wfn.org | UMNS# 04565-Can't find right gift? Smart shoppers in Fort Worth

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Can't find right gift? Smart shoppers in Fort Worth go to church 

Dec. 2, 2004	 News media contact:   Fran  Walsh * (615) 742-5458* 
Nashville {04565}

NOTE: A UMTV report and photograph are available at http://umns.umc.org.

By John Gordon*

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS) - When a shirt and tie just won't do for Christmas,
members of Arlington Heights United Methodist Church turn to unconventional
gifts.

For $25 they can buy, in a friend or family member's name, one week of hot
lunches and personal visits from Meals on Wheels. Or $40 buys a tank of gas
for the Humane Society's cruelty-investigation vehicles.

"I do it every year," says church member Joann Basham. "My family has come to
expect this instead of something that they really don't need, and they love
it."

For the last four years, the church has hosted a G.I.F.T. (Giving Inspired by
Faith and Thanksgiving) Shop. More than a dozen charities are invited to set
up booths in an atrium at the church during Sunday services. Hundreds of
church members browse through the booths and pick holiday gifts.

"This is the meaning of Christmas," says Carla Jutson of Meals on Wheels.
"This is people giving to people to help out humanity."

The G.I.F.T. Shop, held for a few hours on a Sunday in November, has
consistently raised $10,000 or more for each of the past three years.

Avoiding crowded malls, G.I.F.T. shoppers can help grant a wish for a child
with a terminal illness, support a children's theater group, or donate to the
Methodist Children's Home. They can also buy mini-blinds, light fixtures or
hammers for Habitat for Humanity.

For Ruth McCullough, helping staff the Habitat for Humanity booth, the
familiar phrase of "home for the holidays" takes on a new meaning this year.
McCullough is becoming the owner of a Habitat home, just in time for
Christmas.

McCullough, who lives in an apartment, ran into obstacles trying to buy her
own home.

"I tried to get a loan, and I didn't get it," she says. "So I went to
Habitat.'

The organization makes homes affordable by having volunteers and the
homeowner do the construction.

"That's going to make a big difference," McCullough says. "Now I'm going to
be a homeowner, where I can see where my money is going."

G.I.F.T. Shop donors can support the Make-A-Wish Foundation, granting the
wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses. One of those wishes came
from a 4-year-old boy who set aside thoughts about his own illness to help
his friends.

"He wanted to be the boss of the ice-cream truck because his little friends
couldn't afford to get ice cream when (the truck) came by," says Kathy White
of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.	"So he wanted to give his friends free ice
cream."

Shoppers can also buy a teddy bear for the Alliance for Children, a coat for
the Lena Pope Home for children in foster care, or support the Kids Who Care
theater program.

"I'm guaranteed that my friends and family are going to get something that
isn't going to rip, rattle, roar, rust, bust, split down the seams or collect
dust," says Emily Grimes, head of the church's mission committee.

The Humane Society of North Texas offers sponsorships of pet adoptions and
heartworm treatments - more possibilities for the friend or relative who has
everything.

"For those people (who) just don't know what to buy, this is a great option,"
says the Humane Society's Pam Palmer.

This year, church member Barbara Williams decides to donate to a women's
center. She also buys teddy bears in honor of her two grandchildren, and she
pays for an hour of counseling for an abused child as a gift to her two
daughters.

Williams says the G.I.F.T. Shop not only helps worthy charities but shows the
true meaning of the season.
 
"The gift that I'm giving them is the gift of knowing it's good to give, and
not always receive."

*Gordon is a freelance producer and writer in Marshall, Texas. 

News media contact: Fran Walsh, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5458 or
newsdesk@umcom.org. 

********************

United Methodist News Service