Dear Parishioners:

That special time of year has come for us to think of the children and Christmas!

Once again, Holy Comforter, Crosslink, St. Mark’s, and Macedonia Lutheran Church will provide Christmas presents for the children living in foster homes in Alamance County.

For those of you who are new to this project, we want to give a brief explanation of its purpose. These children are in foster care due to abuse, neglect and other parental issues. Foster care is considered a temporary arrangement until such time as families can be rehabilitated or until the child can be adopted or placed in a more permanent situation. Minimal funds for their care are provided by the state but NO money is allotted for toys or special occasions. Our four parishes try to fill this need. These children do truly need our love and support.

This year the foster children’s wish list has been divided equally among the four churches. Our congregation is responsible for providing a memorable Christmas for the children on our list. Please review the enclosed list and consider whether your family might like to provide gifts for one or more of the children. If you feel that you cannot accept the responsibility of one child, perhaps you would like to provide one gift or join with another family and provide for a child together. No gift is too small when given with love. Do not be frightened by some of the rather “heavy” dreams for some of the children. Remember, this is a list of things they want, and like all children, they write them all down and hope. We do for these as we do for our own - the best we can! It should be noted that the highly publicized “Toys for Tots” does NOT provide for children in foster care in Alamance County.

• Please feel free to either purchase online, make a cash/check contribution or purchase gift cards and we can buy the gifts for you. 

• Please feel free to drop gifts / money off at the church, Monday thru Thursday, 9am-2pm, Friday 9am-12pm or at my house, 2319 Westover Terrace, Burlington, NC 27215 or Jocelyn Safrit’s house, 406 Circle Drive Burlington NC 27215. If you are concerned about security, Jocelyn is home during the day. 

• Monetary donations may be made to the church.

• Checks made out to “Church of the Holy Comforter” with “Foster Children” on the memo line are tax deductible and can be mailed to Church of the Holy Comforter PO Box 1336, Burlington, NC 27216".

Selection from a child’s or part of a child’s list

must be completed by Monday, November 25. 

Please make your decision quickly and call / text

Carrie Daniels at 336-266-4577/ cdaniels503@aol.com 

or Jocelyn Safrit at 336-260-7557/ safritr@bellsouth.net.

Sign-ups are also available after church on Sundays. Look for announcements in FaceBook, Weekly Words, Comfortable Words, etc.

**Gifts should NOT be wrapped, but please mark each gift with the child’s name and number found on the wish list. Social Services has requested that all labels and tags stay on clothing items to facilitate exchanges if necessary.

Please turn in gifts by Wednesday, Nov 27.

If you have any questions please call Carrie or Jocelyn Safrit.

We sincerely hope that the true spirit of Christmas will be with you as you reflect on the needs of these less fortunate children of Alamance County particularly during this difficult time.

God Bless,

Carrie Safrit Daniels

Foster Children’s Christmas Committee, Chair

336-266-4577 | cdaniels503@aol.com