Happy Birthday to YOU! And presents galore – for others!
The PHPC Birthday Fund is a unique opportunity for all church members to make good things happen right now by giving the suggested amount of $1 (or more) for every year of life being celebrated.
The endowed portion of this fund is used to support and grow ministries for and on behalf of PHPC children and youth that are not included in the church’s operating budget; the unrestricted Birthday Fund, created in 2007, underwrites grants that reach out into the community and the world to bring gifts of wholeness, hope, and abundant life to others of God’s children, near to us and far away.
And what do these grants do? They help organizations underwrite specific projects designed to improve and enhance the lives of our sisters and brothers here and around the world. Thanks to you and others, the Foundation’s Spring 2010 Birthday Fund grants amounted $12,420 to went to these organizations and efforts:
Genesis Women’s Shelter, Dallas. $1,000 to lease a copier for Outreach office to increase efficiency and decrease contract costs; will make copying resumes and other materials easier for women residents searching for jobs.
EQUIP, Interfaith Housing Coalition, Dallas. $2,000 to enable PHPC volunteer financial mentors to work with a potentially homeless family to help them reach self-sufficiency and break the cycle of generational poverty.
Faith Presbyterian Hospice, Dallas. $2,500 to purchase an Apple MacBookPro to enhance and expand their Faithful Wishes program, enabling those whose lives are drawing to a close to record their life stories, create final messages to loved ones, and share memories. Owning the technology will shorten the time it takes to turn video and audio recordings into finished products (CD, DVD, book) for the patient and family to share and enjoy.
Mi Escuelita Preschool, Dallas. $2,500 to assist in funding food program, which provides healthy breakfast, lunch, and snacks for each child every day and nutrition education for their parents.
Good Shepherd Community Center, Dallas. $1,500 to help fund the hiring of a part-time classroom computer lab teacher, who will work with pre-school classes, conduct before-and-after-school labs with children ages 6-12, and help the staff to develop basic computer literacy.
Seniors’ Pet Assistance Network, Dallas. $1,000 to help underwrite veterinary services provided to older adults who need assistance to properly care for their beloved pets.
PHPC Epiphany Ministry Team, Dallas. $1,920 to fund two twelve-month scholarships for participants in the Epiphany Visual and Performing Arts Program. In partnership with ARC of Dallas, this is a new PHPC ministry with youth and adults who have cognitive and developmental disabilities.
As you can see, your gifts to the PHPC Birthday Fund truly matter, but you can also be the other side of the equation! Apply for a grant! Bring your passion, your concern, and your creativity together in a grant proposal for a project or activity that reaches into the future to equip Christ’s disciples for service, or into the community and world to offer good gifts to God’s people. The application deadline for the fall cycle of 2010 is Thursday, September 30, 2010; for the spring 2011 cycle, the application deadline is Thursday, March 31. It’s your birthday, and you can share it!
For more information on applying for grants, see the Grants section on this site or contact Sara Moseley, 214-368-6348, ext. 151 or
smoseley@phpc.org.
