Other Opportunities to Get Involved...

Make a difference today by giving of your time or resources to one of the ministries or events listed below.  Please click on the links below to learn more...

• Donations Needed
• Family Promise  
• Redemption Community Church 
• Meals on Wheels - Drivers Needed Tuesdays and Thursdays!
• Habitat for Humanity  
• North Gwinnett Cooperative
• Mission Trip Scholarship Fund  
• Relay for Life - May 9 - 10 
• Additional Opportunities to Serve 
  • Lighthouse Family Retreat - Looking for wonderful people to serve children with cancer and their families ... click here
  • Rainbow Village - Housing and Programming Notes ... click here 
  • Duluth Churches Study - Research and Information Gathering for Duluth Churches ... click here
• Fundraising and Community Activities 
  • Amigos For Christ - “Amigos for Christ partners with Bodyplex” to raise money for Nicaragua! ... click here
• Season of Compassion 2007 - see photos from our 2007 events and hear from our volunteers!

Family Promise

Family Promise of Gwinnett County is a non-profit, nondenominational organization for families in transition.  This program brings shelter, meals, and support services to families without homes.  The hosting of families rotates weekly among Host congregations in the network.  In turn, each host congregation provides lodging, three meals a day, and caring hospitality for up to 4 families at a time. 

In previous years and in 2007, SUMC served Family Promise as a “host” congregation. Four times per year we provided housing, food, overnight hosts and hospitality to families in the Family Promise network.  In 2008, we will serve as a “support” congregation.  We have been partnered with John Wesley UMC and St. Mathew’s Episcopal Church and will help them fill volunteer positions when they are host churches.  The difference in our support is that we will continue to provide volunteers but will not provide housing at our own church. 

We are assisting John Wesley UMC the week of October 5 and St. Matthews Episcopal Church the weeks of July 6 and July 13.

Please contact our SUMC Family Promise co-coordinators Pat Pino (p.pino@laarhovendesign.com) and Karen Taylor (kqt817@yahoo.com) if you are available any of those weeks.

Thanks for supporting these families who are moving from transition to stability! For more information about Family Promise of Gwinnett, please visit their website at familypromisegwinnett.org.

Meals on Wheels

If you are available a couple hours a month, we invite you to get involved in our Meals on Wheels Ministry.  This is a program directed by Gwinnett County Health and Human Services who provides delivery to meals to seniors and shut-ins who are unable to prepare meals for themselves.

Drivers pick up frozen meals at SUMC at 10:00AM on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s and deliver them to homes.  Routes usually can be completed in an hour to an hour and a half.  Drivers can commit to once a month or more frequently if available.  Drivers will be required to complete a background check.  If interested, please contact Linda Wiist (770.623.5524) or Nancy Beckmann.

North Gwinnett Cooperative

Our Beyond the Walls Ministry supports the North Gwinnett Cooperative with monthly financial support, food drives (March 2008) and volunteer assistance.

The North Gwinnett Cooperative is a faith based organization formed in 1991 as a ministry that provides food, clothing, financial assistance and spiritual support to those in need in the Buford, Suwanee, and Sugar Hill communities.  The North Gwinnett Cooperative provides food and financial assistance to 8,200 individuals, provides Thanksgiving and Christmas meals to over 1,100 individuals, helps provide toys for more than 1,000 children for Christmas, and provides winter coats for over 200 people.  The North Gwinnett Cooperative also runs a thrift store that raises more than $6,000 a year that goes back into the community.

Anyone 13 years or older can volunteer and volunteers are permitted to bring children over the age of 5 to work with them.  There are many opportunities to serve at the North Gwinnett Cooperative (bread pantry, bagging groceries, unloading and stocking food, and working in the thrift store).  If you would like to volunteer just arrive 30 minutes prior to opening and the director will greet you.  There are also opportunities to serve on a regular basis by becoming a client intake volunteer.  This is a trained position in which you will greet clients and process their applications.     

If you have any questions, please feel free to email Bonnie Flanagan.  Please read the June 2007 Update for news about the new building location!

Please visit the NGC website at www.northgwinnettcoop.org for more information.

 Read updates from Maureen Kornowa, Executive Director

 January 2007 Update

 June 2007 Update New Building Location!! 

North Gwinnett Coorperative

Maureen Kornowa Executive Director

70 Wiley Drive

P.O. Box 672

Buford, GA 30518

Phone:  678.641.3460

Hours of Operation:

   Monday         6:00PM - 8:00PM

Wednesday   10:00AM - Noon

 Friday           10:00AM - Noon

Gwinnett County Fairgrounds – May 9 – 10

Attention Cancer Survivors!!!

We want you to walk the first lap Friday, May 9 at 7:00PM as a “Celebration of Life” in the Cancer Survivor’s and Caregivers Walk to honor all those individuals who are living examples of the successful fight against cancer. There is no cost to you. As a cancer survivor, you will receive a special t-shirt. Also, you and a family member are invited to a reception as guests of honor at 4:30PM followed by the opening ceremonies at 7:00PM.

For more information contact LaNita Redner (redner212@charter.net or 678-714-0101). To make a donation to the Sugarloaf Relay for Life team or to register for the team, please contact LaNita Redner or visit the Relay website at www.gwinnettrelayforlife.org.

Additional Opportunities to Serve...

Lighthouse Family Retreat - Looking for wonderful people to serve children with cancer and their families.

The Lighthouse Family Retreat mission is to serve children with cancer and their families at a seaside retreat and help them to laugh, restore family relationships, and find hope in God. Our hope is that families return home from The Lighthouse and continue their journey with renewed strength, hope and love.  Being a volunteer at The Lighthouse is an experience like no other – and one you’ll treasure for a lifetime.  Retreats are held along the Florida panhandle between Destin and Panama City Beach.   Volunteers can apply to attend one of the our upcoming retreats, scheduled annually from April to October.  A group of about 30 volunteers will serve 10 to 12 families on a retreat you'll never forget!

Lighthouse Family Retreat testimonial by Colleen Carter:

"My name is Colleen Carter and my family has been attending services at Sugarloaf for a little over 2 years. We love it. My husband and I grew up Catholic and never really understood how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We turned to Sugarloaf at a very difficult time in our lives. Our youngest son, Cole, was diagnosed with leukemia in October of 2005 and my husband's Mom passed away 9 days later of lung cancer. Through our attendance we have grown spiritually and it has brought a peace to our family...so thank you. 

We have come a long way since Cole's diagnosis and we are plugging away at his treatments. He has started second grade and continues to play baseball while on therapy. This past summer he was selected to play on a T-Ball All-Star team at our local park in Suwanee. We are very proud of Cole and all of his accomplishments. His siblings, Zach and Cailyn have been very supportive of their "sometimes" very grouchy brother as we know it is not easy to be patient with our boy on all of the medications. Cole's protocol lasts for a little over three years and we are due to complete therapy in December of 2008.

Over the past 27 months, we have witnessed so much kindness from friends, family and even complete strangers. One organization, in particular, that has greatly impacted our family is The Lighthouse Family Retreat (www.lighthousefamilyretreat.org). "The Lighthouse Family Retreat provides seaside retreats for families living through childhood cancer. Retreats are held in rented or donated homes along the Florida panhandle between Destin and Panama City Beach and are scheduled from April to October. Around 120 people attend each retreat comprised of 10-12 retreat families and 30 volunteers who serve them by pampering, cooking, cleaning and taking care of daily responsibilities so that the retreat families can focus on having fun together." The Lighthouse is looking for wonderful people to serve children with cancer and their families...  I have become very close with the people who served our family at the beach, and they will tell you that it was a life changing experience. I would love for the families of Sugarloaf to learn more about become involved with this amazing ministry."

Colleen Carter

For more information about Lighthouse Family Retreat please visit www.lighthousefamilyretreat.org.

Rainbow Village - Housing and Programming Notes
Rainbow Village provides families in domestic and economic crisis a healing environment to rebuild their lives. Following are two opportunities to get involved with Rainbow Village. 

• Housing Notes:  Know someone who is on the verge of losing their home?  Rainbow Village’s transitional housing program is currently accepting applications for one of our two-bedroom units in Duluth.  Please call Deborah at 770-446-3800, ext. 15.
• Programming Notes:  In January our After-School program began a science, math, and technology enrichment module involving guest speakers and special field trips.  For information on how you or your organization can participate in one of our programming “Pot of Gold” projects, please call Deborah at 770-446-3800, ext. 15.

For more information about Rainbow Village, please visit www.rainbowvillage.org.

Duluth Churches Study - Research and Information Gathering for Duluth Churches
Interested in getting involved in a unique research and information gathering opportunity? This project involves the Duluth church community and will help us better understand Duluth's history, challenges, strengths, hopes and opportunities. Please click here for more information and contact Tami McLaughlin (tami@sugarloaf.org) for more details.  

Fundraising and Community Activities...

Amigos For Christ - “Amigos for Christ partners with Bodyplex” to raise money for Nicaragua! 
Buy a card from Bodyplex that enables you to have 10 visits to Bodyplex for only $10!  All of the proceeds go directly to Amigos for Christ so checks can be made out to them. The visits must be used within a 30 day period which begins with your first visit, and only one card may be used per year.  The passes are good for the Buford, Suwanee, and Grayson locations.  Even if you are already a member or employee, it's a great chance to invite neighbors or friends to join you, and what a great time of year to do it.  All of the proceeds are going to help provide clean water, educate children, and change the lives of people in need in Nicaragua.  If you would like additional information, please contact Joy York at 678.231.8611.