The Social Action Committee is involved in a number of initiatives for community outreach, education and social justice. The Committee encourages and enables members of the congregation to reach out to the larger community of Grand Rapids, the Country, the World. Congregational participation is needed and welcomed. We are looking forward to working with "Beyond Sunday" to increase this participation. Ideas for new projects are also welcomed, especially from those who want to work on those projects themselves. It has been accepted SAC policy that positions on any issue are not made in the name of Fountain Street Church as a whole, but by sponsoring groups within the church, with which congregants can choose to be involved.
Thanks to the yearlong generosity of Fountain Streeters during our Sunday collection plate offerings, the amount of monetary contributions ear-marked for social justice and social advocacy issues TRIPLED from 2008 to 2009. This tremendous growth in giving occurred during a year of calamitous economic turmoil at all levels - community, state, national, and international. Because of your commitment to significantly enhance our outreach efforts, the SAC, on behalf of Fountain Street Church, was able to substantially increase the monetary total of individuals grants.
We have a budget that varies yearly depending on the current financial health of the Church as a whole. One of the major responsibilities of SAC members is to consider organizations and allocate our funds. Beyond our Committee funding, many parishioners give generously to particular projects of their choice. The majority of the budget goes to local organizations addressing poverty concerns, public education, women's issues, world peace, and environmental and health issues. Following is a list of organizations to which we contributed this year. These disbursements are in addition to the funds already set aside for our annual GRCC scholarship. Many volunteers also contributed their time to these organizations along with the SAC contact persons.
RISES (Running In Solidarity with El Salvadorans)
ANSWER (American-Nepal Student & Women's Educational Relief)
2010 New Orleans Trip
Grand Rapids Planned Parenthood
Grand Rapids Habitat for Humanity
Grand Rapids Home Repair Services
GRACE Hunger Walk
Grand Rapids Urban League
Grand Rapids Public Library Summer Reading Program
Rosa Parks Statue Fund
FSC Pastor's B Fund (assistance for non-congregants)
Grand Rapids ACLU
Grandville Center Arts & Humanities
Micro-Finance Project (TBD)
Grand Rapids Montessori School
Throughout the year we are also involved in participatory projects such as the Hunger Walk, Holiday Food Baskets, AIDS Walk, and The Citywide Food Drive. SAC and congregation volunteers participated in a fix-up project at Heartside Ministries. We co-sponsored, with other organizations, several events held in the Social Hall.
News from the Social Action Committee
To keep updated on what's percolating at FSC in the areas of Social Ministry, Social Advocacy, and Social Justice, please check out the totally re-vamped SAC Bulletin Board in the Social Hall. News items that you will find on the bulletin board include information on:
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Hospital Albert Schweitzer - Haiti, a well-respected hospital established in Haiti more than 50 years ago, was selected to receive a financial donation from FSC to assist its work in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. Our check to HAS totaled $4,000, ($3,000 collected from the congregation during the Worship Service on January 17th, plus a $1,000 matching grant from SAC). Thank you all for your generosity! To learn more, connect to www.hashaiti.org.
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Freedom from Hunger, a well-established international development agency that collaborates with more than 50 local organizations in over 16 countries, was chosen by SAC on behalf of FSC as the recipient of $500 to augment its microfinance projects that assist very poor families, particularly women, around the globe. To find out more, please visit www.freedomfromhunger.org.
You will also be able to read lots of Thank You letters from various organizations that were among those chosen by SAC last December, on behalf of FSC, to receive grants to assist them in carrying out their critical work in countries all around the world, as well as close to home. May reading them warm your heart and validate that because of your donations, FSC is indeed CHANGING THE WORLD!
SAC members are currently involved in the process of codifying the procedures and policies that will be utilized in determining the disbursement of monies from our Social Outreach Fund. These polices and procedures, which will be finalized in the near future, will be instrumental in realizing a more formal disbursement process beginning this year.
Many thanks to SAC members for their on-going commitment to Social Justice!
Remember, FSC's Social Outreach Fund is fed and nourished solely by the congregation's weekly contributions. WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN VERY SIGNIFICANT WAYS.......Thank you!!!
ACCESS Food Collection
FSC can be proud that over many years it has helped provide food for hungry families. By bringing in cans and boxes of food, as well as cash donations on the 1st Sunday of every month, we supply food for the ACCESS pantry network. Actual food collected goes to the Bethel Pentecostal Church Pantry, and cash and checks got to ACCESS to support the whole program. But what's the best way to help.....with food or money? Feeding America West Michigan (formerly Second Harvest Gleaners) gathers excess, surplus, leftover, and discontinued food, and distributes it to food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and special programs like our Christmas Basket Drive. The sell the food to the programs at very low cost to cover their administrative expenses. For instance, at FSC a donor can give a $10 check to ACCESS, and this can be leveraged to buy $200 worth of food from Feeding America. Your contribution will go farther, and you can more easily take a tax deduction for it. On the other hand, is often missing such foods as canned fruit, soup, canned meats, cereal, and pasta. If you, or your children, want to bring in cans or boxes of food, the pantry will especially welcome these items. We understand that bringing the food is a tangible way to help. So please contribute each month in the way you like, money or food items, and a BIG thank you from all who benefit!