WAYNE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Alternative Gifts Ministry Alternative Gifts Ministry
Faith In Action Partners for 2024
This year ’ s featured partners represent urban , local and global gift choices.
Urban Choices
The Common Place / Cornerstone Christian Academy
Mitchell Elementary School / West Kensington Academy / Sherwood
Christian Outreach Center
Local Choices
Baker Industries / Interfaith Hospitality Network
Great Valley Food Cupboard / Gemma Services
Global Choices
God’s Precious Children (Liberia) / GROW ESL
Recent Hurricane Relief Efforts
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
Each year Wayne Presbyterian Church offers the Alternative Gift Ministry during the Advent Season as a way to respond to a variety of special needs of partners supported by Wayne Presbyterian Church's Mission Outreach Monetary donations are made to mission partners you select via the online form. Donations are tax deductible.
Please know we appreciate your generosity and your support during this Advent Season! On behalf of our mission partners, Thank you!
Lani Fabere | Faith In Action Committee
MITCHELL
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Cornerstone CHRISTIAN ACADEMY
Alternative Gifts
DEADLINE TO ORDER IS DECEMBER 15, 2023
Why do we call it Alternative Gifts?
Typically, at Christmastime, we give material gifts to special people in our lives. The concept of ‘Alternative Gifts’ is as an alternative to giving a material gift, you give a card describing a donation you made helping to support a mission partner You donate to Wayne Presbyterian Church on behalf of a mission partner, and you give the card to the special people in your life letting them know of the donation.
Who do most people give Alternative Gifts to?
We have heard many wonderful stories of families that have made it a tradition to give Alternative Gifts to loved ones that have moved away from the Wayne area. Teachers, Doctors, Nurses, Caregivers, First Responders, and neighbors are great choices
How do I order?
Visit our website or use the QR code.
As you choose your selections, the form automatically totals your donation amount and displays the billing information at the bottom of the form. Once you click on 'Submit' you cannot make any changes to your order. You will receive a detailed receipt of noting your itemized selections via email.
As with all online credit card transactions , the church pays a fee for each transaction. This year, we are offering the option for you to offset this credit card processing fee , allowing the mission partner to receive 100% of your donation
Gift Card Facts
If you select to receive gift cards, they will be ready f church 48 hours after you submit your order. The cards w marked table in the vestibule as you enter the church f outer doors of this vestibule are not locked You may en time.
What do the cards look like?
Cards are note-card sized. The front is a beautifully stylized picture of our church, and the back describes the mission partner and how your donation helps this mission partner advance their ministry.
The Common Place, a sacred space established by Wayne Presbyterian Church in 2013 which seeks to offer holistic care to the children and families of Southwest Philadelphia. Located at the corner of 58th Street and Chester Avenue, it is home to various organizations that come together working to meet educational and social support needs. With an arts-based after-school enrichment program, an arts-
based after-school enrichment program, social services, and community events, The Common Place is Reviving the Spirit of Hope in Southwest Philadelphia.
WAYS TO GIVE
Donation of your choice
Southwest Arts and Technology Camp (SWAT Camp) Scholarships
Provides children with a safe environment with enrichment activities (including academic enrichment, coding, web development, nutrition, yoga, and weekly trips) during the summer months | Donate One Week of Summer Camp for $60 or One Month for $240
Mission Trip Supply Fund | Donation Levels start at $50
Cornerstone is a K-8 Christian school, inspiring faith since 1988 is now celebrating 35 years, in part thanks to the support of WPC Located in the Kingsessing area of SW Philadelphia, they are a beacon of hope to families desperate for a quality education for their children. Education is expensive so this year we would like to help with their Scholarship Fund. When you give a gift to the Scholarship Fund, you are helping fulfill their mission of making high quality, independent school education affordable for families The funds help to provide tuition assistance, with Cornerstone families sharing some financial responsibility for their children's tuition
WAYS TO GIVE
Tuition Assistance | Donation levels start at $25
Cornerstone CHRISTIANACADEMY
The funds help to provide tuition assistance, with Cornerstone families sharing some financial responsibility for their children's tuition.
‘Sherwood’ has been an important partner of WPC for 30 years, serving as a community meeting place, a soup kitchen (where many WPC volunteers have given their time and talents), and a daycare. The daycare, located in the historic church, continues to operate despite the space deteriorating over the years Sherwood Christian Outreach Center currently needs emergency assistance to install a new roof so they can worship and continue their work in a safe and healthy environment. The repair process has begun, but additional funds are needed to proceed and complete the work.
WAYS TO GIVE
Construction Funds | Donation levels start at $25
URBAN
MITCHELL
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Our longtime partner, Mitchell School, is a public K-8 school in the Kingsessing area of SW Philadelphia with a student population of over 300 children. In recent years Mitchell has risen academically but still has huge needs for their students. WPC has a strong volunteer program there The Student Activities Fund provides funding for various programs such as field trips and celebrations The Chess Team also has funding needs for costs involved in travel to out of town competitions.
WAYS TO GIVE
Donation of your choice
Student Activities Fund | Donation Levels Start at $15
Chess Team Fund | Donation Levels Start at $15
Located in North Philadelphia wi tly immigrant community, West Kensington Ministry provides a safe s programs for children and youth ywho live in a neighborhood with high and poverty They offer mentoring programs, recording, and silk-screenin c nights, and various opportunities to engage the creative arts in efforts side children, youth, and adults in their neighborhood. Most recently, the n helping refugees who have been transported to the Philadelphia area s on their backs. To make a direct impact, sturdy and solid boots and m seekers are a desperate need especially during the winter
WAYS TO GIVE
Donation of your choice
Cold Weather Accessories Fund
Donation Levels Start at $10
Shoes/Boots Fund
Donation Levels Start at $25
LOCAL GIFT CHOICES
Gemma Services promotes hope and healing through mental health services, education, and specialized support specialized support for vulnerable and at-risk kids, teens, and families. Seventy troubled students live in residence at The Martin Luther School in Plymouth Meeting, PA and receive counseling while continuing their education. The Amazon gift cards span their on-going needs for both students and staff.
WAYS TO GIVE
Donation of your choice
Amazon Gift Card
Donation Levels Start at $10
Family Promise of the Main Line (formerly Interfaith Hospitality Network of the Main Line) is the leading national organization addressing family homelessness while providing shelter and support to families who are experiencing a temporary crisis in housing. Since 1997, Wayne Presbyterian Church and other faith organizations on the Main Line host guest families for seven days, four to five times a year
WAYS TO GIVE
Donation of your choice
Wawa Gift Card | Donations start $15
Visa Gift Card | Donations start $25
Uber / Visa Gift Card | Donations start $50
Baker Industries is a 501 ©(3) nonprofit workforce development program with locations in Malvern and Philadelphia. Since 1980, Baker has employed and found outside employment for the disabled, recovering substance abusers, parolees and the homeless
who are often sidelined based on their challenges At Baker, employees receive a regular hourly wage and the opportunity to engage in workshops, social events, support groups and more designed to help them build the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to succeed in the workplace. Each year, dozens progress to a good job in the regular economy.
WAYS TO GIVE
Donation of your choice
Transportation Fund
Daily Bus Pass Donation $5 or Weekly Bus Pass Donation $25
Amazon Gift Card
Donations start at $35
Great Valley Food Cupboard (GVFC), provides food and basic household supplies at no cost to needy families in the Wayne and Great Valley areas Their mission is to treat all who come for help with dignity and to respect meeting their food insecurities with care, concern and compassion.
WAYS TO GIVE
Donation of your choice
Shopping Bag Gift Card (pack of 10)
Donation Levels Start at $10
Grocery Store Gift Card
Donation Levels Start at $25
GROW ESL works to bring hope to the many immigrants and refugees who are living in nearby neighborhoods of Northeast Philadelphia. GROW ESL is a "word and deed" ministry that teaches English as a English as a second language, along with life-skills, to help immigrants thrive in their new community Volunteer teachers share the Gospel and pray for students in every class while offering their love and friendship
WAYS TO GIVE
Conversation Cafe Pass | Donations start at $5
Conversation Cafes are held a few times a year and give our students an opportunity to practice speaking English in a smaller group setting. Healthy snacks and food are provided
Tuition Assistance (1 semester of classes) | Donation Levels Start at $70
Founded in 2000 by former Wayne Presbyterian Church leaders Andrew and Sarah Hotstetter, God’s Precious Children is a Christian ministry focused on improving the educational system in Bong County, Liberia. Through school construction, teacher training and educational scholarships, rural students living in poverty can access quality education. The majority of the almost 200 students come from families who are living on just a few
dollars a day Since it’s inception, this small organization has helped thousands of Liberian children reach their educational goals including high school graduation and even college.
WAYS TO GIVE
Tuition Assistance
Donation Levels Start at $65 for Elementary School , $85 for Middle School and $120 for High School.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) is the emergency and refugee program of the PC(USA). They are currently still responding to the devastation left behind by both Hurricanes Helene and Milton in October that affected Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee
Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida on September 26th as a very dangerous category 4 hurricane, with Milton following the same destructive path not 2 weeks later. With the storm surge, wind damage, and flooding concerns that needed immediate attention it is crucial to have the necessary resources to support the many communities that have been affected earlier
PDA is currently working with FLAPDAN (Florida Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Network) and Presbytery leadership to assess the needs while responding to the immediate needs of both Helene and Milton.
Your gift will enable the denomination to support all the congregations and communities in the path of the storm while also bringing hope and encouragement To learn more, visit PCUSA.org.
WAYS TO GIVE
Donation Levels Start at $5
