Local Outreach (Activities and Donations)
What can I bring to the church?
You can bring food for the Food Barrel, which gets taken to St. Matthew Lutheran. They have a program which coordinates with the Oregon Food Bank to get food to those in need. Our Lenten food challenge is one example of food collection for St. Matthew, but you can bring food any day and put it in the Food Barrel in the narthex.
Once a month the congregation provides snacks for the street youth at Access and Assessment Center (formerly Greenhouse). Bring snacks and drinks on the third Sunday of every month.
Several times a year the congregation provides a meal for the Good Neighbor Center in Tigard. Look for announcements in the bulletin and sign up sheets in the narthex.
Several times a year, a meal is provided for the street youth at Access and Assessment Center (formerly Greenhouse). Look for announcements in the bulletin and sign up sheets in the narthex.
At Thanksgiving, the congregation fills boxes with food for families in need. These families are identified by the Domestic Violence Resource Center in Hillsboro.
Socks and hats for winter, and toiletry items are collected for the Access and Assessment Center(formerly Greenhouse). These can be brought on the third Sunday of any month, and will be distributed along with the snacks.
Heavy winter clothing, gloves and hats are collected in January-February for the Washington County Farm Workers Association. this group gives clothing and blankets to low income workers, many of them seasonal and/or living in very poor conditions (3 families to an apartment, or dirt floors, no heat)
Gently used clothing is collected for Lutheran World Relief twice a year. This clothing usually goes overseas, but some goes to disaster relief in the United States. Items requested are:
- Light and medium weight clothing for men, children, and infants
- Sweaters and sweatshirts of all kinds for men, women, and children
!!!!!Please do not send:
- Women's clothing, except for sweaters
- Heavy winter clothing (bring that for the Farm Worker's Association instead!)
- Gloves, hats (bring for Access and Assessment Center)
- Shoes, purses
- Socks, underwear (bring socks for Access and Assessment Center)
- Pill bottles, stamps, books, pamphlets, household goods, rolled bandages, etc
!!!!!
Blankets can be brought for the Farm Workers' Association collection in January and February. If they are 60" X 80" they can be used for quilt batting. Quilt batting should be left downstairs in the Nifty Knotters' area.
The Nifty Knotters make quilts for babies (Virginia Garcia Memorial Clinic) and youth (Access and Assessment Center[ formerly Greenhouse]) They also make quilts for Lutheran World Relief and graduating seniors. If you are interested in joining a group, call Mary Brown. There is a quilt pattern and instructions on the Lutheran World Relief web site at http://www.lwr.org/parish/quilts.html
Toiletry items, including soap are collected for the street youth at Access and Assessment Center(formerly Greenhouse). Items are taken to the center on the third Sunday of every month.
Twice a year, the congregation brings in new soap bars. In 1999, Lutheran World Relief was asked by their partner agencies in the field to only send new soap. Read about this change in "Lutherans Are In a Lather". You can send new bars of any brand soap. As an idea of how much soap St. Andrew can collect, in spring 2002 the congregation brought in 473 pounds of soap, a total of 1529 bars!
In the fall, the congregation brings school supplies for LWR school kits, and any that are extra are given to the Farm Workers Association to give to children in need. School bags need the following contents:
- Pads or notebooks of ruled paper approximately 81/2" X 11" containing 150-200 sheets of paper
- One blunt scissors (safety scissors with imbedded steel blades work well)
- One 30-centimeter ruler, or a ruler with centimeters on one side and inches on the other
- One pencil sharpener
- Six new pencils with erasers
- One eraser approximately 21/2" long
- 12 sheets of construction paper in assorted colors
- One box of 8,16, or 24 crayons
- One cloth bag approximately 12" by 14" with cloth handles
Pack items in the bag, fold the handles over, and secure with two large rubber bands or tie with yarn.
Every year the congregation buys gifts for children in need by selecting ornaments from a 'Giving Tree'. Although the group to which the gifts go may vary, lots of wonderful things are brought to the church to give. The tree goes up in the narthex close to the beginning of December. Previous gifts have gone to children in the Portland Transitional School, and children of families sponsored by the Domestic Violence Resource Center.
In the spring the congregation usually brings in supplies for health kits for Lutheran World Relief. Here are the instructions:
- One hand towel
- One wash cloth
- One bath-size bar of soap, any brand
- One toothbrush
- One tube of toothpaste, 5 to 7 oz.
- One comb, wide tooth preferred
- One metal nail file, or nail clippers with file attached
- Six Band-Aids, preferably 1/2" to 3/4"
Wrap items in the towel, and tie securely with ribbons or yarn.
Fabric for quilts is always needed and in addition, Lutheran World Relief has a need for sewing kits. Items needed in the kits are:
- Three yards of 44" or 45" cotton or a cotton blend fabric; four yards if 36"
- One package of needles for hand sewing
- One spool of matching thread
- One card of buttons
Wrap sewing notions inside fabric and tie with string, yarn, or strip of fabric.
A very generous donation of yarn was made to St. Andrew. If you would like to make an item for Lutheran World Relief, the GuidePost Sweater Project or something for cold teens at Access and Assessment to wear, the yarn is in a closet downstairs. Ask at the office, or one of the quilters for help. The Guidepost Sweater pattern is on the net, or printed out, displayed in a poster in the narthex.