As we continue to resonate with our Easter season, please join in our celebration of the ministry and support of our Bethany Lutheran Church Free Store Lenten Fundraiser!
Recent numbers suggest that we have been assisting, on average, ~140 households per month with a replenishment expense of about $3,000 after each distribution day (up from ~$500 for ~35 households/month when we started three years ago)! While only a slight increase in our expenses is attributed to higher prices, moreover we are simply offering a larger variety of goods to a much larger number of people, as community needs are made known. This exponential growth of our ministry is exciting! Folks experiencing need have learned to trust our ministry, and it is also a testament to the spirit of Bethany support that we have been able to evolve our ministry into something this impactful.
We are heartfelt in thanks to an anonymous Bethany family donor who offered a $6,000 match to our Lenten Bethany Free Store fundraising efforts. As in recent years, Bethany leaned into the challenge and even exceeded the fundraising goal, so that our total raised by the congregation was $6,942.37. With our matching pledge, our fundraising grand total was $12,942.37! Additionally, and with glee, we also recently received a $10,000 foundational grant of support! So, if you are following along, we have bolstered our year’s provisions by nearly $23,000! Thanks be to God (and to the generous folks in our midst who continue to see the Christlike value in serving those in need through this ministry)!
In addition to monetary donations, we requested “in-kind” product donations, which accumulated at the altar over the past many weeks. We also benefited from the local Women’s “Quarter Mania” Event in March, which generated product and financial donations as well. The final count of this season’s in-kind, product donations was 465 items!
With yearly operating expenses nearing $30,000, our Free Store Administrative Team will continue to seek ways to operate efficiently and to seek future support. In case you are a fan of the summertime Elmer’s Hotdog & Brat Sale venue, please plan to seek us out for your lunch or snack needs on May 30th! Some of our smiling faces will be greeting our grocery-shopping community members and selling brats to generate more awareness of our Bethany Free Store ministry and to continue funding its effort.
And, as always, the community impact isn’t only measured by the numbers of products or funds we raise, nor by the number of households we are supporting... it is also measured by the quality of relationships we foster along the way. I recently learned one of our guests was a childhood friend of my late mother-in-law, when she offered me condolences at the Registration Desk after seeing my mom’s obituary in the newspaper. And, one of our guests is preparing for a weight loss reconstruction surgery and he couldn’t wait to tell us all about it. And, one of our guests has an adult son in the hospital with a terminal illness and she permitted some of us to pray for him. And, another guest recognized me when passing by on Ludington Street and smiled with an enthusiastic wrinkled nose and a quick wave when our eyes met.
This is the stuff.
This is Bethany.
This is Christ.
Our Bethany Free Store Team welcomed Lt. Jeff Erickson, from Escanaba Public Safety, to our April administrative meeting to discuss our current safety protocols. Lt. Erickson encouraged us on our order of operations and logistics, he offered ideas on maintaining health and safety for public interactions, and he shared Public Safety’s commitment to support us in a multitude of ways. We are blessed to have experts in safety to call upon and appreciate his guidance and partnership.
If you would like to participate in supporting this mission in any fashion (stocking shelves periodically throughout the week, filing paperwork, helping guests navigate the distribution day experience, functioning as a “shopper” for folks, helping with administrative tasks, etc.), please call the church office and let Kelly know. She will put you in touch with one of our Free Store team members.
Or, if you are recognizing some challenges in meeting your own household needs this month, please consider swinging by to receive our joy and our provisions! As a reminder, our Bethany Free Store is open on the FIRST TUESDAY of every month (unless delayed for major holiday), from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. and again from 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Reminder cards are available in the church office and reminder posts are made on Facebook.
- Marcie Kaven
(Bethany Free Store Team Secretary)
