House of Mercy Launches 2014 âChristmas with Mercyâ -
Volunteers pack nearly 90,000 meals for the hungry during 2014 ‘Campaign to End Hunger’
Volunteers packed nearly 90,000 meals for the poor during the House of Mercy’s annual “Campaign to End Hunger” fundraiser and meal-packing event on Oct. 18 at the Manassas Park Community Center. Although falling short of the nonprofit humanitarian organization’s goal of 150,000 meals packed during this year’s all-day event, the total is still “a success in our book,” said House of Mercy Executive Director Ann Cimini. “Through the generosity of hundreds of people and our corporate sponsors, we’ve been able to serve the poorest of God’s children,” she said. The agency, which is located in Manassas, Va., shipped 78,408 of the meals to the Father Beiting Appalachian Mission Center, which will distribute them in Christmas baskets to families in need in the impoverished Appalachian region of Kentucky. The center, located in Louisa, Ky., is an interdenominational nonprofit organization that has served almost 10,000 Kentucky mountain residents, said Cimini. The Father Beiting Appalachian Mission Center, which is an apostolate of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington, Ky., distributes food, clothing and furniture to low-income families in its area and provides four charity thrift stores with low-cost merchandise for sale, she said. In addition, 11,196 meals of beans and rice packed during Campaign to End Hunger 2014 are bound in November for two impoverished villages in Honduras, Cimini said. The campaign goal had been to pack 30,000 meals for those communities, but that, like the campaign’s overall goal, depended on how many people signed up to pack meals during the event, she said. More than 270 volunteers participated in this year’s Campaign to End Hunger, including 207 who each paid the event’s $35 fundraising fee per two-hour shift to pack meals during the campaign, said Cimini. House of Mercy achieving its goals for the campaign required filling all of its 320 meal-packing shifts available, she said. Cimini said that she is disappointed, but not surprised at the lower participation than organizers hoped for. “We changed our fundraising strategy this year for the event,” she said. “Although Campaign to End Hunger has always been a fundraiser, we’ve had enough corporate sponsors in the past to allow the majority of folks willing to pack meals during the campaign to pack at no cost. We lost sponsors this year, and, with it, the capacity for us to offer the free packing.”
House of Mercy Launches 2014 “Christmas with Mercy” Event to take place December 13 As the Christmas holiday approaches at breakneck speed, staff and volunteers at the House of Mercy are planning the annual gifting program for the more than 900 low income children who are eligible to receive free gifts this year. “We are really relying on individuals and civic groups to help us provide gifts for almost 300 client families this year,” said Ann Cimini, Executive Director of House of Mercy (HOM). To make gifting easier, HOM has created gift registries at local and online stores. Just visit the store either in-person or on-line, and choose one of the selected gifts. Just search for “House of Mercy” in the Registries. Gift cards from grocery stores, gas stations, Target and Payless are also a good choice for House of Mercy gifts. “We love to welcome groups and individuals to help with the annual event, now in its fourth year. We’ll be using EventBrite beginning the week of November 17, so people can sign up online for their volunteer assignment and time. Volunteer slots start on Tuesday December 9 and end with the great event on Saturday December 13 when the parents come to the toy distribution,” continued Cimini. Relying upon the kindness of the community, House of Mercy is anticipating a shortfall of gifts this year. “Toys for Tots® provides the lion’s share of gifts for our kids”, said Cimini. “They suffered from record low donations last year. That consumer spending trend is in place again this Christmas.” Price Waterhouse Coopers released an October report stating that shoppers “remain cautious on the economy and are concerned about disposable income, the rising cost of living, and insufficient salary, leading surveyed participants to project an average household spend of $684, down from $735 in 2013,” said Steven Barr, PwC's U.S. retail & consumer practice leader.
For more information about the House of Mercy and its programs, please contact [email protected] or call 703-659-1636. We are a 501 (c) (3) organization.
Volunteers packed nearly 90,000 meals for the poor during the House of Mercy’s annual “Campaign to End Hunger” fundraiser and meal-packing event on Oct. 18 at the Manassas Park Community Center. Although falling short of the nonprofit humanitarian organization’s goal of 150,000 meals packed during this year’s all-day event, the total is still “a success in our book,” said House of Mercy Executive Director Ann Cimini. “Through the generosity of hundreds of people and our corporate sponsors, we’ve been able to serve the poorest of God’s children,” she said. The agency, which is located in Manassas, Va., shipped 78,408 of the meals to the Father Beiting Appalachian Mission Center, which will distribute them in Christmas baskets to families in need in the impoverished Appalachian region of Kentucky. The center, located in Louisa, Ky., is an interdenominational nonprofit organization that has served almost 10,000 Kentucky mountain residents, said Cimini. The Father Beiting Appalachian Mission Center, which is an apostolate of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington, Ky., distributes food, clothing and furniture to low-income families in its area and provides four charity thrift stores with low-cost merchandise for sale, she said. In addition, 11,196 meals of beans and rice packed during Campaign to End Hunger 2014 are bound in November for two impoverished villages in Honduras, Cimini said. The campaign goal had been to pack 30,000 meals for those communities, but that, like the campaign’s overall goal, depended on how many people signed up to pack meals during the event, she said. More than 270 volunteers participated in this year’s Campaign to End Hunger, including 207 who each paid the event’s $35 fundraising fee per two-hour shift to pack meals during the campaign, said Cimini. House of Mercy achieving its goals for the campaign required filling all of its 320 meal-packing shifts available, she said. Cimini said that she is disappointed, but not surprised at the lower participation than organizers hoped for. “We changed our fundraising strategy this year for the event,” she said. “Although Campaign to End Hunger has always been a fundraiser, we’ve had enough corporate sponsors in the past to allow the majority of folks willing to pack meals during the campaign to pack at no cost. We lost sponsors this year, and, with it, the capacity for us to offer the free packing.”
House of Mercy Launches 2014 “Christmas with Mercy” Event to take place December 13 As the Christmas holiday approaches at breakneck speed, staff and volunteers at the House of Mercy are planning the annual gifting program for the more than 900 low income children who are eligible to receive free gifts this year. “We are really relying on individuals and civic groups to help us provide gifts for almost 300 client families this year,” said Ann Cimini, Executive Director of House of Mercy (HOM). To make gifting easier, HOM has created gift registries at local and online stores. Just visit the store either in-person or on-line, and choose one of the selected gifts. Just search for “House of Mercy” in the Registries. Gift cards from grocery stores, gas stations, Target and Payless are also a good choice for House of Mercy gifts. “We love to welcome groups and individuals to help with the annual event, now in its fourth year. We’ll be using EventBrite beginning the week of November 17, so people can sign up online for their volunteer assignment and time. Volunteer slots start on Tuesday December 9 and end with the great event on Saturday December 13 when the parents come to the toy distribution,” continued Cimini. Relying upon the kindness of the community, House of Mercy is anticipating a shortfall of gifts this year. “Toys for Tots® provides the lion’s share of gifts for our kids”, said Cimini. “They suffered from record low donations last year. That consumer spending trend is in place again this Christmas.” Price Waterhouse Coopers released an October report stating that shoppers “remain cautious on the economy and are concerned about disposable income, the rising cost of living, and insufficient salary, leading surveyed participants to project an average household spend of $684, down from $735 in 2013,” said Steven Barr, PwC's U.S. retail & consumer practice leader.
For more information about the House of Mercy and its programs, please contact [email protected] or call 703-659-1636. We are a 501 (c) (3) organization.
