Foundry’s Local Missions

 

 

 

 

 

The missions listed below are supported by Foundry UMC and its members, and take place - in large part - inside the District of Columbia.

 

AIDS Mission

The AIDS mission at Foundry UMC is multifaceted. AIDS MIssion groups help people living with HIV/AIDS by sponsoring food drives and preparing meals. The groups sponsor our annual Concert for Life, which raises funds for HIV/AIDS organizations.  AIDS Mission groups also support Quality of Life retreats for persons living with HIV/AIDS. 

 

Saturday Morning Cooking Group

      Since its inception in the early 1990s, the Saturday Cooking Group has prepared an estimated 28,000 meals for Whitman-Walker Clinic's FoodBank The group meets at Foundry approximately 20 Saturdays each year to prepare meals for the FoodBank (a service of Whitman-Walker Clinic, which serves the LGBT community). The creative dishes cooked by Foundry members are distributed (free of charge) by the FoodBank to individuals living with HIV/AIDS. The Saturday Cooking Group meets Saturday morning at 9:00 am in the Main Kitchen.

     

Concert for Life

      The Concert for Life, which began in 1993, celebrated its 15th year of song on April 25th, 2008, with That’s Amore, Songs of Love. This annual concert features an eclectic mix of music, and is designed to benefit organizations that serve with individuals living with HIV/AIDS in the metropolitan DC area and in parts of Africa. Please see Concert for Life’s website for a full list of beneficiaries! www.concertforlife.org/

 

 

Community Mission

One of Foundry's most vibrant missions, the Community Mission, maintains responsibility for making approximately 70 Easter baskets for the clients of Emmaus Services for the Aging. It also contributes food for the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners at Martha's Table and manages the Sandwich 500. 

Sandwich 500

      Sandwich 500 meets the first and third Wednesday of each month to make approximately 1000 sandwiches/session for Foundry's Friday Walk-In Mission and Martha's Table.  The sandwiches are delivered to Martha's Table and then distributed by McKenna's Wagon 365 days a year to various locations in the District of Columbia.

 

 

Day Labor Outreach

 

Thursday Morning Outreach

      This outreach to the day labor community takes place each Thursday, alternating at the Rhode Island Avenue Home Depot and 15th and P Street NW sites. Volunteers gather to distribute beverages (bottled water and lemonade in the warmer months, hot chocolate in the winter) and sandwiches to the workers. Spanish speaking ability is helpful, but in no way necessary – excellent conversations are to be had at both sites, regardless of your skill! Meet at Foundry every 8:00 am to volunteer with this outreach.

 

English as a Second Language (ESL) Classes

      Foundry’s ESL program began two years ago with ‘survival’ English lessons at the 15th and P Street day labor site. Volunteers with the Thursday Morning Outreach brought a five minute lesson to the workers at the site, but when this wasn’t enough for the day laborers, Foundry volunteers decided to establish something more formal! Today, we host three sessions each year – a Fall, Winter/Spring, and Summer course. Each session is 10 weeks long, and caters to all levels of English-speaking ability, from low-literacy to advanced speakers. Classes are free to students, and are held each Tuesday evening from 6:45 – 8:45 pm. Although the classes are not limited to Spanish speakers, they do target Spanish speaking day laborers, particularly those from the Dupont Circle neighborhood. Volunteer to teach with the Summer session today; teachers need not be members of Foundry UMC or have previous ESL experience.

 

   

Green Mission

 
Newly reformed after a period of no environmental group at the church, the Green Mission seeks to focus the Foundry community on sustainable stewardship of God’s creation and environmental justice. The group offers educational events, Bible studies, and book studies, and works with administrative and facilities staff and committees to make the Foundry community greener. The Green Mission coordinated efforts to make Foundry UMC’s business operations greener – each church office and classroom can boast a wastebasket and recycling bin (office paper is recycled as well!). Some of the its current action areas include: Recycling and Paper Use and Energy Efficiency.  The Green Mission always has room for more volunteers.

 

 

Hunger Mission

 

Christ House

      Christ House is a 33-bed health care facility and temporary residence for the homeless and sick of Washington DC located in Adams-Morgan. Foundry has been serving meals at Christ House for over ten years. Volunteers gather the first Saturday of every month to cook lunch and the first Sunday of each month to cook breakfast.  They also share in the meals and enjoy fellowship with the homeless men residing at Christ House.  Typically three people cook each meal and volunteers have the opportunity to plan a meal of their choosing.  Volunteers with all varieties of cooking experience are most welcome.  Food donations are also welcome.http://www.christhouse.org/

 
Bake Sale

      Bring baked goods every third Sunday of the month to be sold during coffee hours to raise funds for hunger charities.

 
SOME

      So Others Might Eat (SOME) is a community-based organization that provides a wide range of social services to the poor and homeless of the Metropolitan DC area. SOME serves clients not only with food, clothing, and immediate health care needs, but also with services like counseling, job training, and addiction treatment. The second Thursday of each month from 6 – 8 am, Foundry volunteers gather at 71 ‘O’ Street, SOME’s main location, to cook and serve breakfast to DC’s homeless men and women. http://www.some.org/

     

McKenna’s Wagon

      This mobile soup kitchen serves food to DC’s homeless population 365 days each year. Vans driven and staffed by Foundry volunteers leave Martha’s Table at 5pm on the first and third Friday of each month. The vans serve five stops around the city. http://www.marthastable.org/

 

 

Mustard Seed Mission

 
Mustard Seed Mission is the newest Foundry mission. It provides a one-time, low commitment opportunity to engage in service in and around the District of Columbia. Activities take place one to two times each month on week nights and weekends. Past opportunities include: the Fannie May Help the Homeless Walk-a-Thon, the Potomac Watershed Cleanup Day, gleaning with The Society of St. Andrew, spring cleaning at Christ House, grocery delivery with Emmaus, a Habitat for Humanity work day, and food packing with the Capital Area Food Bank.


MSM is open to all members of the Foundry congregation and the DC community. It has a special emphasis on working individuals, families, youth, and anyone looking for something new!

 

 

 

Peace with Justice Mission

 
The Peace with Justice Mission exists to empower people to take an active role to achieve peace and justice in their lives, their community, and their world. This Foundry mission seeks to accomplish this by providing a greater understanding of peace-related issues through speakers, film series, and discussion. The Peace with Justice Mission meets on the 2nd Sunday of every month at 12:30 pm. New members are always welcome.  Volunteers are needed to keep in touch with and share information from various peace-related groups in the area, staff the table in Fellowship Hall after each service, organize speakers on various peace topics, and help out with other activities throughout the year.  

 

 

Prison Ministry

 

Foundry's Prison Ministry seeks to support prisoners, ex-offenders, and their family members through mentoring, spiritual support, select projects, and advocacy. It welcomes volunteers to mentor ex-offenders, to be literary tutors, to attend monthly meetings, and to help with our yearly Christmas project, the Angel Tree, which distributes gifts to children who have a parent in prison. Foundry is also the current home of the DC Books to Prisons Project, which meets every Wednesday at 5:00 pm in B2 to answer requests for reading material from prisoners and mail books free of charge to those who would otherwise have little opportunity to improve their education.

 

Susanna Wesley House

 

Susanna Wesley House provides safe housing in a shared house setting for four women transitioning out of homelessness.  Opportunities for involvement include helping with maintenance of house; serving as board member; and assisting with fundraising and communication

 

 

Volunteers in Mission (VIM)

 

Provides service opportunities to help raise awareness and concern about Foundry’s connections with the global community.  Each year VIM organizes a work trip either in the United States or abroad.

 

 

Walk-In Mission

 
Each Friday, Foundry’s Walk-In Mission opens to the community from 9:00 am – 12:00 noon to provide assistance in obtaining birth certificates, District of Columbia non-driver’s identification cards, clothing items, and sack lunches. With the generous support of the Foundry congregation, Walk-In is able to work with 15 individuals each Friday for identification documents, and 25 individuals with clothing items. Walk-In is currently seeking volunteers to sort weekly clothing donations, shop for food and toiletry items, assist with hospitality, and help clients obtain identification documents (birth certificate and non-driver’s ID). The mission is currently seeking donations of sample size shampoo, conditioner, and lotion; towels and washcloths; men’s casual pants (especially jeans) sizes 30-40; XL t-shirts and sweaters; and men’s shoes.

If you are a social services agency seeking to refer a client to Walk-In Mission for identification assistance, click here for a letter containing more information about our mission.

   

Washington Interfaith Network (WIN)

 

WIN is a multi-faith, non-partisan, congregation-based community organization committed to addressing social and economic justice in Washington DC’s neighborhoods. Over 45 organizations (including congregations, schools, and workers unions) are WIN members. As part of the WIN, Foundry members support a variety of social issues. Right now, WIN is focusing on its Neighborhoods First campaign, which supports neighborhood investment and revitalization in each of DC’s eight wards. In conjunction with WIN, Foundry members have also taken up the cause of promoting affordable housing, and the Get-Out-the-Vote campaign.http://www.windc-iaf.org/

 

 

 

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