In fulfilling these duties, the board coordinates and participates in the
following annual activities:
Current Outreach/Mission
Activities Done by the Board of Christian Service
•
Hands on
Hartford (formerly Center City Churches) - We provide lunch at
the soup kitchen four times during the year. We serve on Columbus Day
(October), Election Day (November), Martin Luther King Day (January) and
Good Friday (April). Contact Person – John Thompson at
Judge6@comcast.net.
• Hunger Walk – We
publicize and try to get people to walk and sponsor walkers in both the
Crop Walk in October sponsored by Church World Service and the
Hunger Walk in May sponsored by Foodshare.
Contact Person – Sarah Wilson at
sarah.wilson@thehartford.com.
• Rummage Sales -
There are two rummage sales a year (one in the fall and one in the
spring). All the funds go to the BCS for distribution.
Contact Person –
Dave
Liscinsky at
david.liscinsky@cox.net.
• Turkey Drive - For
many years, the Board of Christian Service has collected turkeys the
Sunday before Thanksgiving. The majority of them are given to Foodshare.
Foodshare helps hungry people in CT.
Contact Person -
Paul
Fraleigh at
paul@fraleigh-gray.com.
•
Fred Wish Elementary School – We have sponsored the Polar
Express night in the past, and we’re now sending volunteer readers to
the school on a consistent basis.
Contact Person- Sally Riddell at
grammasal2000@aol.com.
• Giving Trees - Each
Christmas season, First Church sets up two giving trees that benefit
several organizations. The Board of Christian Service has a tree with
tags for
Cromwell
Children’s Home and
Covenant to Care.
Contact People - Valerie Escalera at
Miguel.escalera@sbcglobal.net
and Michael Ersevim at
mersevim@cox.net.
•
Mobile Food Share Van - Mobile Foodshare is a “Farmers Market”
style food distribution service sponsored by Foodshare. It provides
fresh produce and other food items to lower income people.
A Mobile Foodmobile comes to
First Church every other Wednesday serving clients from 11:00 to
11:45.
Contact People - Sally Riddell at
grammasal2000@aol.com
and Paul Fraleigh at
paul@fraleigh-gray.com.
•
Horace Bushnell Food Pantry - For many years, First Church has
collected food items and brought them to Horace Bushnell Food Pantry in
Hartford a few times a month. There are two collection boxes at church –
one in the back of the church (narthex) and one in the back lobby. Now
we are also providing the volunteers to serve hot breakfast to people on
the second Saturday of each month at the pantry.
Contact Person - John Thompson at
judge@comcast.net.
• “Help Your Neighbor Day”
- The vision was to have one day in the fall and one in the spring where
church members get together and help other church members with yard work
and other small house projects.
Contact Person - Dave Liscinsky at
david.liscinsky@cox.net.
• Adult/Alumni Mission Trip
- This trip gives young people who have benefited from the youth mission
trips a chance to go again and serve people who are in need. Anywhere
from 30 to 50 parishioners and friends of First Church go on this annual
trip to
Back Bay Mission, and they range in age from 18 on up. This
week-long trip gives participants a chance to do hands-on mission work,
including building and refurbishing houses for people who need a helping
hand.
Contact Person - Sharon LaFargue at
slafargue1@cox.net.
•
SERRV
- For over twenty years, SERRV products have been sold during the Advent
season. SERRV is a nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating
poverty wherever it resides. When people purchase SERRV products, they
are having a direct impact on our global market’s great injustices: the
inequality in income and quality of life for people living in developing
countries.
Contact Person - Mitsey Baker at
mbaker28@cox.net and
Valerie Escalera at
Miguel.escalera@sbcglobal.net.
