Food and Personal Care Item Drive

1 in 7 Missouri families with children don’t have enough to eat every day, according to a December 2020 report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, an advocate for young people in America. As Christians, and good neighbors, we must respond to this need.

The Ivy Chapel Lenten Food and Personal Care Items Drive continues until Easter. There is STILL TIME to TAKE ACTION and support Circle of Concern and Isaiah 58 Ministries with a much needed gift of food and/or personal care items.
Circle Of Concern: Peanut Butter • Jelly • Graham Crackers • Cereal • Cereal Bars • Oatmeal • Tomato Sauce • Pasta • Mac & Cheese • Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper • Canned Tuna & Chicken • Canned Vegetables •
Canned Chili • Soup • Shampoo • Conditioner • Laundry Detergent
Isaiah 58: Sardines • Mac & Cheese • Spices • Cereal • Peanut Butter • Jelly • Razors • Shaving Cream • Toothbrushes • Toothpaste • Toilet Bowl Cleaner • Dish Soap
Place items in the large soup can in the Narthex. (New, unopened food and personal care items only, please.)
If you are unable to donate, or would like to donate money for the purchase of items, please send us an email.

The Souper Bowl of Caring

This year is different for many reasons. But, one thing that is the same: the need to tackle hunger with the Souper Bowl of Caring. This year, the need for hunger relief in our country has grown exponentially. Our local food charities need our help!

You can watch the Feb. 7 worship service here.

While we can’t place our donations in soup pots after worship as is our tradition, there are several ways to help those in need this year. You can send donations to Ivy’s financial secretary, Peter LaSalle. Please make checks out to Ivy Chapel and write Souper Bowl of Caring on the memo line.

Or donate directly to the food pantries most in need. Souper Bowl of Caring started their Tackle Hunger Map to respond to this urgent need. The Tackle Hunger Map allows you to see where local food charities are and what they need to do their important work. You can donate right through the map and be a part of the tradition of using the energy of the Big Game to tackle hunger.

What if everyone watching the Big Game gave just one dollar to local charities? What if each person gave what they could to local charities? We would have a lot less food insecurity in our country!

Thank you for helping make a collective impact on hunger!

Mark your Calendar: HarvestFest, November 2

Ivy Chapel’s Annual HarvestFest is on this year thanks to a group of wonderful volunteers who have agreed to lead the project. Mark your calendar now for November 2. It’s an evening of wine and cheese, hors d’oeuvres, desserts, live music and more – all right here at Ivy Chapel. Proceeds from the evening and the silent and oral auctions will benefit local food pantries and other Ivy Chapel outreach programs. Watch this space for more details! For more details, send us an email and we’ll fill you in.

Ivy brightens Christmas for area families

A big thank you to all of the member of Ivy Chapel who gave gifts, money and grocery bags that were given to Joint Neighborhood Ministry for the annual “Adopt a Family” program. This year, our congregation adopted five families, a total of nineteen people. On Sunday, December 13, we loaded three vans packed with gifts and groceries – including four bikes and a tricycle.

The pink grocery bag fundraisers also netted a check to JNM for $81.

The mitten tree — an Ivy tradition — overflowed this year with mittens, hats and scarves, which were divided between JNM and Circle of Concern. Both of these organizations said how much these items were needed, especially this year.

Your generosity made Christmas brighter for many families in our area! Thank you!

Supporting Joint Neighborhood Ministries & Circle of Concern food pantries

The current economic downturn has meant that many that families who were previously able to keep up with their bills and feed their families are now finding the only way they can manage is to come to food pantries for help. Ivy is proud to support food pantries in our area, including Join Neighborhood Ministries in the City of St. Louis, and Circle of Concern in West County. We are collecting basic food items, along with monetary donations to help families in crisis with utility payments. In addition, a portion of the proceeds from our Oct. 24 HarvestFest will go to benefit these two organizations.

If you want to help, contact our church office for information at (314) 434-4991 or via e-mail.