Raising A Village Foundation provides high-quality intervention programs and community resources to children, youth, and families in the areas of education, health and wellness, and the arts in the District of Columbia.  Its programs include its educational program – Driven 2 Succeed.  the FUMC microgrant helped provide two laptops to key staff to facilitate their educational outreach and tutoring to disadvantaged students.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, two parishioners from St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Silver Spring are leading an interfaith effort to fight hunger.  The Ministry for the Poor and Vulnerable helps get meals and groceries to those that cannot leave their home due to illness and/or no transportation.  The FUMC microgrant was used to purchase food to contribute to this effort which is also being supported by four other churches.

This microgrant is to construct a "blessing box" for food pantry staples on the church property. Anyone can take items or leave items.   The box will be promoted to the Faith Community and to the adjacent neighborhoods and all will be invited to use it.  Members of the Faith Community will be solicited to be stewards of the box for a month at a time to ensure it is full and remove anything expired or perishable.

This microgrant was used to purchase and distribute social justice yard signs to Faith congregants upon request. The yard signs were one of the first actions for the Love One Another Ministry (LOAM) to promote inclusivity to show all were welcome at FUMC. Donations were accepted for this project and those donations completely reimbursed FUMC for this microgrant.

Stepping Stones Shelter provides support for homeless families with children in Montgomery County.  It accommodates up to six families for 30-90 days with a separate room for each family.  Stepping Stones provides food, shelter, clothing, case management and employment counseling.  the FUMC microgrant was used to provide employment counseling for eight shelter clients in late 2020.

GYTTE (Give Ye Them To Eat) is headquartered in Puebla, Mexico, southeast of Mexico City.  During November, one of our church members attended a five session Virtual Volunteer in Mission (VIM) trip over Zoom.   GYTTE is working with the rural poor in Mexico through programs where they can improve their lives and communities. The microgrant helped replace funds GYTTE usually earns from in-person work/study trips cancelled due to COVID. and was used to carry on with community programs during the pandemic.

The Gaithersburg Beloved Community Initiative (GBCI) is a collaboration of many community partners and individuals committed to supporting children and youth and working toward a just and equitable greater Gaithersburg community.  The Cider Mill community was identified as a high-need community and this microgrant funded distribution of produce and shelf-stable food items to the Cider Mill community for nearly 200-300 people biweekly.

KEST inspires change through two well-defined missions: educating Americans to be responsible and effective global citizens both by serving and learning on the ground in Kenya, and by participating in continued opportunities after returning home.  Funding was used to buy 450 face masks for 225 students to allow them to return to school in a safe environment.