Yet ASP is more than a home repair program. It also provides a unique framework that fosters transformational experiences for volunteers, families served, and staff — by building relationships with each other that break down cultural, social and economic barriers.
Society of St. Andrew
Each fall, Westminster sends a team to glean apples for the Society of St Andrew. This organization coordinates gleaners to harvest fresh produce that has been left behind after farms and orchards in Virginia have finished their harvest. The produce is then taken to food banks within our region, so that people can have fruits and vegetables when they otherwise may not be able to afford it. In addition to their efforts in Virginia, Society of St Andrew has offices and programs across the South and Midwest.
Presbyterian Coffee Project
Started in 2001, this partnership between Equal Exchange & the Presbyterian Hunger Program gives churches and individuals access to organic, fairly-traded products. In addition, for each pound of fairly traded coffee, chocolate, tea, and foods Presbyterians purchase through the Coffee Project, 15 cents goes to the Presbyterian Hunger Program, Small Farmer Fund.
Live out your values with fair trade. Buy Equal Exchange coffee, tea, chocolate, and olive oil for home and gifts following worship on December 5 and 12! Or order online for direct home shipping at shop.equalexchange.coop (choose “Presbyterian” in the “Coffee Project” dropdown menu at checkout).
Please note that Westminster is not taking any direct donations for this project.
Spirit Lake Dakota Nation
Since the early 2000s, Westminster has provided financial and volunteer support of the Bdecan (pronounced Bah-DAY Chan) Presbyterian Church, which is the only Native American Presbyterian Church in North Dakota. Along with the Presbytery of Northern Plains, Westminster’s annual budget funds the ministry of Chandra Mendieta, who runs programs for all ages at the church, including a food pantry that serves about 200 families monthly, as well as a clothing closet and winter clothing drive. Our budget also funds scholarships for students at Cankdeska Cikana Community College, a tribal college located on the reservation. We have also sponsored many adult and youth mission trips focused on the children and site needs, and we hope to organize a church-wide trip after an excellent leadership visit in September 2024.
International Partners
United Orphanage & Academy
Since 2001, Westminster, along with several other local churches, has supported the United Orphanage & Academy (UOA) in Moi’s Bridge, Kenya. UOA provides support for approximately 55 orphans and vulnerable children through high school, and on through college or vocational training for those who are accepted for post-secondary education. The Academy provides K-9 education for the orphans and nearly 200 local children, approximately 40 of whom receive scholarships that cover tuition, lunches, and supplies. The original residents at UOA are now adults with their own lives and careers, including nursing, construction, and graphic design. They continue to return to UOA, which they call home, to visit and mentor current residents.
Donations will help continue our ongoing commitment and support of UOA. One hundred percent of funds are used to house, feed, care for, and educate the orphans and to provide scholarships to the Academy for local vulnerable children. With changes to the educational structure in Kenya, we have added a grade to create a new Junior Secondary School within the Academy. That, alongside increased employment taxes and food and gas costs, make this support all the more critical to provide shelter and opportunity to all God's children who are served by this ministry.
Community Coalition for Haiti
Founded by two local churches, Community Coalition for Haiti (CCH) has been working and partnering in Haiti for more than 5 years. CCH ministries transform lives, one by one, through long-term and community-driven solutions in healthcare, education, and community development projects. Originally based in Pignon in the upper plateau of Haiti, our Primary Care Clinic, Rehab (PT/OT) Clinic, and offices are in Jacmel, Haiti, and the schools and communities we serve expand out of Jacmel into more rural areas.
Heifer International
The idea of giving families a source of food rather than short-term relief has continued for more than 50 years under Heifer International. As a result, families in 115 countries have enjoyed better health, more income and the joy of helping others. Heifer animals and care training offer hungry families around the world a way to feed themselves and become self-reliant. Children receive nutritious milk or eggs; families earn income for school, health care, and better housing; communities go beyond meeting immediate needs to fulfill dreams. Farmers learn sustainable, environmentally sound agriculture techniques.
