TOP DONATION NEEDS
- Plastic Grocery sacks are needed for the Mats for the Homeless Ministry. Please leave these in the bin in the CLC Lobby.
- Sack Kids Hunger needs creamy peanut butter and grape jam. There’s a collection bin in the Lobby of the CLC.
- Spiral Notebooks or three-ringed binders and notebook paper for ESOL students.
ONGOING MISSION WORK
Sack Kids Hunger
Sack Kids Hunger started in November 2010 in response to the needs of children who receive breakfast and lunch during the school week but have limited resources on weekends. Every Saturday from noon to 2 p.m., volunteers gather at Buford First UMC to hand out sack lunches to children in our community. The church family collects donations for the food supplies and helps make sandwiches, pack sacks, and distribute them. Volunteers meet on Saturday mornings in two shifts: 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. and 12:00-2:15 p.m. Currently we need volunteers for the first two Saturdays of the month. Email Sack Kids Hunger Coordinator Sydney Yancey for more information.
Free English as a Second Language Classes for Adults
WHERE: Buford First United Methodist Church. 285 E. Main Street, Buford, GA 30518.
WHEN: Sundays from August 11th – December 1st
From 5:30 – 7:00 PM
For information or questions:
Church office: (770) 945-7438 or mission@bufordfirstumc.org
Free Childcare for children, 4 years and older.
Clases de Inglés gratis para adultos
DONDE: La Iglesia de Buford First United Methodist. 285 E. Main Street, Buford, GA 30518.
CUANDO: Los domingos comenzando el 11 de agosto hasta el 1 de diciembre del año 2023.
Para más información o preguntas: llame a la oficina (770) 945-7438 o puede comunicarse via correo electronico mission@bufordfirstumc.org
Cuidado de niños proporcionado para niños de 4 años en adelante.
Blood Drive
We work with LifeSouth Community Blood Centers, Inc. to organize blood drives several Sunday mornings during the year. LifeSouth is the primary blood provider for numerous local hospitals and medical centers, including Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, so blood donations come right back into the local community.
Our 2024 Blood Drives are February 4 (9 a.m. – 2 p.m.), April 14 (9 a.m. – 4 p.m. in memory of Olivia Ouimet), June 9 (9 a.m. – 2 p.m.), August 11 (9 a.m. – 2 p.m.), October 13 (9 a.m. – 2 p.m.), December 8 (9 a.m. – 2 p.m.). Email Darla Hiltgen for more information.
Knitting for Others
Knitting for Others is a hands-on, needle-work group that knits and crochets blankets for various charitable organizations and church members who are hospitalized or homebound. Come knit with us on the first and third Wednesday of each month from 10:00 a.m. – 12 noon. Email Sydney Yancey for more information.
Gwinnett Children’s Shelter
Our church prepares and serves a delicious meal to the children and their families at the local Gwinnett Children’s Shelter once a month. We also help out with landscaping and maintenance and provide an annual offering through the Alternative Christmas Project. Email Sydney Yancey for more information.
Hands-On Mission Experience
Occasionally, we organize a special mission opportunity called our HOME Project. Teams visit local assisted living centers, the Gwinnett Animal Shelter, and the Gateway Home for Women in Gainesville. Come join us! Email Sydney Yancey for more information.
North Gwinnett Cooperative
We support the North Gwinnett Cooperative through collections of food and other items throughout the year. Several church members serve on a regular basis at the Co-op, and other volunteers support them as needed in the pantry. This ministry is also supported through the Alternative Christmas Project each December. Email Sydney Yancey for more information.
Gainesville Aid Project (GAP)
The Gainesville Aid Project (GAP) is a wonderful mission experience for youth going into 7th grade and up. Mission work is done around the Gainesville area through the Antioch UMC. The youth stay in the Antioch Church Campground, eat meals in the church fellowship hall, and, during the day, go out in teams with adults to do yard work, build wheelchair ramps, and clean the homes of those who need the help. GAP holds a worship session each evening where youth can share how God has been working in their lives. Contact our youth pastor, Brendan Rossell Smith, for more information.
Alternative Christmas Program
The Alternative Christmas Program provides a unique gift-giving opportunity that honors your family, friends, and even co-workers while spreading God’s love to people in real need. Each year, we select several local, regional, and worldwide charities and organizations for Alternative Christmas giving. Email Sydney Yancey for more information.
The Angel Tree
After Thanksgiving, we attach paper angels to several Christmas trees around our church. Each angel features a gift wish from someone in need. Throughout the season, members fulfill these wishes by purchasing specific gifts, wrapping them, attaching the corresponding angel to each gift, and then leaving the packages under the trees. This project is sponsored by the Florence Garner Circle. Email Sydney Yancey for more information.
Christmas Meal Project
On a Saturday in December, our church delivers more than 500 hot turkey dinners to our Sack Kids Hunger families, our home-bound members, Buford Housing Authority residents, and others who may need a hot meal and a friendly visit during the Christmas season. Email Sydney Yancey for more information.
Annual Great Day of Service
The Great Day of Service is offered each year, usually in the Fall, as a way for our church family to come together in service to our community and beyond. Every year, we first meet at the church in the morning for a brief commissioning service and breakfast. Following that, we’re off to the job sites with transportation provided for some of the more distant worksites. There are many projects to choose from every year, many of which are right at our church. Projects run into the late morning and early afternoon, with most ending between 1-3 p.m. Email Sydney Yancey for more information.
Matts for the Homeless
Plastic grocery sacks can be used to make plastic yarn, called plarn, and then crocheted into a sleeping mat for the homeless. Help by donating the plastic sacks, making the plarn, or crocheting the mats! Contact Sydney Yancey for more information.
Wesley Woods Homes
Our offering on Mother’s Day helps the 1,600 residents of Wesley Woods Homes. The North GA Conference Mother’s Day Offering provides for approximately 25 percent of the charitable and unreimbursed care at Wesley Woods communities each year. Over the years, Wesley Woods has cared for hundreds of retired Methodist clergy members, many with meager savings and modest pensions, who have benefited greatly from charitable assistance. Wesley Woods welcomes residents of all income levels, races, genders, and faiths. Our church has a history of supporting this ministry with a generous donation annually.