Drop off your donations December 9–21 at the tree in the lower-level atrium
UUC has partnered with Teen Feed for over twenty years. And UUC has been engaged with holiday giving for over three decades. For many years, congregants selected gift tags from a tree and purchased items for families in the larger community. These families, some unhoused or connected to community agencies, identified clothes and other needed items for our UUC giving tree. About eight years ago, with our congregation’s long-time partnership with Teen Feed, UUC shifted our holiday giving to the unhoused teens in the U-District.
Teen Feed offers a critical safety net for homeless teens in our community through advocacy, case management and street outreach. Teen Feed is focused on developing relationships that can prevent youth isolation and regression into long-time homelessness.
Eighteen times each year, 12-15 volunteers from UUC’s Meal Team gather to prepare and serve a meal to teens in the U-District. These meals are a conduit for the Teen Feed staff members to build connections—inviting conversation with teens who have found it difficult to trust adults in their lives. In recent years, our UUC youth have been engaged in this partnership as well, from spending a Saturday giving the Teen Feed kitchen a deep clean, to taking on the role of the UUC Meal Team to prepare and serve a meal to fourty teens. Of course, there are also some UUC youth involved with our Meal Team year-round—ten at present.
In a nod to past traditions of a Giving Tree, you are invited to drop-off donations, December 9–21, at the base of the tree decorated by UUC children and teens in the lower-level atrium entrance.
Purchase some of the basic items requested by the teens during the winter months. Like everyone else, the teens appreciate new items, too. Please consider purchasing any of the following:
- Men’s and women’s warm jackets (Large-2XL) warm but lighter weight please, and no wool, since it doesn’t dry quickly (or at all!) in our PNW rain
- Hand warmers
- Wool socks (no cotton socks this time of year)
- Adult-sized gloves (light-weight and fingerless are both popular)
- Adult-sized wool and Polartec beanies
- Rain jackets (Med-XL)
- Hanes 3-pack boxer briefs (Med–XL)
- Plain hooded sweatshirts (L–2XL) No logos or slogans. And the teens prefer dark colors.
- Small tents, tarps and sleeping bags
Or, make a financial contribution for Holiday Giving by Sunday, December 21, and Teen Feed will shop for the most needed items. You can write a
check
payable to UUC, note "Teen Feed Holiday Giving" on the memo line, and mail or drop the check off at the church office. To
donate online, click the "Give Now" button on the
UUC homepage, enter the amount, select “Special Plate Collection” and enter “Teen Feed Holiday Giving”.
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