World of Gifts brings people together
November 7, 2022
By Janice Biehn
St. Alban’s in Burnaby, B.C., Trinity Church in Simcoe, Ont., and Christ Church in Fredericton, N.B. may be provinces apart, but last year they all raised funds to support PWRDF partner Utooni Development Organization (UDO) in Kenya building shallow wells to bring safe clean water to the community. Parishioners at St. Paul’s in Vancouver, the Parish of Maberly-Lanark outside of Ottawa and the confirmation class of Holy Trinity in Grand Bay, NL, all raised funds to “Buy the Whole Farm,” supporting food security programs in several different countries.
These encouraging efforts were part of last year’s World of Gifts campaign. Our support of UDO and “Buy the Whole Farm” continues in 2022, with many other ways to support our partners. Besides building shallow wells in Kenya, this year you can also support clean water initiatives in Colombia, Cuba and Iraq.
The war in Ukraine has affected both the number of refugees and internally displaced people worldwide, as well as worsened hunger and food security. This year the World of Gifts has sharpened its focus on addressing hunger by supporting partners working with refugees and IDPs around food security. You can still “buy the whole farm” but you can also “buy the whole garden” to support farmers in Uganda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Cuba.
During last year’s World of Gifts campaign, donors responded generously to our appeal to support the new Indigenous Response Grant Fund, donating $42,342. Now entering its second year, the fund has disbursed nine grants supporting Indigenous-led organizations across Canada.
Donors looking for their gifts to be matched can support our Canadian Foodgrains Bank account. Funds raised here are matched 4:1 by the Government of Canada and allow us to work with other aid organizations to provide emergency food relief quickly and effectively.
Give a gift!
As always we encourage you to support the World of Gifts as part of your Christmas gift-giving. Not only are you supporting our partners, but you’re spreading the good news of PWRDF to your friends and family who may not be familiar with our organization. When you order your gifts online or by mail, simply check off the box to indicate you would like to receive customizable In Your Honour gift cards. We will mail them to you to fill out and give to the people on your gift list. Then, as our way of saying thanks, you’ll also receive a special PWRDF gift tag.
If you order your gifts from our online store, the eCard function is available to you. Or, you can download the In Your Honour cards and print them at home.
The World of Gifts guide is distributed in the Anglican Journal and can also be downloaded as a PDF. Simply fill out the tearaway order form in the guide and mail in as instructed, or visit our online store to make your order 24/7. You may also order by phone at 1-877-936-9199.
Spread the word
You can also support the World of Gifts by sharing our posts on Facebook and Twitter, or by sharing our YouTube videos. If you would like more copies of the World of Gifts please email [email protected].
For media requests, please email Communications and Marketing Coordinator Janice Biehn at [email protected].
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