Free Store Raises Over $15,000 During Lent

As the Free Store grows, so grows the generosity of the Bethany Lutheran congregation. We have once again knocked it out of the park with our generous monetary and in-kind donations. This year’s Lenten fundraiser brought in $15,290.93 in monetary donations.

Our combined efforts of our noisy offering, online contributions, and just plain ol’ giving brought in $9,290.93. On top of that, another $6,000.00 was donated by one of our very generous Bethany families.

It doesn’t end there. Our in-kind donations brought in over 500 products. We proudly displayed these items on our altar for all to see. Way to go, Bethany! It truly was a sight to behold.

But wait, there’s more. Bellin of Green Bay and Escanaba is committed to supporting the communities that they service. Most times the support is in the Green Bay area as that is where most of their clinics and hospital are. This year, the Bellin RN Care Coordinator Program got word of our wonderful Free Store and decided to support our mission. Both Escanaba and Green Bay set up donation boxes and ended up bringing in over 500 additional in-kind donations.

Thank you to everyone for your generous donations, your time (no easy task lugging, shelving, and counting donations), your monthly volunteering commitment, and your willingness to be a positive in our community.

Please reach out to the office if you would like to volunteer at the Free Store. We would love to have your help!

Celebrating One Year of the Free Store

Today is a special day - we're celebrating an entire year of operation of the Bethany Lutheran Free Store!

The Bethany Lutheran Free Store allows those who are lower-income and/or eligible for Michigan Bridge cards to receive non-food items that cannot be purchased with their Bridge Cards. The Free Store served 30 households in its first month last March. Now, a year later, we've served over 250 households!

We are so grateful to all those who have supported the Free Store in its first year. Thank you to everyone who has made a donation, volunteered their time, or helped to spread the word within our community. A special thank-you goes out to Sue Miller for all of the incredible work she's done to keep our Free Store running smoothly!

To learn more about how you can support this ministry, visit the Free Store page of our website. A Bethany family has generously offered to match up to $5,000 of Free Store donations during this Lenten season, so all fundraising activities during Lent (including our Sunday spare change “noisy offerings,” our midweek service offerings, and any other donations designated to the Free Store) will go towards our goal!

You can also give to the Free Store online by clicking the button below and designating your donation in the Free Store box.

Here's to a successful first year, and many more to come!

Free Store Opens For Families In Need

On Tuesday, March 1st, Bethany’s new Free Store opened for the first time! Our Free Store aims to help lower-income and/or eligible for Michigan Bridge cards to receive non-food items that cannot be purchased with their Bridge Cards. We’re excited to be embarking upon this new journey in our ministry!

With the generous donations from our congregants, we were able to assist 30 families this month, including 50 adults, 24 children, and 9 babies for a total of 83 people. Thank you to our volunteers, Kris Anderson, Katey Blake, Karen Caswell, Marcie Kaven, Suzanne Miller, Don Nyquist, and Rodney Spence for helping to run the store on its opening day!

The Free Store will be opening again on Tuesday, April 5th from 10 a.m. to noon and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. If you are interested in supplying replacement items for the next open shopping date, lists are available in the church office and the Narthex.

Current Free Store needs include:

• Household cleaners such as Pine-Sol, Mr. Clean – 32 oz or less

• Dish soap such as Joy, Dawn, Palmolive, or Ajax – 28 oz or less

• Laundry detergent, such as XTRA, Arm & Hammer, or Purex

• Paper towels, preferably not huge; generic is ok; multi-packs ok

• Toilet paper, standard size; multi-packs ok

Thank you in advance for your continued support!