I hope that each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We are very grateful for all of you - for the love and compassion that you give our families, for the precious time that you donate to our organization, and for the financial support that you invest to make a difference and to help us address the issue of poverty in Athens one family at a time.

If you are like me,  you took advantage of the deals offered on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Now I ask you to join me by making a gift to IHNA on this Giving Tuesday. I made my contribution last night and it is quick, easy, and secure. Simply click this link (or copy and paste it into your browser):  https://www.gagives.org/c/GGD/a/ihnathens

Your generosity helps us live up to our name:

Interfaith - Diverse congregations of different faiths coming together to serve children and families in need while building bridges and bringing our community closer together.

Hospitality - Serving those in need with compassion, respect, and love while offering safe shelter, nutritious food, and needed transportation. Caring for folks who the world passes by and judges harshly.

Network - We bring together 36 congregations (14 host and 22 support) to share the work of housing and feeding those who are experiencing homelessness. In the past year we have grown from 24 congregations to 36. Our network is strong and it continues to grow.

of Athens - All of us know that poverty is a significant issues in our community (somewhere between 36 and 42 percent and over 700 children in the Clarke County school alone are identified as homeless). It is a challenge but we are working with other organizations to make a difference.

With much gratitude,

Davin Welter, Executive Director

Moving, educational, inspiring, community building - these are words that I would use to describe the service on November 19 at the Tate Center. 

Thirty congregations participated in the service which represented the diversity of our community and the wide variety of faiths in our town. 

The Benevolence Market was held after the service and many nonprofits were able to share their work with those enjoying cookies and Jittery Joe's coffee. The Benevolence Market continue to accept donations through the end of December. 

If you need a meaningful gift for that difficult-to-buy-for person, take a look at: http://www.holidaybenevolencemarket.org/shopping-list.html