Stock the Kitchen Party: Helping a Church Family in Need

[mmilus]

I work full-time at a church in adddition to PC. Last week, the parent's of one of our pastors had a house fire and lost pretty much everything. :cry: I talked to the pastor and offered to do a "Stock the Kitchen" party for his parents. They will be listed as the host and will receive the host benefits. I'm going to give them a catalog to create a wish list from and publicize it to the staff of our church as well as several of the music groups (I work in the music dept.). I'm thinking of this as sort of like a shower so they can get what they want and/or need. Has anyone ever done something like this?

 

[Shari in TX]

I did this for my sister before she got married. She didn't want a shower, but she did want stuff for her kitchen and her friends wanted to help her get it. I did it as a catalog show since she didn't want a party. She and her fiance went through the catalog and marked everything they wanted and then I worked to help them get as much of that as I could. I contacted all her friends. If they wanted to buy her something specific, I put that in their name and gave them a total. If they wanted to contribute to whatever was needed, I pooled that money (based on which friends -- church, college, etc.) and used that money to buy either a big item or several small items under one of their names. When I gave my sister the items, I gave her a list of which set of stuff came from which group of people. Of course, I put her as the host and used all the hostess benefits to buy more items on her list and a few things she didn't know she needed, but I did.

I bought a few reusable shopping bags from the supply order and packaged the set from each group of people in individual shopping bags. So, when I gave them to her, I said something like, "All the items in this bag are from your college friends, Patty, Lisa and Sam" so she knew who to thank. They didn't actually pick out the specific items, but they gave enough money to cover it all. Of course, when she "unwrapped" everything, she could reuse the shopping bags.

Hope that makes sense and I hope that lots of people order new products for your pastor's parents. What a nice way to be able to help them restart.

Shari in TX

 

[Admin Greg]

Any suggestions?I would include a note in the invitation to please bring a canned good, non-perishable food item, or paper item, etc. to be donated to a local charity in the family's name. That way, even if someone can't make it, they could still contribute to the cause.I know there is concern about the family getting doubles of things they don't need, so I would have them create a wish list from the catalog. That way, you can be sure that they will receive things that they need and/or want. I would also let them know that there will be a donation jar available for anyone who would like to make a monetary donation to help the family.I think this is a great idea and I hope it works out well for you! Please keep us posted!Thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely include the note about the donation jar. I was thinking of having a "mystery host" so everyone who attends will be eligible for the host benefits. I know I can't solicit orders from the church staff, but I'm not sure if I can offer them the host benefits if they order. I'll have to check on that. I thought about getting our church to donate gift cards to Wal-mart, Target, etc. as well.Yes, I would check on that before doing the mystery host. You may be able to offer the benefits to everyone who places an order, but I would check with your director first. If you can't offer the benefits to the staff, maybe you could offer them a small discount or something. I would also suggest contacting the home office to get their input. They may have some great ideas for you!