Mission Moment
We are pleased to welcome Carrie Bernier, church member and executive director of The Community Fund of Darien, who will speak about The Thriving Youth Initiative during our Mission Moment.
The Thriving Youth Initiative seeks to promote healthy development among Darien’s youth in response to recent alarming trends evident in The Community Fund of Darien’s survey of teens over the past seven years. Results show that substance abuse is on the rise among teens and that resilience/resistance skills seem to be declining. Tragically, over the past summer, Darien experienced an unprecedented number of untimely deaths of young adults and adults – five deaths in six weeks.
The Thriving Youth Initiative will dedicate $100,000 each year over the next five years to implement a strategic prevention plan to reduce substance abuse and improve mental health among Darien’s 12- to 17-year olds and their parents. With the additional donation made possible by The Darien House Tour, The Community Fund of Darien will expand prevention efforts into the preschool and elementary school populations. The First Congregational Church of Darien is happy to support this effort to build in our children the skills needed, including resilience, self-esteem and coping, for a lifetime of healthy decisions.
The Thriving Youth Initiative has been selected by the Board of Outreach as the lead beneficiary for The 2016 Darien House Tour: Homes with Heart.
COME HELP THE BOARD OF OUTREACH WITH OUR ANNUAL FUNDRAISER!
The June 2nd Darien House Tour: Homes with Heart requires over 100 volunteers on the day of the event to staff a shift at our featured homes. Volunteers can attend the tour during non-shift hours for $30 – less than half price! And those who help during the party may attend the party for a discounted price of $50. We truly need your help to make this event his success so that we can raise over $60,000 for our beneficiaries. Please sign up at darienhousetour.com – click on the volunteer link. Did we mention how much fun you’ll have?
Oh and speaking of fun, the June 3rd Celebratory Party with a Purpose will be great fun!! Buy your tickets now and encourage your friends to come. We are looking for great church member turnout! Tickets are $75. Financial assistance happily provided upon request – confidentially email darienhousetour@gmail.com. In addition to cocktails, fabulous food by Polly, and fun music, we will have many great silent auction items for you to bid on. How about a stay at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo Florida? Or the Mayflower Inn in Washington, CT? Or perhaps the Hermitage Club in Vermont? Maybe you’d rather stay close by and attend Shakespeare on the Sound as a VIP? Or the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards? Or the Daily Show with Trevor Noah? Or perhaps you’d just like a fun ride in a fire truck! Dale will even come bless your home!! We’ve got all this and much more!!
One last thing … looking for a little artwork to spice up your home? The house tour will feature artists through “Art with Heart”. Artwork will be on display at one of our tour homes and at the Wee Burn Country Club on June 2nd. THEN, we will have a reception at the church on June 4th from 4 to 7 pm! A portion of proceeds go to the tour!
OTHER OUTREACH HAPPENINGS
There are many ways to “Spring into Service” in May!
Open Door Shelter!
We will be cooking on Thursday May 19th at 8:00 am at the church and serving on Friday May 20th at 11:45 am at the Open Door Shelter in Norwalk. Email Heather Raker at hraker@me.com to help!
THANK YOU!
Many thanks to those who helped pick up and sort food yesterday (5/13/2016) for the Person 2 Person Food Postal Food Drive.
Many thanks to those who helped to build with Habitat for Humanity yesterday!
And many thanks to all of you who are working hard to make our annual outreach fundraiser a success!!