“They are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.”
2 Corinthians 8:2
With the support of many generous congregations, Church World Service can provide CWS Blankets to various mission projects and non-profits here in the US and around the world.
Earlier this year, the members of John Stewart UMC in Upper Sandusky, Ohio started a mission of providing blankets to the Cherry Street Mission, a homeless shelter in Toledo, Ohio. Because of your generosity, CWS provided the John Stewart UMC with 70 CWS Wool Blankets to support their homeless ministry.
“Without the help of Church World Service,” said Andrea Culley, mission leader at John Stewart UMC, “our church would only have been able to provide 40 blankets to the homeless individuals living at the mission. But Church World Service donated an additional 70 wool blankets and that helped to keep many more people warm.”
The last time she visited Cherry Street Mission, a resident gave Andrea a big hug and said these are the best blankets, “because they are the nice and warm ones.”
The generosity of your congregation helps to provide blankets–the nice and warm ones–to many individuals and families around the world.
Andrea was ecstatic when she heard there wasn’t a charge for the wool blankets they received from Church World Service. “Right then I thought, ok, a gift of the blankets was given, and in turn the money that I had thought would go toward the cost of the blankets, was now available to go toward another gift: the gift of food. WOW! This is like the parable of the talents from the Bible.” (Matthew 25: 14-30)
“Thank you for hosting a Blanket Sunday to buy these blankets. What a blessing. I hope that whoever hears this story will remember that CWS Blanket Sundays are about loving, caring, sharing, giving and so much more. Thank you to all,” said Andrea as she reflected on her visit to the homeless shelter.
In 2017 alone, congregations like yours, enabled CWS to distribute over 243,942 blanket and kits. Together, we can provide blankets—the nice and warm ones—to many people around the world. Thanks!