Spotlight: Fletcher Place CC, Grant Deadline, Miles for Metro, Summer Sightings & More!
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WEDNESDAY WORDS
FROM METRO MINISTRIES, INC.
July 21, 2021
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Spotlight: Fletcher Place Community Center's Community Garden
What a great morning spent at Fletcher Place Community Center’s Community Garden last Saturday! Metro’s Board Treasurer Deanne Heidrich and I helped other volunteers harvest fresh produce from the garden and then distributed the bounty to 43 individuals who stopped by.
315 pounds of produce were harvested including eggplant, zucchini, cabbage, cherry tomatoes, onions, kale and collard greens, plus an additional 92 pounds of produce were donated by Corteva Agriscience. The most popular item of the day? Collard greens, with over 80 pounds harvested and distributed!
Metro Ministries is proud to see how this year’s grant to Fletcher Place Community Center was used in the community garden. We are grateful for all the amazing ways Fletcher Place CC serves their neighbors!
Interested in helping a few hours on a Saturday morning? Volunteers are needed from 9am to noon throughout garden season. Jobs include harvesting, pulling weeds, and manning the vegetable stand. Contact Beth Opell at beth.opell@gmail.com to sign up for part or all of an upcoming Saturday.
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Grant Deadline Nears, Apply Now!
The deadline is August 8! Metro Ministries invites all United Methodist Churches in the Central District to consider proposal submissions that demonstrate caring for children in meaningful and lasting ways. We are seeking proposals focused on children in or more of these areas:
Non-violence
Food insecurity
Education
Mental Health
Grants of up to $1,500 each will be awarded by the end of August.
Review all of the details on our website. Don't miss this opportunity to support children and youth in your community!
Churches are encouraged to collaborate on their proposals within their own church and/or with other churches, schools or organizations in their respective communities.
Have you signed up for Miles for Metro yet? If not, won't you join in this FUNdraiser?
The week leading up to and including Labor Day - August 30 thru September 6 - Metro challenges you to walk, run, bike or swim. Or log miles on a treadmill, elliptical machine, stationary bike, or even convert your daily steps to miles.
Registration is $20/person, with children 12 and younger registering for free! Have a friendly competition amongst your family and friends. Who can log the most miles in 8 days? Click to sign up today and accept this challenge!
Note: if you have registered for a race or challenge using RaceSignup platform in the past, you can use your pre-existing account to sign up for this race.
We encourage you to also become a fundraiser and invite your friends and families to join in the challenge and/or make a donation on your behalf. You will have the ability to create your own personal fundraiser link to share with folks in your circle to raise funds for Miles for Metro. If accumulating miles is not for you, you can still become a fundraiser without registering for the event.
You can also make a direct donation towards our goal. Make your donation anonymously, on behalf of a fundraiser or in honor or memory of someone special to you.
What is our goal? We envision repeating this challenge every year and hope to raise $100,000 by 2023, Metro’s 100th Anniversary. In order to reach this ultimate goal, we are targeting to raise $33,000 through this year's challenge. So we need your help! Register, fundraise and/or donate! Get started today!
Top fundraisers and those recording the most miles by age categories will be recognized at the conclusion of the challenge.
All funds will go directly to growing Metro’s Grants programs. Imagine how we might, together, impact children and youth and their families across Central Indiana. Will you accept this challenge?
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Summer Sightings
With kids heading back to school over the next few weeks, it seems a good time to share a few Summer Sightings we have observed recently.
Summer is not quite over, so stay tuned for a few more Summer Sightings!
(These were taken from Facebook pages, so I'm unable to give proper photo credits.)
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Touch-a-Truck at Mt. Auburn Church
Next Saturday, August 7th, there will be trucks galore at Mt. Auburn Church in Greenwood! Construction trucks, farm equipment, fire trucks, police cars, vintage cars, even a Huey Helicopter (weather permitting)!
Come out for this free event. Each child in attendance will receive a free hardhat, and free food for everyone!
July 29 - 31st Community Garage Sale at Danville UMC
August 14: Community Resource Day at Barnes UMC Noon - 4 pm
August 14: Community Yard Sale at Southport UMC 8 am - Noon
August 15: Back to School Block Party at Pittsboro UMC 4 - 7 pm
August 27 - 29: 2021 G2G Conference at Scott UMC, details coming soon!
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Volunteer Opportunities
Fletcher Place CC's Community Garden needs volunteers Saturday mornings from 9 am to noon throughout garden season. Jobs include harvesting, pulling weeds, and manning the vegetable stand. Contact Beth Opell at beth.opell@gmail.com to sign up for part or all of an upcoming Saturday.
NeighborLink Indianapolis has opportunities to help low income individuals with disabilities and senior homeowners in Marion County with household repair and maintenance. Painting, yard cleanup and handy projects are available. Details and volunteer registration can be found HERE.
Pack Away Hunger is sponsoring a Public Meal Pack event at Interchurch Food Pantry in Franklin on August 7. Help in packing 33,000 meals for the pantry. Details can be found HERE.
You Feed Them MFP's Community Resource Day is seeking volunteers on August 14, the day of the event. Help is needed throughout the day in manning tables, helping with setup, backpack distribution, cleanup and more. Volunteer signup is found HERE.
Scott UMC is seeking volunteers for 2021 G2G Conference August 27 - 29. Volunteers are needed to assist with youth programming. Sign up HERE. To volunteer in other ways during the three-day event, contact the church office at (317) 925-1997
If you know of other resources we should share, please let us know by emailing Tina McAninch at metrodirector1923@gmail.com.
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FOOD RESOURCES
Community Compass
Community Compass is a tool created by Indy Hunger Network and has two key ways to connect individuals with food resources near them. The first is an app for smart phones that automically provides food resources based on where the individual is. The second is the ability to text for food resources if an individual does not have a smart phone. Check out details of Community Compass. This is a very valuable tool but does not currently include all food pantries beyond Marion County.
Listing of Central Indiana Food Pantries
We have updated the format of the food pantry list, making it easier to view when printed. You can download the updated listingHERE or from Metro's website's Resources Hub. Please let us know if you have food resources to add or update. We will make updates to this list on a quarterly basis.
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Metro Ministries, Inc. 2560 Villa Avenue Indianapolis, Indiana 46203metrodirector1923@gmail.com (317) 452-4786 www.indymetroumc.org
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