1.  Create a specific Church bulletin board dedicated to the topic of poverty  and the Church’s efforts to reduce it

Need 2 to 3 people committed to maintaining this ACTIVE bulletin board.

2.  Define Poverty

Poverty may be defined as the lack of basic necessities of life such as food, shelter, clothing, health care, education, security and opportunity.  Post articles on poverty-related issues around the world, update bi-weekly / monthly.

3.  Define poverty in “everyday terms” to connect with your congregation.

a. Lack of food (daily lunch, etc.)

b. Lack of shelter (homelessness, transient areas, etc.)

c. Lack of clothing (work clothing, dress clothing for job interview, etc.)

d. Lack of health care (no insurance, use of neighborhood clinics, etc.)

e. Lack of education (no GED, college opportunity, etc.)

f. Lack of security (local crime rate, unsafe areas to walk in, etc.)

g. Lack of opportunity (limited entry-level jobs, hopelessness)

4. Identify existing, local services / resources that are available to meet the locally identified needs and post information for congregational reference.

a. Define existing services that specifically address these needs in that area or that area available to meet these needs, even in a partial way.

b. Identify all contact information for local resources to meet any needs within the congregation or for referral to others.

5. Communicate current and proposed, diverse Church efforts to reduce poverty  with continuous invitations to participate in donations and / or volunteer activity.

a. Post with a focus on the activity and the member participation to spark additional interest from the congregation.

Cwm:11/21/08