We would like to sincerely thank you those who volunteered with the Parkside Church Christmas Benevolence Project in December, 2017. The Christmas Project has changed over time and 2017 was a year of expansion. We want to give you a sense of the scale and impact of your investment. In doing so, we hope you will be encouraged by how God worked through the church and be encouraged to participate again in the future.

What is the Christmas Benevolence Project?

The project originated from our partnership with Scranton Road Bible Church and our children’s ministry, helping children involved with the Good News Kids program at Scranton. It has evolved and expanded to a church wide project and now encompasses much more.

The Christmas Benevolence Project has three main areas of focus:

1. Cleveland: Partnering with Scranton Road Bible Church & Building Hope in the City to help Cleveland families and children in need.

2. Communities around Parkside Church: Partnering with local agencies & school districts to help families in need in the communities surrounding Parkside Church.

3. Parkside Church Families: Assisting families within the Parkside Church congregation who are financially struggling and can use help & encouragement.

How did the Christmas Benevolence Project address those three focus areas in 2017?

1. We partnered with Scranton Road Bible Church and parachurch organization, Building Hope in the City to provide gifts for a Christmas Store. The purpose of the Christmas Store was to provide an affordable way for inner city parents to purchase gifts for their children. It also provided a way for the parents to select specific items that their children desire.

• 2017 was the fifth year that the store was in existence and the second year that Parkside Church and SRBC have participated. 

• The Christmas Store was located in Cleveland and was organized by Building Hope in the City. Families invited by Building Hope in the City and Scranton Road Bible Church were able to come choose and purchase Christmas gifts for their families at a low cost. Parkside provided over 500 gifts for the Store.

  Parkside member, Jean McDowell coordinated eleven Parkside shoppers who were assigned to purchase gifts for a specific age level. Shoppers were then reimbursed for their purchases from Christnas Benevolence Project donations. Some additional gifts were also provided by members from Scranton Road Bible Church. The gifts were all priced at $5 or less. When the Christmas Store was open, parents shopped and purchased the donated gifts. There was a wrapping room where the parents could wrap their own gifts before leaving. Childcare was also available for the parents if they needed it while they shopped and wrapped.

• Each family who shopped at the Christmas Store was offered a free copy of the One Year New Testament devotional, provided by Parkside.
• In addition to shopping for and donating gifts for the Christmas Store, each Scranton Road Bible Church Good News Kid and Youth Group member received a Target gift card. The parents were very thankful!

2. In an effort to expand our outreach to the communities that directly surround Parkside Church, we contacted area school districts, met with administrators, and adopted families in need from: Aurora City Schools (4), Kenston Schools (1) and Solon City Schools (2). Next year we anticipate expanding our collaboration with these and other districts.

• We partnered for the second time with Chagrin Falls Park Community Center and adopted five families in need.
• We also partnered with another local agency and adopted two families in need.
• We helped three other local families who called the church requesting Christmas assistance.
• Parkside volunteers were assigned to shop for specific gifts for these families using funds donated by the congregation, to wrap & label the gifts purchased by the shoppers, and to deliver the gifts to area school buildings or agencies.
• Along with the gifts, each family was given a copy of the One Year New Testament devotional and an invitation to Christmas events at Parkside Church.

3. Parkside pastors, elders and mid-week Life group leaders were consulted to identify families from Parkside who could use help during the holidays. Families were given gift cards along with a note and a copy of Sinclair Ferguson’s book titled, “Child in the Manger”.

What happens to Christmas Benevolence Project donations that were not used in 2017?

Any donations made that were designated for the Christmas Benevolence Project and not used in 2017 will stay in that account to be used for the Christmas Benevolence Project in 2018. Donations will not be used for other church ministries.

What was the response to the Christmas Benevolence Project in 2017?

The response was overwhelmingly positive!

Here are some of the notes we received afterward:

• “I’m not sure who to address this to; but, THANK YOU for the extremely generous gift of the book and gift cards! We have used up almost all the Target ones- for both necessities and treats. Until this year I have seldom been on the receiving end of this kind of thing. I’ve donated toward things like this in the past, so it’s strange and humbling to be in this place. But this year of trials has brought with it an outpouring of God’s love and that of the Body. I am so grateful for my Parkside family. So please pass this along to the appropriate persons. Thank You!” E.C.
• “Thank you for your help and support! We thank you and your Church for providing wonderful Christmas gifts! I hope you and your family had a blessed Christmas! Have a Happy New Year! God bless!” Thank you, S.S.
• “To the Loving Congregation of Parkside Church: We thank you for your donations to our North Pole this holiday season!! Your part in “Adopting a Family” this year and in years past overwhelms us, to say nothing of the fact that throughout this past year your people have helped to make life a little better for many of the families that are served in our community! Your generosity and love for the people, young and old, in our neighborhood is apparent and very much appreciated! The relationship between CFPCC and Parkside means a great deal to us. We all give great thanks!” Helyne Walker, Strategies for Life Program Coordinator, Chagrin Falls Park Community Center
• “I just wanted to call and thank you for the wonderful gifts that you provided for one of our families at Timmons. It was so appreciated and so generous. So I just wanted to call and thank you. I so appreciate what you did for this family and with love toward the other. Again in the future if that’s an option. Thanks again!” Eileen Kubas, School Counselor at Timmons Elementary School
• “Happy 2018!! Thank-you so very much for the Christmas gift!! I was brought to tears of surprise, gratitude & such joy!! I'm truly blessed to have Parkside as my family. The love, friendship & fellowship is priceless! I'm eternally grateful to Parkside for embracing me, loving me, teaching me, encouraging me & guiding me during my broken, sinful life. My eyes were open by the saving grace of God!! And Parkside Church embraced my transformation. Praise God!! I'm so thankful! Hugs, Love & Blessings” K.M.
• “To our friends and family of The Parkside Church, The W. family would like to take this moment to send you a token of our gratitude for your generous gifts. May God bless each and every one of you. Today and always!” With loving gratitude, The W. Family

Thank you for volunteering!!!

We had more people volunteer than we could use, due to the time it took to create new local partnerships and the limited amount of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you signed up to volunteer and were not contacted, that is the reason. Thank you for volunteering.

We anticipate expanding the project again this year and we hope that you will be willing to sign-up to help if you can. Since we now have connections made with the school districts, we desire to obtain families to help earlier, begin employing the help of volunteers sooner, and be able to assist even more families in need in 2018.

It was a blessing to be part of this project and witness God’s love in action. We pray that some of the people touched by your generosity will take a step closer to knowing God Himself as a result.

With gratitude for your partnership in the Gospel,

Dan Larison & Jacque Platek

Christmas Benevolence Project Coordinators

440-708-2109| www.parksidechurch.com