News

December 10th at 11:15am, Village Common; and Online through Christmas 

Help support organizations at Christmastime that serve people in need. Twelve organizations will be present to talk with you about their programs and how you can support them financially and/or by volunteering. Donations to each organization you’d like to support can be made in cash, with checks, online (see below), or by QR Code at the in-person event. Find more information in the Enews or on the website.

Attending: Family Promise, For His Children, Friends of Fumbelo, Pathway to Possible, Village Table, A Place to Turn, Chaplains On The Way, ABC House, Heifer International, Habitat For Humanity Boston, MetroWest Free Medical Program and Southborough Safe Spaces.

You can make donations directly to as many different organizations as you want anytime between December 10th and Christmas, using the links below. Please be sure to indicate “Wellesley Village Church Alternative Christmas” if there is a notation area on the donation page of the organization(s) you choose to support.

If you would like to print out an Alternative Christmas gift acknowledgement card to give to gift recipients please follow this link > (Some of these organizations also provide their own gift acknowledgement cards.)

Family Promise MetroWest transforms the lives of homeless families with children by mobilizing a diverse community to provide shelter, education, and support. Village Church is a founding member and one of 19 host congregations. In 2020, Family Promise supported a record 50 families (147 individuals with 89 children). Soon we will begin construction to convert our Natick Day Center into a small family shelter. Click here to donate.

For His Children ministers to homeless children, including those with special needs. It provides food, clothing, health care, education, therapy, and a loving home to newborns, toddlers, and older children until they can be reunited with their parents or placed into adoptive homes. Click here to donate

Friends of Fumbelo supports the education of 122 children in Fumbelo’s community school and 65 children in government schools in Zambia. These children would not be in school today without the generous contributions of the Village Church family. The community school and its operations, including a principal and two teachers, are supported fully by Friends of Fumbelo. We have also paid for the physical building and security measures to protect our children and staff while they learn. In the coming year, we hope to provide school supplies and dig a bore hole on the school grounds so that children have access to water while they learn. We are grateful for your interest and support and ask for your continued generosity to support the work of Friends of Fumbelo. Click here to donate

Heifer International is a global nonprofit organization working to eradicate poverty and hunger through sustainable, holistic community development. Heifer distributes animals along with agricultural training to families in need around the world as a means of providing self-sufficiency. Recipients agree to “pass on the gift” by sharing animal offspring, as well as the skills and knowledge of animal husbandry and agricultural training to other impoverished families. Click here to donate

Pathway to Possible, formerly Newton Wellesley Weston Committee for Community Living, has served individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families since 1972. The Pathway to Possible offers a spectrum of local services to their families, and initiates programs to increase community awareness and receptivity regarding persons with disabilities. Click here to donate

Village Table is a community food service program managed by members of Wellesley Village Church. Our mission is to create and distribute delicious, healthy, restaurant-quality meals for those in need, helping our neighbors during a time of great economic uncertainty. Click here to donate (please type “Village Table” in the memo field).

A Place to Turn provides emergency food and clothing to those in need in the MetroWest community.  Guests are served in an atmosphere of caring and respect. Click here to donate

Chaplains on the Way goes out into the streets, shelters, and soup kitchens to bring a ministry of spiritual care and hope to homeless people in Waltham. Click here to donate  

WELLESLEY A Better Chance Since 1972 Wellesley ABC has opened doors to greater educational opportunities for academically talented and promising young women of color.  These scholars attend Wellesley High School and live in a family style home with tutoring, meals, medical and social/emotional support.  The program is overseen by resident directors and an army of volunteers. https://www.wellesleyabc.org/donate-now

MetroWest Free Medical Program has engaged volunteers, for over 18 years, in providing free medical care for community members who are uninsured or underinsured. Providing access to health care for low-income residents, particularly for individuals who are immigrants and newcomers, regardless of circumstances, is the heart of our work. The majority of patients we see are Brazilian or Latinx and speak Portuguese and/or Spanish. We have held over 25,000 patient visits since our founding in 2004.  Your donation will support our part-time clinical coordinators, medical supplies, interpreters, and our Marlborough location.  To donate online, visit metrowestfreemedicalprogram.org/donate or mail a check to MetroWest Free Medical Program; 246 Maple Street STE 1; Marlborough, MA 01752. We also welcome volunteers, especially nurses and physicians

Habitat for Humanity Greater Boston was incorporated as a Massachusetts non-profit in 1987. Since that time, we have built more than 120 homes in the neighborhoods of Dorchester, Roxbury, Roslindale, South Boston, and suburban communities in Greater Boston, providing housing solutions to more than 600 individuals with low-to-moderate incomes. Our geographic service area encompasses the City of Boston and its 25 surrounding municipalities. We are an independent affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. Click here to donate

Southborough Safe Spaces (SBSS) is a support and advocacy group for queer identifying youth, friends, their families, and allies from Southborough, Massachusetts and the surrounding towns. We offer programming, support, and community to families of all kinds with LGBTQ+ youth in grades 6-12.

Our focus is on sharing, learning about, and supporting one another through queer experiences in a safe and fun environment. We hold youth-only meetings, parent/caregiver meetings, whole family events, and provide religious communities with support and education.

We are committed to support LGBTQ+ youth and families in leading happy, healthy, full lives. SBSS is called to respond to families with queer children and youth experiencing mental and spiritual health crises. The dream of SBSS is to create an environment where queer youth are equipped to respond to societal pressures in ways that are healthy and self-affirming.” Click here to donate