FESTIVAL OF SHARING - Blog

Welcoming with backpacks

6/17/2022

Thank you for partnering with Festival of Sharing to collect Welcome Backpacks for Church World Service! The kit collection happened Friday night through Saturday morning of Annual Conference and 89 backpacks were shared. CWS representatives Matt Stevens and Leonard Blue, as well as Ferncliff Warehouse representative, Rebecca Roetzel were present for the collection and celebration. The backpacks were taken back to the Ferncliff Warehouse near Little Rock, Arkansas to be prepared for shipment across the United States as CWS responds to and supports refugees and asylum seekers in their resettlement journeys. The backpacks include essential items such as healthy snacks, a reusable water bottle, a few basic hygiene items, a blanket and more. This kit stands out a little more compared to others that CWS collects because of the character of the different backpacks and water bottles. Each person who receives a backpack and its contents can feel the love and support that went in to picking out the backpack and packing it with care.
CWS currently collects Welcome Backpacks all year round. If you would like to join this effort, you can pack a kit and turn it in at any of the Sharefest events this fall, or you can visit cwsglobal.org/donate/welcome-backpacks/ to donate $75 for a backpack to be assembled. For more information, please contact Sidney at 573-474-3332 or festival@socket.net.

Heifer Int. Empowering Women Farmers

5/13/2022

This year we are working to support the Empowering Women Farmers program in Nepal. It has been active since 2017 and is now in its second phase. Demand for goat milk and meat is high, so learning animal management skills and gaining access to feed and other resources empowers farmers to grow their businesses and incomes. The first phase helped train 308 community health workers on things like vaccinations and deworming- which establishes local expertise and creates a source of income for other community members. In the second phase, Heifer is working with cooperatives to analyze demand and support farmers in retaining more of their profits through processing and branding. With increasing skills and profitability, the goal is to end poverty for a half a million families by 2023. Read the full story from Heifer International at https://www.heifer.org/our-work/flagship-projects/empowering-women-farmers-in-nepal.html.

Festival of Sharing Supports Food Security Efforts

5/5/2022

Festival of Sharing is expanding our mission of supporting efforts to reduce poverty and hunger. We are excited to mark year two of offering the Growing Access Grants by awarding $9,800 to 11 agencies across the state. The applications we received were not only diverse in agency location but also in the population being served and the project theme. A few project examples include produce bags incorporating familiar foods for refugees. Grocery gift cards for youth in a program enabling them to live independently and learn to budget, shop and prepare nutritious meals. A teen empowerment collective that helps Hispanic youth build community around preparing healthy food and snacks. And a Saturday breakfast community for low-income, elderly and immigrant families.

We hope the Growing Access Grant will support projects, programs or services that will impact hunger, nutrition or food security. We also encourage applicants to consider an approach to empower the target audience or community. Many of the agencies we partner with work to meet immediate food needs and help people and families navigate the factors that might’ve led to food or nutrition insecurity. They are building relationships, providing education and increasing community awareness. We want them to know their work is appreciated and supported by the Festival of Sharing.

This year’s grant awardees are Whole Health Outreach (Ellington), Salvation Army (Lebanon), Open Door Service Center (Sedalia), Migrant Farmworkers Assistance Fund (Lexington), Loaves & Fishes of Maries Co. (Vienna), Lazarus Ministries (KC), Lifwise STL (STL), Hope House (Lake Ozark), Hillsboro Food Pantry (Hillsboro), Della Lamb (KC) and Cornerstones of Care (KC). We are excited to partner with these agencies as they live out their passions to reduce hunger, expand nutritional options and improve food experiences.

Funding for this year’s grant cycle came as an anonymous estate gift. We celebrate the life of this donor and appreciate the opportunity to share their legacy of service and compassion with agencies around the state. We are grateful for monetary gifts received throughout the year, which help us extend support to agencies working in their communities. If you are interested in supporting future grant opportunities, checks can be made out to MOAC with Festival of Sharing- Missouri Hunger in the memo line. Mail to Festival of Sharing, 3601 Amron Court, Columbia, MO 65202.

To learn more about funding opportunities, like our Cooperative Response Grants for church-community partnerships, please visit festivalofsharing.org/resources.

Bread for the World

4/15/2022

As a collective Christian voice working towards ending hunger at home and abroad, Bread equips people to participate in organized advocacy. That may be through writing personal letters and emails, meeting with members of Congress, or hosting an Offering of Letters. Bread seeks to change legislation that will reduce chronic hunger- when there is no option to eat when hungry, the lack of calories and/or essential nutrients, the ongoing problem with getting food to eat.
Hunger exists in many types of contexts and can happen to anyone. There are different ways to advocate for improving food and nutrition sources. You can participate as a group/congregation by hosting an Offering of Letters. Bread outlines 6 steps for organizing one of these special events with the support of a Bread regional organizer. (As well as a more extended guide below.) A great way to learn about the impact of hunger and poverty is to check out on of Bread’s issue-related fact sheets on hunger and poverty, hunger in the Latino Community, mass incarceration, etc. You can write a Letter to the Editor of your local newspaper highlighting what people are experiencing in your own community. This is a great opportunity to raise awareness and encourage involvement from others. Bread also shares resources for how to effectively use public meetings to engage with members of Congress.
Advocacy is an opportunity to use your talents, gifts, skills and relationships to impact hunger. To decrease food insecurity, to increase access to nutritious and affordable food, to come together as communities and acknowledge what ourselves or our neighbors might be experiencing. Bread for the World also invites us to pray to end hunger. To pray for God’s grace, for people who experience persistent hunger, and to equip faith-grounded advocacy actions.
Conducting an Offering of Letters Guide

MO Annual Conference Collection 2022

3/30/2022

It has been the tradition for many years for Festival of Sharing to host a special collection of items at the Annual Conference meeting of Missouri United Methodist churches. This year we are excited to continue this tradition with a new opportunity. We are encouraging churches to bring 1 Welcome Backpack with them to donate to Church World Service. This is a new kit that CWS initiated in 2021 as an opportunity to Christian love by providing a few essential items for the thousands of refugees that will make their way into the U.S. Their website describes the efforts:
CWS also welcomes asylum seekers at the U.S. southern border by partnering with 17 border shelters. These shelters receive asylum seekers released from Border Patrol or ICE, providing them with food and shelter and arranging transportation for them to reunite with their families.
Often, refugees or asylum seekers come with few material possessions - and we will be there to welcome them into their new communities. CWS Welcome Backpacks are a new part of the process - providing unaccompanied minors and families with the essentials for their transition: food and water, children’s activities, a blanket, basic hygiene items, and PPE.

Collection directions

A collection bin will be placed inside the south main entrance to the Convention Center. Enter the surface lot off of Sycamore street and you will see the doors. Backpacks need to be placed in the collection bin by 12 PM on Saturday, June 11 as the CWS warehouse truck will be loading and taking the items back to Ferncliff, AR immediately.

We are excited to support CWS in these efforts. If you'd like to learn more about their work with refugees and immigrants, please visit https://cwsglobal.org/learn/refugees-and-immigrants/.

A trip to vandalia

3/4/2022

It was about 0 degrees outside on the January morning I was scheduled to deliver 760 hygiene kits to the women at the correctional facility in Vandalia, MO. To enter the facility, I had to receive prior approval from the Department of Corrections and set up a time to drive through the back gate to access the dock. This type of delivery requires timeliness and preparedness. I had allowed for extra time with my travels that morning, but I had failed to account for the effects the freezing weather might produce. Bundled in my gear, I went out to unlock the trailer to load the 3 pallets of goods, when I was greeted by a very stubborn, and very cold lock. I tried and tried with all my mite. Physical force wasn’t working, so I went and found the key, also no luck. I went to a local store and purchased lock deicer, but it still wouldn’t budge. I was feeling defeated and running out of options. Finally, a last-ditch effort found me dragging the longest extension cord possible and a small space heater outside to try and warm the lock. This probably looked funny from a passerby, but within about a minute I heard the lock release, and I was back in business. I was loaded and ready to go within a few minutes and had just enough time to get to the facility at exact time I was scheduled for. The things you learn in this role are funny and never cease to surprise me.

The most important part of the story is that the rest of the delivery went very smoothly, and I was ever so thankful. Ideally, these kits would get delivered in December so they could be a Christmas gift. But with supply chain issues lately, we couldn’t make our desired deadline this year. Since we were already into a new year, I did not want the frozen lock to be what stood between these women receiving fresh bottles of shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, lotion and an emery board. We are very thankful for the few groups of volunteers- some local families and an elementary school leadership class- who helped assemble and prepare these kits. We nearly tripled the number of kits we’ve been providing the last few years and were able to share a kit for every woman in the facility. We celebrate the opportunity to share God’s love and light through these hygiene kits.

Making health easier for you and me

12/10/2021

Health literacy is important for everyone to be aware of because at one time or another, we all must find, understand, or use health information and services. Each day we take steps to care for our health, so health literacy can help us prevent health conditions or better manage them if they arise. It is more than just being able to read, though, it also encompasses understanding medical terms, interpreting statistics or evaluating risk, understanding complicated care regimens, and more. Organizations who provide health information play a role in health literacy as they try to enable individuals to find, understand, and use information and services for health-related decisions. Limited health literacy negatively impacts the financial resources in our health systems and contributes to higher than necessary illness and death.

Empowering and Recognizing People groups

11/12/2021

Racial Equity Tools defines it as, “the condition that would be achieved if one’s racial identity no longer predicted how one fares in society. When we use the term, we are thinking about racial equity as one part of racial justice, and thus we also include work to address root causes of inequities, not just their manifestation. This includes eliminating policies, practices, and cultural messages that reinforce differential outcomes by race or fail to eliminate them.” Racial equity is calling us to build and contribute to a society where everyone has what they need to thrive, no matter where they are. Race Forward notes that when racial equity is achieved, we will see “people, including people of color, as owners, planners, and decision-makers in the systems that govern their lives.” We will acknowledge past and current inequities and provide all people the infrastructure they need to thrive. Some ways this can be achieved is through building capacity among organizations and individuals- creating racial equity experts and teams in places like local government. Partnerships across institutions and governments to achieve meaningful results.

2021 Quilt Auction

10/8/2021

We're online again this year, yay! We are so excited to share the auction site with even more friends near and far who will be able to view and bid the quilts in their own time and space. Please feel free to visit the website now to brows the pictures and quilt details at getabidauctions.com/festivalofsharing.

So how does it work?
Live bidding will open at 10 AM CST on Nov. 7 and close at 10 AM CST on Nov. 13, 2021. Quilt photos, details, and bidding information can be found at https://www.getabidauctions.com/FestivalOfSharing. The proceeds of the online auction will still support the work of the Church World Service (CWS) Blanket program. As we see the ways CWS is responding during the pandemic and natural disasters of 2020, we are reminded of the impact our gifts and auction contributions can make.

What will I need to participate?
Access to the internet, whether that's through a phone, computer, or tablet, and an email address. When you find the quilt that's just right for you, all you have to do is click "Bid on This Item Now" and if you're new, it will take you to a registration page where you can enter your name and email or phone number. Make sure to select how you want to receive notifications so you can stay up-to-date on the items you're interested in.

I submitted the winning bid. Now what?
Congrats and thank you! If you have the winning bid on a quilt(s), you will be notified of the total amount due. At that time, you will enter your credit card information (or note if you're paying by check) and let us know if you want your items to be shipped, or if you will pick them up November 16th or 17th from 4-7 PM (3601 Amron Ct, Columbia, MO 65202). Local pick up will be free, while shipping and processing will be $12 for one item or $15 for multiple items.

The proceeds of the online auction will still support the work of the Church World Service (CWS) Blanket program. As we see the ways CWS continues to respond during the pandemic and natural disasters of 2021, we are reminded of the impact our gifts and auction contributions can make.

Beyond Missouri

9/10/2021

Festival of Sharing has been long time supporters of international and domestic agencies who are working to equip, encourage, and empower individuals and communities through sustainable tools. Sometimes that is through education like how Rainbow Network partners with communities to provide primary and secondary education. Sometimes it’s through advocacy like how Bread for the World addresses policies that impact hunger and nutrition. It’s also through actions like disaster response where Church World Service sends blankets and emergency clean-up buckets as well as training like Heifer International provides to entrepreneurs across the globe. No matter the approach, we appreciate the work these agencies engage in as they work to reduce poverty and hunger, increase access to fresh water and nutritious foods, and share the love of God through dignity and empowerment.