ThisWeek CW 10/22/2015
http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/10/19/dinner-concert-will-benefit-groveport-food-pantry.html
The Center for Groveport Madison Human Needs will kick off the holiday season with its fourth annual Evening of Dinner and Gospel to help raise funds for families in need.
The Evening of Dinner and Gospel features a dinner catered by Posh Nosh Catering and a concert of contemporary Christian music by the Ladies of Grace, hosted by the Asbury United Methodist Church, with all proceeds going to the Center for Groveport Madison Human Needs.
“We started out at Groveport Town Hall and filled the place so we had to relocate,” executive director Christine Boucher said.
“Fortunately, one of our community partners is Asbury United Methodist Church and they have a great facility for us to be able to accommodate a large crowd.
“Attendees at this event should expect superb service from some outstanding students from the high school, a delicious dinner and beautiful Christian worship music from Ladies of Grace from Madison Christian Church.”
Student council members from the Groveport Madison High School will serve guests at the event, which also will include a silent auction and a raffle.
Tickets are available online at center4gmhn.org. The cost is $10 for adults, $7 for children 12 and younger.
Dinner tickets must be purchased ahead of time but tickets for the concert only may be purchased at the door; those cost $3 each.
Dinner begins at 6 p.m. Nov. 6 at Asbury United Methodist Church, 4760 Winchester Pike, with the concert at 6:30 p.m.
“Last year, we provided assistance to 260 families and distributed over $50,000,” Boucher said. “We don’t necessarily have a budget for assistance because we only distribute what we receive. So when times are lean for us, like now, there is little assistance that we can provide, and unfortunately, we have to turn many families away.
“We had a really good start to 2015 and were able to keep up with the requests until August, when our funds were exhausted,” she said. “The impact of the Evening of Dinner and Gospel will be a huge help to get us back up and operational with assistance for residents of our community.”
The Center for Groveport Madison Human Needs recently participated in a fundraising competition for a piece of a $10,000 grant through Thrivent Financial’s Share the Vote program, and is waiting to see how that effort may benefit the organization, Boucher said.
Craft bazaar
Besides the Evening of Dinner and Gospel Boucher said the organization will host its annual Holiday Craft Bazaar Nov. 14 at Groveport Zion Lutheran Church, 6014 Groveport Road. She said the organization is still soliciting for vendors.
“The event is small so we can make sure there is no duplication of vendor or craft types,” Boucher said. “We’re also soliciting Angels for our Adopt-A-Family program to help families in the community at Christmas time this year.”
More information about these programs and other services is available from Boucher at info@center4gmhn.org.