1.) Youth Service Project: The Youth Service Project this Summer (2009) will be to ASP (Appalachian Service Project). ASP is a Christian ministry, open to all people, that fosters human development by addressing the housing needs of Central Appalachia. Each year through the ASP ministry about 15,000 volunteers repair homes for 400-500 low-income families in rural areas of Central Appalachia. The goal is to make homes warmer, safer and drier for families in need, while offering transformational experiences for families, volunteers and staff alike. ASP's theme for this year is "Putting Faith Forward" (Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."). Our youth team will be helping to repair homes in a poor community. Donations given to YSP will support our youth team in their transportation to and from ASP as well as supplies and equipment they will need while they work on homes. Help make this valuable service trip possible!

2.) United Methodist Hanhane Women's Shelter in Massinga, Mozambique: This shelter opned in 1992 to serve and shelter older women who are displaced by their families. Mozambique does not have a good retirement system. The elderly rely on their children to take care of them in their old age. Many end up living with their children who are beginning their own young families. The economic hardships in Mozambique make it difficult to provide for extended families. Many children end up forsaking their mothers. The children of these elderly women conclude that the best way of driving them away is to accuse them of witchcraft and take their homes for their own families.

The South Mozambique Conference of the United Methodist Church has taken it upon themselves to care for these women by providing shelter. The women living there are part of a close knit community. They grow their own food and help support each other. The conference helps with medical assistance when needed and a nurse visits twice a week. The women have generous hearts and a willingness to share what they have. The graciously welcome strangers into their community although they have been turned away from their own.

3.) The Children, Youth and Family Collaborative (CYFC): Los Angeles has the highest population of foster youth in the state of California. The Children, Youth and Family Collaborative is committed to making a difference in the lives of those youth in the Los Angeles County foster care system. Children in foster care need your support because:

• 50% of youth in foster care do not graduate from high school
• 40-60% of foster youth become homeless within one year of leaving the foster care system at age 18

The goal of Children, Youth and Family Collaborative (CYFC) is to help these young people make a successful transition to independent living when they emancipate from the foster care system at age 18. CYFC has several ongoing projects that encourage and empower foster youth, providing role models, training and encouragement with a variety of services including tutoring, mentoring, life skills training, college and vocational counseling, and employment preparedness programs. CYFC partners with several organizations including the United Methodist Church to develop a network of community support for youth in foster care.

4.) Upward Bound House's Family Place: That homelessness is an enormous and ongoing problem in Southern California can come as a surprise to no one. What everyone may not realize, however, is that homelessness is often a temporary condition, brought on by various misfortunes. Prompt, effective intervention can mean the difference between personal tragedy and a future of hope. Family Place provides this sort of assistance. Family Place is Santa Monica’s only transitional housing program for children and their parents (most of whom are single women). It offers 22 apartments and a variety of supportive services, both on and offsite, including: case management, parenting and life skills classes, job training and placement, childcare and after-school activities, mental and physical health services, substance abuse counseling and domestic violence support groups.

5.) Epiphany: Epiphany is a national ecumenical Christian ministry designed to show Christ's love to incarcerated juveniles. Through talks, skits, music, prayer, food, celebrations and more, " the least of these" grow in faith and commit to or renew a commitment to live as Christians. The ministry has been active in the California Youth Authority since 1994 and currently serves both young men and women, providing three-day short courses in Christianity and on going monthy reunions. Donations go to provide Bibles and crosses for the "stars," as well as for other agape gifts such as snacks and crafts.

6.) Harvest Home: Harvest Home is a nonprofit, non-denominational, fully programmed residential home that is Christ centered and dedicated to meeting the needs of women in crisis pregnancies, regardless of race, religion or nationality. The purpose of Harvest Home is to provide love and care to each woman, offering a stable environment where her physical, emotional and spiritual needs can be met. The ultimate goal is that each woman will leave Harvest Home spiritually strong, with a newfound sense of self-worth and better prepared to support and care for herself and her child.

7.) Heifer Project International: Heifer Project International is a worldwide program to combat hunger and poverty with over 600 active projects, including 76 in the U.S. Heifer teaches people how to care for livestock appropriate to their region and then provides them with a “living gift.” This gift of a cow, goat, yak, camel, hive of bees or flock of baby chicks provides food, clothing, draft power and extra income for better housing, education and health care. As recipients promise to “pass on the gift” by sharing their animals’ offspring and knowledge with their neighbors in need, they become links in a network of hope, dignity and self-reliance that reaches around the globe.

8.) Central Asia Missions: Visit our Alternative Christmas fair during coffee hour after each worship service during the four weeks of Advent to learn more!

9.) InnerChange: LA with Paul Smith develops inner-city leaders with the vision and commitment to transform their communities. InnerChange staff move into impoverished neighborhoods and start building relationships through outings, tutoring, helping people navigate the legal and medical systems, and just “hanging out.” Community development projects flow naturally from these bonds of trust. Paul has lived and worked in an immigrant neighborhood near MacArthur Park since 1990, focusing on youth who are caught between cultures. At that time, few of the youth graduated from high school. Now, Paul is mentoring college students from the neighborhood who have become role models and tutors for the younger children.

10.) Iware District, Nigeria: For the past three years FUMC has been engaged in a partnership with the Iware District of the United Methodist Church in northeastern Nigeria. This past year has been one of great change in the Iware District. These changes include a new bishop in Nigeria as well as a new District Superintendent in Iware. Also new is the foundation of a school building that was made possible through our ongoing partnership. During this time of transition, communication with our partners has been difficult. In the coming months we expect a renewed relationship and more opportunities to partner with our fellow United Methodists in Nigeria through financial, moral, and spiritual support.

11.) Nothing But Nets: The entire process of purchasing and distributing insecticide-treated bed nets to children under the age of five, as well as providing education and follow-up surveying on their use, is accomplished at the cost of just $10 per bed net. Although $10 for a bed net may not sound like much, the cost makes them out of reach for most people at risk of malaria in Africa, where many people survive on less than $1 a day. Malaria has been brought under control and even eliminated in many parts of Asia, Europe and the Americas. Yet in Africa, malaria infections have actually increased over the last three decades. Malaria is a leading cause of death of children in Africa, killing nearly one million children each year. Every day 3,000 children die from the disease. Join us and Send a Net, Save a Life.

12.) OPCC: Established in 1963, OPCC (formerly Ocean Park Community Center) is a community-supported organization in which staff, volunteers, and clients work to overcome poverty, abuse, neglect, and discrimination. OPCC is the parent organization for a variety of projects that strive toward these goals. The Access Center helps homeless persons meet basic needs and offers a point of entry into the homeless services system; Campion provides quality mental health care to children, teens, and adults; Daybreak meets the immediate and long-term needs of mentally ill homeless women; K-9 Connection partners shelter dogs with at-risk youth who train the dogs in basic obedience enabling the dogs to become adoptable; Night Light provides emergency services, support, and resources to runaway, throwaway, and homeless youth; Safe Haven temporarily houses and serves chronically homeless persons with the goal of placement in permanent housing; SWASHLOCK gives homeless persons access to restrooms, showers, laundry facilities, and lockers to store belongings while looking for work and stable housing; Sojourn offers shelter, counseling, and legal services to battered women and their children; Turning Point shelters homeless men and women and provides job counseling, money management, and independent living skills.