Festival & Sale for World Relief

Rebuilding homes was the theme of the 2008 Twin Cities MCC Relief Sale. The special project for the auction was rebuilding homes for victims of
cyclones in Bangladesh. Every time enough funds were pledged to build a new house, youth were brought out of a simulated refugee tent. Wall hangings and special pieces with a house theme were sold at this time as well as the US traveling house block quilt. Nearly $7,000 was raised for this project during the auction. The House Block project raised $108,090 in Canada and the US in 2008!

This was an uplifting, lively, and happy sale. Music from the “Whistlepigs
String Band” and “Menno’ Faith”, a men’s group formed from local churches,
helped make the atmosphere festive.

The children had a good time purchasing items at the children’s table,
at their auction and in the children’s activity room. Here they could sit in a
tent and feel what it was like to be a refugee. The theme of the entire room was providing shelter. Kids built buildings with LEGOs, filled school kits and
bundled layette kits (this was especially enjoyed). An “MCC Story Shirt” was
created by Colleen Graber and could be purchased and colored with fabric
markers and taken home.

People unfamiliar with MCC received the message while they were on the
premises that something good and worthwhile was happening here. All of the preparation made for a successful event and we thank all of the volunteers!

As a result of the November 2008 sale (which grossed $84,294) , four
fundraising events, and a portion of the New Hope Church gift, TCMCC was able to contribute $1,140 from Penny Power to the Laos Agriculture College, $53,000 to the MCC general fund, and a designated $7,176 to the Tents to Houses project for Bangladesh. This was more than the 2007 contribution, and was greatly appreciated by MCC in these tough times. As in the past, half of the Penny Power funds raised, ($1,140) were sent to an organization supporting Mennonite-affiliated Ukrainian orphanages, and this in turn generated a matching grant from a donor in Canada. For a local connection, $2,165 was raised, along with clothing and personal care items for the St. Stephen’s Thanksgiving Day Free Store. They were very pleased with our event and contribution.