Category Archives: Events

Jacob’s Learning Ladder February 2021

Jacob’s Learning Ladder Staff was sent home with a COVID care package for Christmas Break. The Kansas Leadership Center gave out grants to groups of Kansans who came up with a project in order to “Beat the Virus”. A few JLL teachers and office staff met with a KLC coordinator and came up with the care package project. JLL was awarded the full $3,000 grant which allowed us to send teachers home with gift cards, supplies, and activities encouraging them to stay home and stay safe over break.

Cold temperatures outside means more inside activities, Pre-K children have learned how Polar Bears keep warm-they have a layer of blubber under their fur. The children experienced this by putting one hand in ice water and the other in a baggie layered with Crisco. The reactions were priceless! Another experiment children conducted was, “What happens to ice when it sits at room temperature?”—It melts!

JLL Children celebrated Kansas’ 160th Birthday by wearing their favorite Kansas team t-shirt to school and going on parade around the school. Other activities included making corn husk dolls like the Kansa Indians made, and playing traditional Kansa Indian hoop games.

 

2020 Finances

finances

We are in good financial shape as we move into 2021. Our expenses for 2020 (represented by the Red Bar on the graph) were on budget. Our pledged giving in 2020 was in keeping with the amount pledged; however, the total giving we anticipated was down for last year. Non pledged income was off by a substantial amount. The accompanying graph shows that the Blue Bar (Regular income: donations, other giving, and Jacob’s income) did not meet the expenses for the year.

The 2020 budget anticipated some of this, and at the end of February, we moved the $62,000 in endowment and maintenance monies approved in the budget into the Operating account. In March we received a Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan in the amount of $174,800. This allowed us to keep all of our staff on payroll during the spring and move in to 2021 in good shape. The Green Bar on the graph shows the total income for the year, including the endowment and maintenance money and the PPP loan. You can see that we ended the year with a strong cash presence. But that PPP loan, which became a grant because we used it for operating costs, is a one time boost. As we move through this new year we need everyone to continue to give to Grace. We cannot do what we are doing as a church without each of you. Your gifts of time, talent and financial support are crucial to us as we move forward through the year. Thank you for your commitment to the ministries of Grace.

Yellow Bag Sundays

February Yellow Bags: Refugee Community

Each month we designate a community partner and give you the opportunity to donate items for them.  In January we partnered with the Covenant Presbyterian Food Pantry.  In February our Refugee Team leads the initiative, and we partner with the International Rescue Committee (IRC).

We are helping IRC put together “Go-Bags.”  The go bags are specifically for survivors of human trafficking.  The human trafficking and refugee communities experience cross-over, and IRC is partnering with the Lighthouse Project for this initiative.  Our contributions will provide IRC with a supply of bags that they can hand off to someone ‘on the go,’ someone escaping trafficking.  A survivor leaving trafficking is unlikely to have anything more than the clothes on their back.

Each bag has items that help get them started in a new life.  A donation was made to cover the cost of 50 duffle bags, and now we get to help fill them.  There are a few ways to contribute:

  • Go here Flocknote and sign up. You sign up for what you want to donate, and you are emailed a link that tells you how/where to purchase the items.  The sign up allows us to keep track of donations.
    • After you sign up you can go here to order: Amazon
  • Call the church office and have Teresa help you with the online sign up process.
  • Make a donation to Grace, marked for IRC Yellow Bags.

If you want to learn more about Wichita IRC go here: https://www.rescue.org/united-states/wichita-ks

coat

Coat Drive

Did you clean out your closets over Christmas?  If so, drop off your old coats at Grace.  KAKE is hosting a coat drive this month to benefit The Salvation Army, and we have a box in our building.  All new and gently used (clean) coats are welcome.

blood

Blood Drive: February 21

Grace hosts its next Red Cross Blood drive on February 21, from 8 am – 1 pm.  The blood collected at our October 18 drive went to Via Christi St Francis, Labette Health in Independence, Kansas, Kansas Medical Center in Andover, and Girard Medical Center.

  • Every two seconds someone in the US needs blood.
  • One pint of blood (the approximate amount given in a donation) can be used to help up to three people.
  • About 1/3 of the US population is eligible to give blood.
  • Five million patients in the US need blood every year.

Sign up to donate by calling the Grace office – 684-5215, or by going here>

You may use the “rapid pass” and save time on the day of your donation. Go to RapidPass to finish the pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online before coming to your appointment.