One Great Hour of Sharing: Paksitan

The Great Milwaukee Flood of August 2010 was devastating to many of us and our neighbors, but the people of Pakistan contintue to endure suffering on a much wider scale. The monsoon rains have continued for weeks, and millions of people have no access to food, clean water, or sherlter, with the numbers incrasing daily.

Please consider making a special donatio to the Nation Association's One Great Hour of Sharing campaign for Pakistan. Checks may be made out to "NACCC," with "OGHS-Pakistan" on the memo line. You may mail your check directly to the NACCC (PO Box 288, Oak Creek, WI 53154), or bring it to church and we will forward it on. Thank you for your generosity!

North Shore takes special offerings each year at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. The Board of Benevolence makes the determination about the agencies (usually two) that will receive these special funds. Recent offerings have supported:

• Thanksgiving 2009: Shoreline Interfaith, an outreach ministry to the frail elderly of the north shore of Milwaukee, enabling them to live safely and with dignity in their own homes; and Pilgrim's Presence, a Congregational mission to the West Pokot District of Kenya, focuing on the education of girls and women. This donation provided several microfinance loans to help with the establishment of small local businesses.
• Christmas 2009: St. Rose's Youth and Family Center, providing residential homes and treatment for vulnerable girls and women, and the One Great Hour of Sharing General Fund, for emergency relief around the globe. These funds were much needed when the earthquake in Haiti occurred in January 2010!
• Easter 2010: Sojourner Family Peace Center, dedicated to the prevention and elimination of violence in families, and the One Great Hour of Sharing Fund, earmarked for relief efforts following the earthquake in Chile.

In addition, special offerings are taken at North Shore whenever a compelling need is present. In the fall of 2009, North Shore collected over 3,000 pounds of food in the "Harvest Haul" for the Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee. And following the earthquake in Haiti, North Shore members continued to give generously to the One Great Hour of Sharing Haitian Relief Fund. North Shore makes a difference in the community, and in the world!