Sustaining Congregational Excellence in the Christian Reformed Church in North America A program for smaller churches

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1 Sustaining Congregational Excellence in the Christian Reformed Church in North America A program for smaller churches Health & Renewal Grant Application Form (Submit by June 1 or December 1) *** A completed sample application is available on the SCE website **Churches may receive a maximum of 3 HR grants in a 5 year period. The 5 year period begins on the date when the first grant is awarded. For example: If the first grant is awarded in January 2011, the church may apply for another 1 st time grant any time after January ** 1. General Information a. Name of project Food Pantry Expansion: Hygiene Closet Project b. Information on congregation(s) involved Church name: Mailing Address: Classis: Silver Spring Christian Reformed Church 1501 Arcola Avenue Silver Spring, MD Hackensack Number of active, adult professing members (as stated in the current Yearbook): 86 (Current Yearbook information is required to receive a grant) Number of worshipers on an average Sunday morning: 110 Ordinarily are representatives of your congregation present at classis meetings? (Required to receive a grant) Does your congregation participate in the Minister s Pension Fund? (For our information only) Yes Yes What percentage of Denominational Ministry Shares did your congregation contribute in the last fiscal year? (a minimum of 10% is required to receive a grant) 100% Denominational records indicate 1005 for Dates of church s fiscal year: January 1 December 31 c. If your church has a mission and vision statement complete the following: i) Church s mission statement: none ii) Church s vision statement: none 1

2 d. If your church doesn t have a mission and vision statement, please briefly explain your understanding of the mission of your church and what you believe your church s direction is for the next five years. The primary mission of our church is to provide a place for Christians to worship, learn about, and serve God as a community of believers. We strive to follow Christ s footsteps by showing His mercy and love to our neighbors and our community. We believe that one of the best ways to serve God is by serving our needy neighbors. We will also do what we can to help our church to reflect its neighborhood s racial and socio-economic diversity. Over the next five years our plan is to grow our currently established programs as well as be open to following the Spirit s prompting in new opportunities that arise. Some of our current outreach activities include: Kids Hope, in which we partner with our local elementary school to help support the academic and social needs of their student; supporting a refuge family; an ongoing Bible study at Arcola Towers, a low-income housing community for senior citizens; and Coffee Break ministries, a Bible study group for women, most of whom are not members of our church. We are also engaging our neighbors of different faiths and developing relationships. We have had discussions with local mosques, leaders of Seventh Day Adventist congregations, and nearby Jewish Rabbis. It is our plan to respond to the needs of these groups through conversation with them and to build partnerships together to help provide ways to support them and, through that, strengthen our local community. By being good stewards and neighbors will we be able to allow the Holy Spirit to work through us to show our neighbors Christ s love. e. What does a healthy congregation mean to you? A healthy congregation means the following: The congregation is not only focused on caring for itself but also for the surrounding community and the world. The congregation is multigenerational and inclusive of all. It uses the gifts of all regardless of age or disability. The congregation builds relationships within itself and also through its community outreach. The congregation has wide participation in its various ministries. f. In one sentence tell us: What is the focus of your project? The primary focus of this project is to improve our service to those in the community who struggle financially by offering hygiene products in addition to food at our monthly food pantry. 2

3 g. Indicate the name and position of those individuals who were involved in the process of preparing the proposal. Jennifer Renkema Food Pantry Director and Community Engagement Coordinator Gladys Van Der Woude Food Pantry Committee member and Food Pantry Shopper Diane Bratt Food Pantry Committee member Amy Wallish Elder Jean Van Dyke Elder Bruce VanAartsen Deacon Jake Besteman Deacon Douglas Bratt - Pastor 2. Project Description a. Please describe your project. SSCRC proposes to expand our food pantry program to include hygiene items through the hygiene closet project. The SSCRC food pantry opened in August In 2016 the food pantry served 75 families per month with an average of 45 pounds of fresh produce and shelf stable foods. The food pantry is open once a month, and participants are able to choose their food. SSCRC purchases the food for the food pantry from the Capital Area Food Bank (food bank). The food pantry is supported by a part time paid director, church volunteers, and community volunteers, including food pantry participants. The hygiene closet project will allow us to expand our services to include hygiene products. Hygiene products are a need that is often overlooked in emergency assistance essential household goods such as toilet paper, facial tissue, soap, feminine products, and other personal hygiene items are costly and are not as widely available as food assistance. Providing hygiene products addresses a basic need and allows a household to redirect financial resources to other areas. We have found that there are no reliable sources of hygiene assistance available to our food pantry participants. The food bank occasionally has hygiene items available, but neither we nor other food pantries are able to rely on the food bank as a regular provider. Through a discussion with another of the largest food assistance providers in our community, we learned that they do not provide regular hygiene product assistance and are not aware of anyone who does. Finally, a call to our local county 311 information line resulted in no known resources for these goods for county residents. SSCRC will implement three project phases: 1) Research, Education, and Set-Up; 2) Implementation; and 3) Evaluation, Sustainability, and Celebration. Phase 1: Research, Education, and Set-Up Phase 1 will begin with researching hygiene closet models that have been implemented in other places to help us design our distribution method. As with our food distribution, we plan to provide choice to our participants. This promotes dignity and hospitality for our neighbors and also reduces waste. 3

4 Along with this research, we will invite food pantry participants to participate in a focus group to discuss the hygiene closet project. Focus group participants will be asked for input on the distribution method and will generate a list of preferred hygiene products. Using the focus group suggestions, we will also gather input from other participants during a monthly food pantry distribution. We will use this information to prioritize which hygiene products we will offer. We will offer $20 gift cards and light refreshments to focus group participants. This encourages participation and shows respect for participants time and costs associated with participating. During Phase 1 we will also educate the congregation about the new project. We will use the church bulletin, a ministry report during a Sunday morning worship service, and the food pantry newsletter to disseminate information about the project to the congregation. We will use these methods to communicate how the project will benefit the community and how the congregation can be involved with the project. We will also use these methods to communicate with the congregation throughout the project. In September 2017 we will celebrate the beginning of this project at our annual food pantry celebration worship service. During this phase we will prepare our storage space and recruit a volunteer who will be in charge of ordering hygiene products. Phase 2: Implementation In Phase 2 of the project, SSCRC will begin distributing hygiene products according to the plan developed in Phase 1. Throughout this phase, we will track the amount of products we order and distribute. This data will be used to help with evaluation and sustainability. Implementation of the project will rely on help from volunteers to sort and distribute the hygiene products. Volunteers will include adults, youth, and children from the congregation. Volunteers may also include food pantry participants. SSCRC plans to purchase most products that are needed for the hygiene closet project at bulk retail prices through online resources. However, as mentioned above, the food bank occasionally has hygiene products available. Through the food bank SSCRC can order products in advance, and we can shop for assorted products at the food bank shopping floor on the day of the food pantry distribution. SSCRC plans to use both of these methods to supplement our bulk purchases of hygiene products. Purchasing items from the food bank is particularly cost effective since we pay only $0.19 per pound for food bank items. Product ordering will be handled by the volunteer identified during Phase 1 of the project. This volunteer will coordinate with the food pantry director and the food pantry volunteers who order food for the pantry. Phase 2 of the project will be ongoing along with Phase 3. 4

5 Phase 3: Evaluation, Sustainability, and Celebration Phase 3 of the hygiene closet project is evaluation, sustainability, and celebration. This portion of the project will use data from the implementation phase and an additional focus group to help SSCRC organize donation drives and apply for new grant funding to support this project. During this phase, SSCRC will invite food pantry participants to attend a second focus group session. This session will focus on feedback regarding the hygiene product distribution. We will ask about product availability as well as the distribution method. We will again offer gift cards and light refreshments to focus group participants. During this phase, we will identify and apply for additional funding for the hygiene closet project. We will also begin holding donation drives. We will hold a church donation drive, and we will ask church members to help identify other possible donation sites, such as places of employment, schools, or other places where they are involved. We will contact potential drive sites and start setting up donation drives. We will use the data from distribution and focus group feedback to identify which products to ask for in a drive, how much to try to collect, and how frequently to run a drive. At the end of the Health and Renewal Grant period, we will again celebrate God s faithfulness to the community during our annual food pantry celebration service. We will include the hygiene closet project in that celebration. We will also share information about the results of the project with the congregation through bulletin announcements and the food pantry newsletter. b. How will the project foster health or renewal in your congregation? When SSCRC started the food pantry in 2013, our ideal was to be more than just a food pantry. This concept included the idea that we could expand our services to other areas as we learned more about our food pantry participants needs. It also included the idea that our food pantry would offer an opportunity for relationships with our community. This project fosters health and renewal by building on these ideals for the food pantry in the following ways: The project responds to a specific need that we became aware of through our work with our community. It keeps us looking outward, noticing and responding to the needs of our neighbors. The project deepens our relationships with the community. For the most part, the food pantry is a service to our community. However, we desire to build relationships with our food pantry participants and other community organizations so that the ministry is also a service with the community. This project requires us to engage food pantry participants in planning and development, giving them ownership and a voice in the hygiene closet project. It also requires us to build relationships with other community groups in order to sustain the program with donation drives and funding. This project will continue to engage a broad portion of our congregation in service to the community. We hope that the project will engage new volunteers and/or deepen the engagement of current volunteers. 5

6 c. What are the goals of your project? 1. We will deepen our relationship with food pantry participants by inviting them to participate in the development and evaluation of the hygiene closet project. 2. We will expand our service to the community by adding hygiene items to our monthly food distribution. 3. We will expand ways for church members to be involved in the food pantry by recruiting volunteers for the hygiene closet and holding a donation drive for hygiene items. 4. We will determine which hygiene items are most desired and use that information to improve and help sustain the hygiene closet project. 5. We will expand our relationship with the wider community by developing relationships with organizations that can support the hygiene closet project with donation drives. 6. We will identify appropriate funding sources to help sustain this program after the Heath and Renewal Grant period. d. What would be evidence that your project accomplished these goals? (For each goal noted in #2c, there should be a corresponding evidence point noted here.) 1. We will hold two focus groups with up to ten food pantry participants in each. We will use the information from these focus groups to make decisions about which hygiene products should be available. 2. We will offer hygiene items during our monthly food pantry distribution beginning in October We will successfully recruit a volunteer who will order hygiene supplies. Volunteers will sort and distribute hygiene items and organize a church hygiene drive. 4. We will gather data about which hygiene items are most popular and gather feedback directly from food pantry participants. We will use this data to inform donation drives and future grant proposals. 5. We will identify and hold donation drives with at least two community groups. 6. We will identify and apply to appropriate funding sources. e. What has your congregation already done that demonstrates a commitment to these goals? SSCRC has had several opportunities to demonstrate commitment to these goals through the ongoing operations of the food pantry. Examples include: We have offered occasional hygiene products during our food pantry distributions when they have been available from the food bank. The response to these items from food pantry participants has been positive. SSCRC has a strong core of volunteers to operate the food pantry. Each month, more than 20 members, including adults, youth, and children, participate in food pantry operations. In addition, four food pantry participants regularly volunteer with set up and distribution. Other participants help with set up at the last minute just because they want to help. SSCRC tracks all of the food that we order and distribute at the food pantry. This has allowed us to change our ordering to meet demand as the number of participants, size of families, and food preferences change. 6

7 SSCRC holds an annual church food drive for food items that are difficult to get from the food bank. We also recently partnered with a local Christian school that ran a food drive and then had students participate as volunteers at the food pantry. SSCRC held a focus group with eight food pantry participants in October The participants shared their experiences with hunger, their strategies for obtaining affordable food, and their barriers to getting the food they need for their families. This focus group was part of a county project to develop a strategic plan to address hunger in the county. f. How is your project linked to one or more of the practices SCE has identified as essential to congregational health (prayer, developing a sense of purpose, and looking outward) or one or more of the ten characteristics of a healthy congregation identified by the Board of Trustees? (For a list, see the overview document describing the Health & Renewal program which is found on the SCE website The primary focus of this project is looking outward. The project expands on our congregation s desire to be a witness in our church neighborhood through our service to the community. The food pantry has been our widest reaching ministry to the community. The food pantry reminds us that we are not just a church that serves ourselves, but that we are called to serve and bring justice to others in God s world as well. The hygiene closet project expands our ability to look outward by: Requiring us to acknowledge that need in our community is not limited to hunger but includes other basic needs as well. Requiring us to acknowledge that even though we know there is a need, we are not experts on that need. It asks us to offer justice by asking our food pantry participants what their needs are and asking them to participate in making decisions. Requiring us to enter into deeper relationships with people who are not part of our Sunday morning fellowship, but who are in fellowship with us each month at the food pantry and who are part of our community. Requiring us to find others who will come alongside of us to serve the community so that we can sustain the hygiene closet project. This project is also linked to the characteristics of a healthy congregation identified by the Board of Trustees in the following ways: Assemble for worship in joyful awe: Each September we set aside one evening service to celebrate God s faithfulness to our church and community through the work of the food pantry. At the start and conclusion of this project, we plan to include the hygiene closet project in that celebration. Nurture and teach members for discipleship: The food pantry program, including the hygiene closet project, provides a way for members of all ages to live lives of discipleship through hospitality to our community. Advocate justice for the poor and the powerless: Although the hygiene closet project does not include any type of political advocacy, the project advocates justice by including the voices of those who are poor and often powerless in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the hygiene closet project. 7

8 g. Please give a brief timetable for the project making sure to list all grant activities. (Ordinarily grant periods are for one year. Events may not be held prior to the awarding of the grant either February 1 or August 1.) Month(s) August September October October July December January January - February March July August - September Activities Educate the congregation about the new project using church bulletin, food pantry newsletter, and ministry report during Sunday morning worship service. Research models for hygiene product distribution. Use information from this research to design our distribution method. Identify member(s) of the congregation who will be in charge of ordering hygiene products. Convene a participant focus group to discuss hygiene product distribution. Discuss distribution method, types of products needed, and ways that participants could help with distribution. Possibly ask focus group participants to help survey other food pantry participants regarding most helpful hygiene products. Select distribution model. Select products to distribute. Organize storage space; purchase shelves and storage bins. Celebrate the start of this new project during our annual food pantry Celebration worship service. Begin distributing hygiene products. Continue distributing hygiene products. Track which products are most popular and how much we distribute each month. Begin to identify other possible funding sources. Plan to apply to appropriate sources. Convene participant focus group to gather feedback about hygiene product distribution. Possibly have focus group participants help gather additional feedback from other food pantry participants. Conduct church donation drive to collect items that we are distributing. Ask church members to help identify possible donation drive sites, such as places of employment, schools, or other places where they are involved. Contact potential donors to begin setting up donation drives; use data from distribution and participant input to identify which products to ask for in a drive, how much to try to collect, and how frequently to run a drive. Apply for additional funding (begin sooner if required). Conduct appropriate donation drives. Continue to gather informal feedback from food pantry participants on hygiene products. Update congregation about results of the hygiene closet project using bulletin announcements and the food pantry newsletter. Hold annual food pantry celebration worship service September; include celebration of the hygiene closet expansion. 8

9 h. Are you requesting an SCE coach to work with the congregation on this project? no 3. Budget * Maximum grant amount is $3,000 plus $1,000 if coaching is requested. SSCRC Food Pantry: Hygiene Closet Program Expansion Project Budget Item SSCRC Heath and Renewal Grant Total Cost Food Pantry Director and Community Engagement Coordinator (5 21 dollar/hour + Social 6.2% and $1,356 $1,356 Storage (shelving unit and storage bins) $100 $100 Gift Cards $20 each for focus group participant incentives) $400 $400 Refreshments ($30 x 2 for focus groups) $60 $60 Hygiene products ($244/month for 10 months) $2,440 $2,440 Total $1,356 $3,000 $4,356 a. What is the total cost of the project? $4,356 b. What is the amount requested from SCE? $3,000 Maximum grant amount is $3,000. c. What is (are) the church(es) contributing for the project? $1,356 (Please indicate whether the church s contribution is in dollars--u.s. or Canadian--or in-kind resources. If the latter, please list them. Note: These contributions are not required, but assist in understanding the capacity for sustainability.) SSCRC will contribute the following for this project: 1) Food Pantry Director and Community Engagement Coordinator Time and Salary Costs: The Food Pantry Director and Community Engagement Coordinator, who will serve as the Project Coordinator, will oversee this project. The director will coordinate volunteers to purchase and distribute products, organize and conduct focus groups, write grant reports, and coordinate other grant activities. The director will recruit volunteers as needed to complete grant activities including research, diversifying funding, and coordinating donation drives. We estimate that the director will spend an average of five hours per month on this project. SSCRC will contribute approximately $1,345 in wages and benefits for the director. 2) SSCRC will contribute a wide range of volunteers to organize products, distribute products, and complete other grant activities. 3) SSCRC will purchase miscellaneous hygiene items using existing food pantry funds. These items will be purchased from the Capital Area Food Bank shopping floor. Availability of these items is unpredictable. They are purchased and weighed by the pound with food items, so the exact cost is difficult to calculate. Any products purchased this way cost $0.19/pound. 9

10 SSCRC plans to purchase appropriate hygiene items from the food bank shopping floor whenever they are available. We will use these products before similar items purchased at retail price. d. How do you plan to sustain this project after the SCE grant funds are gone? SSCRC plans to sustain the project in four ways: 1) SSCRC will continue to contribute resources at the level described in 3c, including salary for the project coordinator, volunteer time, storage, and purchase of miscellaneous hygiene products from the Capital Area Food Bank shopping floor. 2) SSCRC will hold at least one annual church donation drive for hygiene products and will establish a place for members to drop off hygiene items at any time. 3) SSCRC will apply for new outside funding resources. This project will provide the data needed to write new proposals. 4) SSCRC will establish relationships with outside donors and hold regular donation drives to collect appropriate hygiene products. 4. Identify the project coordinator (The project coordinator must be a professing member of the congregation. The coordinator and the treasurer may not be immediate family members.) Name: Position: Mailing address: Jennifer Renkema Food Pantry Director and Community Engagement Coordinator 1501 Arcola Ave. Silver Spring, MD Phone: foodpantry@sscrc.org 5. Identify the project treasurer (The project treasurer must be a professing member of the congregation, but need not be the church treasurer. The treasurer may not be the same person as the project coordinator.) Name: Position: Mailing address: Bruce Van Aartsen Council treasurer 1501 Arcola Ave. Silver Spring, MD Phone: bruc3va@gmail.com 6. Council Approval (Please complete for each congregation involved in the project.) May 11, 2017 Date of council approval Paul Van Veldhuisen Name of chair of council 10

11 7. The overview document (found on the SCE website ) has been read by the project coordinator and project treasurer. (Please complete for each congregation involved in the project.) 4/24/2017 Jennifer Renkema Date overview document read Name of ministry leader 5/24/2017 Bruce VanAartsen Date overview document read Name of ministry leader 11