ANGELS & SPARROWS (A&S) (Updated 10-29-20)

A&S are currently serving meals for takeout consumption only.  The most useful things right now are gift cards to Costco or BJ’s.  This would allow A&S to purchase needed items not donated and continue providing ‘take out meals’ to the community.

Another way to help is to bake!  A great activity for children to teach the importance of helping others.  Consider making brownies or cookies for Angels and Sparrows to distribute with takeout meals. (no frosting is best) Individually wrapped (2 to a package) is ideal otherwise bring the baked goods in a disposable container and place on the front porch of the soup kitchen in the designated box.  It is a large plastic box with a hinged lid.

Donations of any type (food, gift cards) may be dropped off Monday – Friday 8:30 to 10:00 a.m.  @ 514 N. Old Statesville Road. ​Donations outside of these hours must be arranged.  Call 704-918-0122.  You can also stay up to date with urgent needs by visiting https://www.angelsandsparrows.org/ 

Holiday Food Boxes – A&S goal for 2020 is to provide Holiday Meal Boxes at Thanksgiving and Christmas to feed 750 people (approximately 250 meal boxes), so they can enjoy the holidays at home with their family.  Consider making a box with your family! Too busy to shop? Make a gift of $40 to A&S and they will do the shopping for you.

To help with planning, if you would like to participate in making a Holiday Meal Box, please contact Cindy Deutsch at cindy@angelsandsparrows.org and let her know how many meal boxes you plan to donate and if you will provide your meal box(es) for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Thanksgiving Meal Boxes must be delivered to A&S by Friday November 13.

Christmas Meal Boxes must be delivered to A&S by Friday December 11.

Boxes should contain:

• Frozen Turkey (or Ham for Christmas) – 10-12 lbs.
• Stuffing (boxed)
• Canned vegetables (corn/green beans)
• Canned yams
• Potatoes (dehydrated in a box)
• Biscuit/cornbread mix
• Cranberry Sauce
• Gravy (can/packet)
• Dessert (cake mix, shelf stable pie crust & pie filing, dessert in a box or similar)
• Aluminum roasting and/or cake pan
• $10- $15 gift card to Food Lion or Walmart (for items like butter, milk, etc.)

Other considerations to make your box special: include a recipe that’s special to your family along with the ingredients to make it, include a token holiday item like a dish towel, pot holder, candle, spatula or another holiday gift, or let your kids decorate the box!

 A&S Giving Club – A&S is launching a new giving club – you can be an inaugural member by scheduling a recurring gift (weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually) through the A&S website: https://www.angelsandsparrows.org/   Recurring gifts will help A&S to better plan and budget in order to meet needs year-round:

LOAVES & FISHES (A&S) (Updated 10-29-20)

The Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry at Huntersville United Methodist Church (HUMC) can use a few volunteers who are willing to check expiration dates on Tuesday or Wednesday mornings.  You would be working in a room with perhaps one other person and while in the building everyone wears a mask.  If you can volunteer, contact the church office at churchoffice@fbc-h.org or 704-875-6581.

They currently need laundry detergent, toothpaste, toilet tissue, bar soap and cleaning supplies.  In addition, they will accept diapers even if the box/package is open.  The larger sizes are most in demand.  They will inspect and repackage/relabel for distribution.

They are located at 14005 Stumptown Road, Huntersville. Donations may be dropped off on Tuesday or Wednesday from 8:30-11 a.m. (Note that this is a new drop off time range.) 

CATERPILLAR MINISTRIES (Updated 11-12-20)

Did You Know? FBC-H’s own Gwen Howard serves on the board of Caterpillar Ministries and Aileen Ramirez is the Youth Director.

Family Christmas Store – every year Caterpillar Ministries hosts a boutique where children in our community are invited to come “shop” for their family members.  It is a wonderful way for children to learn the joy of giving at Christmas, instead of just the thrill of receiving.  Kids are encouraged to choose a present for every member of their immediate household and volunteers help them wrap their selections.  Caterpillar Ministries needs to stock their “store” with simple gifts.  If you would like to donate some small gifts toward this special event, they ask that the value of each item be between $1 and $5.  They need presents for all ages — babies, toddlers, children, teens, women, and men, as well as wrapping paper, tape, bows, tissue paper, gift bags and tags.  Please drop off all donated items by December 3 to “Dad’s House” (address listed below).

Ongoing Food Pantry Needs:  Consider ordering items we need on Amazon Smile and they can be shipped directly to Caterpillar at 11624 Frontier Place.  See below for drop off information.

• Diapers
• ​​​​Bags of white rice
• Vegetable oil
• Bags of dry pinto beans
• Sugar
• Canned tuna
• Corn
• Spaghetti sauce
• Mac & cheese

​To Drop off:

Monday-Friday, 10am-3pm @ Dad’s House @ 11624 Frontier Place/Huntersville

Please call 704.246.5836, Extension 1 to let us know you are bringing a donation so we can be sure someone is there to receive it.

Focusing on Education – Homework help and tutoring is making a difference during this season of virtual learning. With more than 50+ children signed up for help and about 40 of them paired with volunteers so far, Caterpillar Ministries still needs some 10-15 volunteers. From the comfort of your home (without wearing a mask!) you can invest in a child’s future and share smiles. Virtual tutors spend 40-50 minutes once or twice a week (after-school hours) via phone/skype/zoom with a student in encouragement and support. Email Pat (pat@caterpillarministries.org) today to be paired with a child.

Birthday Happiness – Who loves to celebrate and make others feel special? Caterpillar Ministries is delivering cards and small tokens of love to our neighbors on their birthdays or other special occasions. Who wants to join in the festive fun? Email Sarah (sarah@caterpillarministries.org).

Fueling Resourcefulness – We have several homeless women and men in the neighborhood who can benefit from mentors/encouragers to help them with budgeting and completing online forms, and supporting them in getting to appointments. If you have a heart for this ministry, email Sarah (sarah@caterpillarministries.org)..

For More Info:

https://www.caterpillarministries.org/current-needs

CHARMECK RESPONDS SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES  (Updated 10-29-20)

• Second Harvest: Volunteers are needed to help pack their referral food boxes for immediate distribution into our community. To learn more information & register, please visit HERE
• MedAssist: Volunteers are needed to help unpack and sort their daily medication deliveries. To learn more information & register, please visit HERE
• HELPS Virtual Tutoring: The Virtual HELPS Literacy Program is an evidence-based, research-validated literacy intervention that is proven to build students’ fluency and comprehension reading skills. Serve for 1 hour each week to help transform a student’s life! For interest, please visit HERE