Chattahoochee Valley Episcopal Ministry

We’ve never needed our connection to one another more than this year.  COVID19 has devastated so much: lives damaged and lost, jobs and housing  in jeopardy, health care and food vying for the first bite of a paycheck.  

Every one of you knows the hard choices families have made. 

This Giving Tuesday and holiday season we are offering three ways for you to  invest in the region's communities:

∙ Direct Service, the heart of CVEM, continues to provide critical support for families and individuals  in this region (including Alabama), connecting them to community resources and providing  financial assistance for housing, utilities, and basic household goods, as well as basic healthcare  needs, transportation, job and school needs. While best practices during this pandemic have  changed how we administer these funds, our caring and outreach are unchanged. In fact, grants from the Community Foundation’s Coronavirus Response Fund of $65,000 allowed us to extend our  outreach this year, serving thus far 340 families—helping to prevent homelessness for more than  half of them--with $90,000 in assistance, an almost 300% increase over this time last year. Because  of the administrative support this ministry receives from participating parishes, every penny you  donate to Direct Service goes directly to neighbors in need.  

∙ The Thompson-Anderson-Pound Art Program is a 25-year interfaith art camp for children born  out of a vision of Beloved Community. Through TAP’s collaborative and creative programming,  children, youth, and adults expand their understanding of how valuing diversity fosters a more  beautiful and peaceful world. Although TAP programming was affected by the pandemic, creative  leaders found ways to reach 118 Tappers and Teens during 2020, safely delivering a TAP keepsake  box filled with new and familiar items and activities. TAP honors the memories of Tom Thompson,  in whose memory the program began, and Barbara Pound, whose creativity and love shaped it  from the beginning. And now we also honor current director Debbie Anderson who has guided  TAP toward greater inclusion and celebration of community. Your gift to TAP allows us to plan  ahead for a bright future that includes in-person as well as online experiences. 

∙ CVEM holiday cards are available for order again this year. Let us send cards on your behalf to  honor and remember loved ones or request packets of 10 cards each to send out on your own.  Proceeds from these cards support the ministries of CVEM and performs a valuable outreach and  education function as well, enlightening as well as blessing the recipients! 

More about CVEM

Since 1980, CVEM has been standing beside our neighbors in need in the Chattahoochee Valley, committed to social justice in our communities through advocacy, empowerment and direct aid.  Through partnerships, interfaith initiatives, and the generosity of our stakeholders, we work toward a vision of Beloved Community that advances racial and cultural equity, furthers economic security for all, and provides care and concern for those who are suffering.

To find out more about CVEM and the people we have reached this year, visit our Website. These moving stories remind us all of just how much we need each other.