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‘Attendathon’ Generates Funds to Buy Beds for Kids
BERLIN, CT (October 10, 2006) - A community outreach that will provide beds for hundreds of children across the state started because a new Christian had an idea, says Phil Brockett, pastor of Bethany Covenant Church.
Jack Gillotti was a new convert and had attended the church for only a brief time when he suggested to Brockett that the congregation hold an “attendathon.” Bethany would raise money for a community cause, while at the same time inviting people to church for a special service.
Since then, the church has raised more than $30,000 to give more than 700 children a bed to sleep in. On Sunday, October 21, the church will hold a “Great Gathering” to benefit “Beds for Kids.” The day will include entertainment as well as the opportunity to buy pumpkins – and to see some of them flung from a trebuchet (medieval catapult) designed by a college freshman who attends the church.
The event is different from past years – people in the past were simply invited to church - but the goal is the same, Brockett says. The church worked with Covenant to Care for Children, which links faith-based organizations and social workers in the state’s Department of Children and Family Services, to find a need that Bethany could help meet. (It is not connected with the Evangelical Covenant Church.)
The state requires that all children have a bed, but many people can’t afford them, Brockett says. “The state will provide a lot of things, but they won’t provide beds,” he notes. The need for beds continues and there is a waiting list of up to 300.
In past years, Covenant to Care accepted lightly used beds that had been donated, but a bed bug outbreak has meant the organization can only accept monetary contributions, Brockett says.
The first year, the church raised more than $17,000 and attracted more than 1,000 people to the service at a time when the church’s weekly attendance was around 300. The timing proved opportune because the event had long been scheduled and Bethany’s new building was supposed to be completed months earlier.
Delays occurred, however, and construction wasn’t completed until the day of the event. “They finished laying the carpet at 3 p.m. and the service started at 4 p.m.,” Brockett recalls. “It worked out because people were able to invite their friends to see the new sanctuary.”
Last year, roughly 600 attended, but more than $15,000 was raised. Brockett says he was surprised how generous businesses were, with several giving at least $1,000 each.
Mutual of America, a national company that insures non-profit organizations, recognized Covenant Care for its work and praised the efforts of the church, which received the Significant Community Partnership Award.
And, Brockett stresses, it all started with an idea from a new believer and attendee to the church. “He just brought in an idea that probably would never have come from someone who had been attending for a long time.” To learn more about the "Attendathon" or the other ministries of the church, call the office staff at 860-828-3637 or visit the website at Bethany Covenant.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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