by Alison Pierce

As the year draws to a close, the Missions Committee is so grateful to our church congregation for their generosity throughout this past year.Thanks to you, we have been able to
continue our mission of outreach in our community, in the state, throughout the country, and around the world.

In December, we felt compelled to help those in our neighboring community who are without shelter or housing. Our donation choices for the month reflect a continued trend of more people seeking food and housing assistance. The Valley Breeze recently reported the following: “Though Woonsocket’s citizenry accounts for 4 percent of the state’s population, the city has about 10 percent of the state’s unsheltered homeless population and 10 percent of all those in emergency shelters, not including waitlists. The most sobering statistic of all, say advocates, is the city’s estimated spike in its homeless population since last year: 35 percent.” In addition, a recent report by the Rhode Island Community Food Bank states that 38% of all households within the state are considered food insecure – an increase of 11 percentage points over last year, due to rapid cost increases in rent, utilities, transportation, child care and health care, and basic annual expenses.

With those sobering reports in mind, we donated $400 to New Beginnings in Woonsocket. Feeding lunch to those in need Monday through Thursday each week, New Beginnings has a
mission to feed the community holistically, believing in nourishing the entire body, soul, and mind of each person that comes through their doors.

In addition, the committee voted to donate $400 to the North Smithfield Food Pantry, a mission near and dear to our church’s heart. The Food Pantry has seen an uptick in need as the winter months approach and we were happy to give them additional funds to fill their shelves.

To help our neighbors in nearby Blackstone Valley, the committee agreed to donate $1,000 to Blackstone Valley Emergency Shelter, which provides temporary shelter to those who are homeless or unsheltered and live in the Blackstone Valley in Massachusetts. They have partnerships with eight of the police departments in the area, including Blackstone, Milville, and Uxbridge. Bags of Hope are provided to the officers, which include thermal blankets, gloves, hats, warmers, snacks, and other items. They also provide gift cards to restaurants such as Subway so that the recipient can get a meal, use the facilities, and charge their phone as a paying customer. The officers also help with referrals for shelter and other services that will help those in need in the long term.

The committee also approved providing $200 to purchase food for those attending the December Sensory Friendly Service and will reimburse the Broaster House for meals provided to the Men’s Shelter this month.

Lastly, we want to thank all of you who donated so generously to our Adopt-a Family event in December. All the tags were taken within minutes during coffee hour and every single gift was returned wrapped and ready to go on December 15th. Wow! In addition, many of you who didn’t get a chance to take a tag for a gift asked how you could help out. We suggested purchasing additional gift cards for each family, so we were able to add extra gifts to each of our 4 adopted families. What an amazing congregation we have!