You never know what you might get to do as an employee of Ferncliff! This past weekend Emily had a cool opportunity to take part in a large-scale service event in Missouri through the Festival of Sharing.

Festival of Sharing is an ecumenical response to poverty, hunger and injustice in Missouri and beyond. It is spearheaded by the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church but involves many other denominational partners. Festival of Sharing provides opportunities and information for volunteer groups to address a wide variety of needs, whether that’s by assembling kits, collecting supplies, recruiting volunteers, providing funding, or prayerfully supporting the collective work.

Physical packs and kits are collected at regional “Sharefest” events in September and October around Missouri. Over 150 agencies are approved to receive goods and services from these events. Agencies include food pantries, clothes closets, school programs, community gardens, resource centers, and more. One agency that receives kits? Church World Service (CWS), an organization that is probably familiar to anyone who has volunteered at Ferncliff’s Disaster Assistance Center, also known as the DAC!

Ferncliff’s DAC operations are made possible through partnerships with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and CWS. At our warehouse we receive, inspect, assemble, and store Gift of the Heart kits from donors and volunteer groups from all around the country. When a disaster strikes domestically or abroad, CWS sends us a request for shipment of kits to that area. Because of generous donations of supplies and kits and the benefit of lots of warehouse space to store completed, ready-to-go kits, we have the ability to move quickly to meet the need. Once kits arrive at the disaster site, local agencies distribute items.

Festival of Sharing invited Ferncliff to attend a Sharefest in Republic, Missouri, a city just outside of Springfield. At only about 4 hours away, we didn’t want to miss it! Emily drove our trusty box truck, Boxanne, to attend the event. Throughout the morning on Saturday, volunteers at the Sharefest received or assembled a LOT of supplies and kits to benefit agencies in Missouri and elsewhere. There were piles of blankets, paper towels, eyeglasses, reading/writing kits, dental care kits, food boxes, and much more.

Boxanne was loaded up with all of the CWS Gift of the Heart Kits that were collected throughout the event. After just a few hours, Boxanne was full of 106 school kits, 96 hygiene kits, 4 emergency cleanup buckets, and 18 welcome backpacks! Upon arriving back at Ferncliff, we unloaded and weighed those kits in the DAC, where we’ll inspect them with volunteer groups and package them in CWS boxes on pallets so they are ready to go when a need arises.

We so appreciate opportunities to partner with other denominations to address the needs of our region, country, and world! We want to thank Sidney Everhart, Festival of Sharing Coordinator, who ran the show at the Sharefest and invited us to attend. And a big thanks to all who volunteered at the Sharefest or donated supplies and kits! CWS and Ferncliff’s DAC depend on the generosity of others – thank you for being part of our mission!

Want to get involved? There are lots of ways to support Ferncliff’s mission and outreach efforts. Contact Emily for information on bringing a mission team to Ferncliff, or about the availability of small group volunteer service days in the DAC.

Information on creating kits to donate can be found on the CWS website.

For more info on Festival of Sharing, check out their website!