Manchester Christian Church is partnering with The Way Home, a non-profit dedicated to helping low-income households obtain and succeed in safe, affordable housing, to provide 300 backpacks for under-resourced students in our community! Don’t forget to bring your filled backpack to MCC this Sunday, Aug 1 or Sunday, Aug 8!!

Backpacks are needed for the following age groups:

Elementary school (K-5) boys & girls
Middle school (6-8) boys & girls
High school (9-12) boys & girls 

Check out the supply list below!

• Brand new backpack (age/sex listed at top of form)
• 1 - package of #2 Pencils 
• 1 - Pencil Sharpener 
• 1 - package of Ballpoint Pens 
• 1 - Yellow Highlighter 
• 1 - package of Markers
• 1 - 12” Ruler
• 1 - Glue Stick
• 1 - One-Subject Spiral Notebook

Please include this supply list in your filled backpack.

Email Linda Hamel at arhamel5@msn.com with questions!

• Join Faithfully One by One Helping Hands. If a foster family in your area has a need, you will receive an email explaining the need.

• Join Operation Christmas JOY. Provide a Christmas gift to a child in State care who might not otherwise receive one. 

• Volunteer to be a Church Liaison. Sometime there are needs which require a group of people to meet them. The Church Liaison acts as vision caster, organizer and facilitator.

• Join a Renovation Team. Sometimes foster/adoptive families need renovations done on their homes to accommodate specific children, but can’t afford to foot the whole bill. Renovation Teams help with the construction.

• Volunteer to Transport. Occasionally, foster parents, birth parents or grandparents need rides to parenting classes, appointments or hospitals. 

Construction on the new Homeless Services Center in Manchester is moving along and very nearly ready to open the doors!  Construction is about 95% complete and a few finishing touches will have to be completed following the opening. This is a very exciting project that has and will involve dozens of agencies, municipal departments and several churches/faith communities.
 

Though they are close to being able to celebrate this long needed service center in our community they are in need of some volunteer assistance to ready the facility for a Monday opening. Specifically, they need to empty a storage trailer that is filled with chairs and desks and miscellaneous items that have been in storage during construction. All the tables and chairs need to be cleaned and furnishings set in place. The primary need is for workers this Saturday, May 1st. Staff will be there from 9am – 4pm to direct any volunteers. If you have any questions please contact Matt Despins, Center Director at 247-5444 or by email, matt@hh-oc.org.

The Homeless Services Center is located at 142 Central Street in Manchester.

The Homeless Services Center in Manchester is coming down to crunch time and making a final plea for help to the community for any and all help that you may be able to offer this Saturday, April 24th or Sunday, April 25th, anytime from 9am - 9pm on either day. Volunteers are needed for cleaning, painting, organizing, and unloading as the grand opening is next week! 

The Center is located at 142 Central Street (corner of Central & Pine) in Manchester! Bring yourself, your family or your small group!

Learn To Read offers free, confidential, one to one tutoring for adults in reading, writing, and lifelong learning skills.

Check out the different one-time service projects available with Learn to Read!

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A Day of Canvassing

• Assemble packages to be delivered to local facilities & organizations that may serve low-literate adults
• In several teams of 2, deliver packages to designated locations in the greater Manchester area            

Time Commitment: Assembly: 2-4 hours, Delivery: 2-4 hours, must be done M-F mornings or afternoons
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Fundraising Event           

Host & Organize an event:

- Ice Cream Social
- Game Night, etc.

Your imagination is the limit!           

Time Commitment: Varies depending on your chosen event
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Closet Organizing           

- Assemble & Install a 72” shelf
- Place items from floor neatly on the newly-installed shelf           

Time Commitment: 2-4 hours
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Prepare Tutor Training Mailings           

- Stuff envelopes
- Address envelopes
- Adhere postage           

Time Commitment: 2 hours
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For more information, contact: 
Learn To Read 
603-624-6550 x330
learntoreadmcl@gmail.com 

Join the Annual Walk for Life fundraiser held in Veteran’s Park in Manchester! Help raise funds to help support the CareNet Pregnancy Centers and to be an outward “voice” and symbol, upholding the sanctity of human life.

When: Saturday, May 8th. Registration begins at 9:30am, walk starts at 10:15am. 

What: Be a “walker” - get pledges from family and friends and walk; help with set-up and tear down and other activities the day of the walk    

Where: Veteran’s Park in Manchester
     
Time commitment: 2-3 hours - depending on volunteer position

Event contact: Email Lisa Shaughnessy at lisa.shaughnessy@gmail.com.

Volunteers needed to assist our neighbors who are new to America as they start their new lives here in Manchester.

One time volunteer opportunities are:
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Collect personal care items - Personal care items such as toothbrushes, soap and shampoo are not covered by food stamps or other assistance. Therefore they often cannot afford to buy these items and their personal care or general health may suffer as a result. Click here for a list of needed items!

Project contact: Email Anne Schulze at aeschulze@comcast.net.
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Small electronics repair - These are means of information and communication that are important for people new to America. They often watch TV and movies to improve their English language skills.

          - Troubleshoot issues with DVD or VHS players
          - Assist with the setup of TV’s, DVD and/or VHS players
          - Troubleshoot computer issues 

Project contact: Rick Hobson at richardhobson@comcast.net.
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Welcome a family new to America - Welcome a newly arrived family by hosting them at your small group one week. Listen to their stories of where they’ve come from, how they got here and how they are adapting to life in a new country. Then, as a group, gather a few basic items that the family needs and deliver to their apartment. 

Project contact: To be matched with a new family, email Rebekah Reynolds at rcreynolds@myfairpoint.net.
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Small home maintenance projects - Those new to America often don’t the money to pay for common household items such as batteries, light bulbs, curtain rods and blinds and do not know how to install them. They also do not have the means (e.g. ladders, tools, etc) to install them.

- Teach the parents how to change batteries in smoke detectors, change light bulbs and maintain or fix miscellaneous items in their home that are not the responsibility of the landlord.  

Project contact: Email Rick Hobson at richardhobson@comcast.net or Anne Schulze at aeschulze@comcast.net.

Volunteers needed to assist our neighbors who are new to America as they start their new lives here in Manchester.

Ongoing volunteer opportunities available are:
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Providing rides to church - Time commitment: 30 minutes a Sunday

Project contact: Email Anne Schulze at aeschulze@comcast.net or Deb Richard at debrichard3@comcast.net
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Assist a family with bed bug prevention/reduction/prevention - many families in the city of Manchester either have bed bugs or are at risk of having them in their homes. Share the bed bug information sheet from the City of Manchester with families, help secure encasements and box springs for all of the beds, and teach families how make “climb ups” for prevention.

Time commitment: 1-2 hours a week for 4 weeks

Project contact: Email Deb Richard at debrichard3@comcast.net.
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Teach a person to drive - Those new to America want to work and support their families. What often holds them back from getting a job is the lack of transportation. Driver’s Education is either not available to them due to their age or it is not affordable. The secondary goal is to train someone so that he or she can train their family members or someone in their community, thus making it a self-sustaining process. NOTE: You must be comfortable with using your own car and must have car insurance.

Time commitment: 1-2 hours a week for 3 - 4 months or as scheduled

Project contact: Email Anne Schulze at aeschulze@comcast.net or Deb Richard at debrichard3@comcast.net. 

The Way Home serves thousands of people annually in the greater Manchester area, these projects directly support the families that live at The Way Home, as well as the clients they serve in our community.

Volunteer opportunities available are:

Babysitting Services - ongoing

Help the families of The Way Home by providing babysitting services one night per month while the parents attend mandatory workshops sponsored by The Way Home.

When: (3rd Wed each month, 5:45 - 7:30pm)

Supply Provisions - one time opportunities

• Cooking Class materials
• Baby Diaper Bags
• Women’s Hygiene Bags
• Budgeting Tools

Help provide ‘supplies’ that are greatly needed by the clients The Way Home serves on a daily basis. These projects involve an individual’s or small group’s time and financial resources to purchase items specific to the selected project.

Project Contact:  Linda Hamel, MCC’s liaison for The Way Home, can provide more details about each project listed.  Her contact information is arhamel5@msn.com.