Can you help?

Can’t afford a major gift donation?  Use your creativity and connections to stretch your gift.  For example, invite friends to match your contribution of $25 and pool your funds to buy an item together.  If you’d like to purchase your item from a local business, ask the owner if they’d be willing to sell it to you at a discount; we’ll put the business name with yours as a co-donor.

Wishlist

• Children’s auction items: Small items for kids ages 12 and under.  These may be dropped off on Friday, Oct. 6, or on the morning of the festival.  [Special note: Kids are invited to bring to the 2006 children’s auction an item they would like to share with others.  These good quality toys will be included in the 2007 children’s auction.]
  
  
• Volunteers to help setup and cleanup.  Ability to tote hay bales is helpful but not required; we’ve got lighter tasks like setting up chairs, too.  Report to the Willamette building at 9 a.m. or anytime thereafter on Friday.
  
  
• Baked goods: Quick and yeast breads, dinner rolls and zwieback, cookies, brownies, pretzels, peppernuts, pies, whoopie pies, homemade cereals . . .  anything except cream-based and other refrigerated fillings.  Pie tins should be available in churches in September.  Consider inviting several friends to bake cookies, roll pretzels, or mix granola together: it’s a fun way to really help the festival.
  
  
• 1,000 school kit bags (kit contents will be available at the festival).  They’re not hard to make, but what a wonderful gift they are for needy children worldwide.  For sewing instructions, go to www.mcc.org/kits/school
  
  Eugene Mennonite Church and the Humanitarian Aid Committee of the Lane County Darfur Coalition challenged their community in July to collect school kits for camps in Darfur, Sudan.  By October, 4,562 kits had been received, some coming from as far as Portland.

Penny Power

2007 Oregon Mennonite Festival for World Relief Penny Power

Through Penny Power, friends of the Festival for World Relief -- kids and adults of all ages -- collect their pocket change to make a difference for people in need around the world. When we work together, small change can make a big change!

In 2007, the coins we collected combined with Penny Power projects across the U.S. and Canada to raise a total of $612,551!  MCC's goal for 2008 is $650,000.

This year, Penny Power contributions collected in Oregon will support MCC food projects.  Here are links to Penny Power resources:

• Stories and resources about food (including a garden craft project)
• Food resources for groups
• Great new story cards perfect to use with children in worship services
• Penny Power theme song by Les Gustafson-Zook
• Inspirational DVD
• And more (tips for getting started, games, ideas, and resources)

In addition to collecting pennies this year, how about collecting quarters (and other silver change) in honor of the Festival’s 25th anniversary?

• Put a clean, empty soup can on your kitchen table and use it to collect pocket change.
• Give a quarter per person at the beginning of each meal at home, thanking God for the food on your table.
• Give a quarter each time you buy a snack or beverage.
• Save your grocery receipts and give 2.5 percent of the total to Penny Power.
• Set aside an extra 25 percent “tip” of your bill each time you go out to eat between now and Oct. 11.

Iraq Relief Kits

Food Worker's Certification