2021-2022 Update

Our SUUF Outreach Team (Penny DeJarnette, Cora Shor, and Jan Oswald) provided details for the various projects that they are coordinating on behalf of our fellowship during 2021-2022.

Sedona Community Food Bank (sedonafoodbank.org) – SUUF has participated regularly in their School Backpack  Program to pack bags of snacks and other items for food-insecure children in Sedona schools in order to provide nourishment for the weekends. It involves about an hour for volunteers to pack the bags and then deliver them to West Sedona school, where they are distributed to the children. We were asked to support this cause by providing volunteers for several Thursday mornings this spring.

Our request for help was very successful, and we’re happy to report that all the time slots have been filled. Volunteers should watch for a confirmation email regarding their shift.

Our congregation also supported them in November by providing non-perishable snacks and juices for children for approximately 50-60 children at West Sedona Elementary School who participate in their before- and after-school program. We collected $200 along with 7 shopping bags (filled with 97 juice packs, 136 breakfast/granola bars, 48 trail mix / raisin / nut packs, and miscellaneous other items) toward this effort.

Clothing drives – Each year we participate in gathering assorted items, including coats, blankets, hats, scarves, and more for organizations who provide them to those in need.

In October, we partnered with the Sedona Area Homeless Alliance (sedonahomeless.org) in their “Socktober” project by collecting 136 pairs of socks and $158 in cash donations to purchase laundry vouchers.

Hope House (hopehouseofsedona.org) is being built in Sedona to provide temporary transitional housing for homeless children and their families in the area. The plan was spearheaded by the Church of the Red Rocks with funds provided from a HUD grant and with the help of the City of Sedona. The 4-bedroom 3 bathroom home in Sedona is nearing completion and will offer housing for 3 homeless families with children until permanent homes can be found. The first families are expected to move in by the end of March, 2022.

This winter SUUF committed to sponsor one bathroom in the home to be shared by 2 families, establishing a Target gift registry to provide all the supplies necessary for the first year. We were able to purchase everything on the list. We had enough surplus cash donations to buy laundry supplies, 3 plastic storage totes for each family and $450 dollars towards the purchase of one bunk bed.

Manzanita Outreach (manzanitaoutreach.org) – SUUF has participated with their annual food packing day at the Cottonwood fairgrounds for the past several years. This is a fun event where we work in teams to package bags of rice, beans and seasoning, which are sent to children in Haiti, Native American tribes, victims of natural disasters, and food insecure neighbors in Arizona. Since their inception in 2011 over 2 millions meals have been packed and sent to help these causes. The packing days were cancelled due to Covid-19 for recent years, but we look forward to their resuming the program in the future.

Please visit the website of any of these organizations to learn more about them and of other ways that you may be able to assist in their efforts.