Spotlight on Lambswear, Inc.

Metro Ministries learned of Lambswear, Inc. while attending last year's Lord's Acre festival at McCordsville UMC. Lambswear, Inc. is a faith-based non-profit organization whose mission it is to provide childhood necessities to diverse families in need through donations and resources while showing God's love to the community.

What began in 2012 as a month-long mission project of two women for their local church to collect gently used clothing for children in foster care, quickly became much more than a one-time project. Lambswear, Inc. was established in April 2013 and became a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization in June 2014, collecting and distributing clothing to any children or youth in need, not just those in foster care.

While their efforts are focused on collecting gently used infant- through-youth size clothing, Lambswear, Inc. ensures that children receive new socks and underwear with each clothing bag. Every year, Lambswear, Inc. promotes the Undie 500 and Sock-tober campaigns, reaching out to churches, schools and businesses to collect new underwear in May and new socks in October.

A child may receive clothing twice per year, in the spring/summer and in the fall/winter. Requests for clothing are submitted via the Lambswear website, with requests coming from parents, guardians and case workers of children in and around Indianapolis. When completing  the request, the caregiver chooses from several locations to pick up the clothing. Children in foster care receive clothing with new placements.

Metro Ministries is proud to support Lambswear, Inc. in both the Undie 500 this past May (where over 5,000 pairs of underwear were collected) and Sock-tober next month. We would love to see United Methodist churches throughout the Central District launch sock drives for Lambswear Inc., and we invite all churches to help them reach their goal of 10,000 pairs of socks this October. We will even collect the socks from your church by October 31!

Please contact Tina McAninch at metrodirector1923@gmail.com to arrange pick up of your church's sock collection. You can download a pdf of the below flyer to use in your church media. Let's help Lambswear, Inc. meet their goal of 10,000 pairs!

Hope to See You Saturday!

We are looking forward to gathering for fun and fellowship this Saturday at Royal Pin Expo, beginning at 11:00 am. Please contact Tina McAninch if you have any questions about the Bowl-a-thon.

Watch for photos and highlights in next week's newsletter!

Peace with Justice Grant from INUMC'S Diversity, Mission and Justice Ministries

The Peace with Justice grant is designed to help a local United Methodist church, district, or other affiliated organization or ecumenical group support their peace and justice program or project that is relevant to changing systemic issues of injustice.

The Peace with Justice Grant is not intended for charity ministries, but for ministries that seek to change or address the root problems. Examples include advocacy projects, raising awareness about issues of injustice, prison/jail ministries, gambling concerns, etc.

Applications are due October 15. To apply, visit inumc.org/peacewithjustice.

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Kiwanis Foundation of Indianapolis

The Kiwanis Foundation of Indianapolis has opened its grant application process to nonprofits that shares it mission to serve children. Deadline is Sept. 30. Apply for community grants that will be distributed in 2023.

 CHILDREN MATTER MOST ALL IN EVENT

You won't want to miss this learning and engaging opportunity! Rev. Angelo Mante, Alive Community Outreach Executive Director and INUMC Deacon, will lead in opening worship and in opening remarks. Rev. Angelo's work in decreasing violence among youth in the Ft. Wayne area well equips him to kick off a day where we gather to focus on what we can do individually and collectively to ensure all children do matter most.

This is an opportunity for all who care about children to come together to learn, be inspired, and go back to their community with action steps to help children thrive. Full details of the event are available HERE. 

When: October 1, 2022, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Where: Grace UMC, 1300 E. Adams Dr., Franklin IN 46131

Cost: $10 for 1 registrant; $15 for 2 registrants; $20 for 3 or more registrants.

HERE is the current list of seminars available during the morning and afternoon breakout sessions.  Just added: Tina McAninch will lead a breakout session on grant proposal writing and grant funding resources within the Indiana Conference and beyond. Additional sessions will be added soon.

To sign up for childcare, contact Jen Huff at jennifer.huff@inumc.org.

For more information contact Emily Krach at emily.krach@inumc.org or 734-883-4581.

Potato Drop at Carmel St. Mark's UMC

Partnering with Society of St. Andrew, St. Mark's is offering FREE potatoes to those in need. Any food agency, pantry, church, kitchen or individual needing potatoes is invited to pick up potatoes.

Food agencies/pantries are asked to reserve potatoes by contacting St. Mark's Missions Coordinator, Stephanie Cohen, at scohen@stmarkscarmel.org or 317-846-4912 ext 215, with the agency name and the number of potatoes your agency would like to reserve. Be sure to also provide contact person and cell phone number of the driver who will be picking up. Potatoes must be picked up on October 8.

Individuals or families do not need to make reservation, simply come through the line to receive bag(s) of potatoes.

Click HERE to download a PDF flyer for distribution.

Brightwood Community Center College Information Sessions

Attention Parents & Teachers! Brightwood Community Center is hosting College Information Sessions for current high school students. Current college students will be on hand to share about their college experiences.

On Wednesday, October 19, 2022 from 4 - 5pm, juniors and seniors are welcome to attend to hear from the college students as well as get help applying to college and applying for scholarships.

On Wednesday, October 26, 2022 from 4 - 5pm, freshmen and sophomores are invited to explore careers and to take career assessments, to look at college and scholarship opportunities as well as talking with current college students.

These are FREE events, and food will be provided!

Meet and Greet with Metro's Board Members

Have you considered joining Metro's Board of Directors? If you are curious and would like to learn more, we are offering a Meet and Greet with several of Metro's current board members. This will be held  Monday, October 10, 2022, from 6:00 - 7:30 pm, at St. Andrew UMC, 2560 Villa Ave., Indianapolis 46203.

If you would like to attend, please register HERE so that we know how many folks to expect. This will be an opportunity to gather informally and learn more about serving with Metro Ministries. Please register by October 3rd to attend.

As we prepare to celebrate Metro's 100th anniversary in 2023, we are seeking folks to help with financial and operational oversight, to help us grow our fundraising efforts to expand the impact of our grants program, to help guide our vision for our next century  and to help us build new and enhance existing relationships with churches and community organizations.

If you are unable to attend but are still interested, please reach out to Tina McAninch via email or phone, metrodirector1923@gmail.com or (317) 452-4786. 

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

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Servants at Work (SAWs)

Multiple Dates 

Volunteering with SAWs is an opportunity to help change someone's life. SAWs is a faith-based nonprofit that builds outdoor ramps for persons living with permanent disabilities in low-income households.

SAWs has multiple ramp building opportunities available this summer. Most opportunities range from 4 to 6 hours and do not require specific skill sets. There are builds planned throughout Central Indiana and beyond. Visit the Volunteer Signup page to view currently available opportunities. You will need to create a username and password if you have not volunteered with SAWs before, or sign in with your previously created sign in information.

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Society of St. Andrew Indiana Gleaning Opportunities

All volunteers must sign a waiver. These are family-friendly events open to children of all ages. Those who are interested should sign up for email notifications by creating a profile HERE. Folks will then receive emails of upcoming gleaning opportunities.

Apple Gleaning in Sheridan!

Apple gleaning in nearby Sheridan on Friday mornings 9 - 11am, beginning September 23 through October. Pantry volunteers are highly encouraged to come out! Pantries that send volunteers are given top priority for distribution. Sign up HERE. 

Farmers Markets

There are two ongoing opportunities in Indianapolis throughout this Farmer's Market season: on Wednesdays at 1pm at Original Farmers Market at City Market downtown, and on Saturdays at noon at Garfield Park Farmers Market. Email notifications will not be sent for these recurring opportunities; however volunteers are asked to sign up for the date(s) wanted. 

Metro Ministries, Inc.'s 99th Anniversary Celebration

Have Something to Share?

Do you have an event, volunteer need or job posting you would like included in Metro's weekly e-newsletter? Send us an email at metrodirector1923@gmail.com with the details. We will need to receive by Tuesday morning for inclusion in the current week's newsletter.