In-Kind Giving
Social Action Ministries
Designate CITY MISSION SUNDAYS four Sundays a year. Clients come to us needing clothes, health supplies, transportation, warm sleeping bags, socks, gloves, hats, or writing materials. Help us help them! Encourage different groups to host collections of these items. CMS can supply you with ideas and materials to include in your church or organization bulletins and newsletters.
Invite CMS staff to teach about social justice. Your church or organization can invite Rev. June R. Cooper, City Mission Society's Executive Director, or Dr. Paul Baxter, CMS Program Director, to lift up a special message of social justice.
Participate in Boston Urban Outreach, a day-long or weekend experience of service, worship and reflection. As you plan your activities for the fall, be sure to include a day with the Common Ground project. Work at Boston-based social service agencies, worship with members of other faith communities, and learn about pressing urban issues.
Donate gifts and give your time and energy to our annual Christmas Shop. Our successful Christmas Shop brings hope and joy to children and families in need during the holiday season. CMS collects thousands of clothes, toys, books and household goods, then sorts and distributes them to our clients. Over two hundred volunteers are needed to make this program a success.
Collect nutritious foods for your local food pantry through our Healthy Helping program. CMS can help raise your congregation's awareness around the need for foods that are low in salt, sugar, and fat.
Crisis Intervention
Donate warm clothing for men, women and children who are in shelter or who are at risk of losing their housing or utilities.
Donate Gift Cards to retail stores such as CVS, Walgreens, Marshalls, Target or grocery stores can be used to purchase groceries not covered by Food Stamps, new clothes or toiletries.
Youth Programs
Collect and donate art supplies for our Youth Arts program. Youth Arts works with hundreds of Boston school children, helping at-risk students develop self-esteem and discover the joys of creativity through the arts.
Donate group passes for kids to visit local museums and galleries.
Criminal Justice Programs
Invite speakers from The Public Voice Project to share their personal stories. Help this collaboration of formerly incarcerated people and prison reform advocates reach out to the public to increase awareness about the critical need for criminal justice policy reform and improved services. The speakers' passion for change and reconciliation will inspire and inform you.
Donate Re-entry Care Packages (Paul & Silas Bags). Show a man or woman leaving prison that they have not been forgotten. Your church can help someone who may, literally, only have the clothes on their back by collecting new items that these folks can use as they work to re-enter society and rebuild their lives. Besides providing people with much needed (and often unaffordable) items, you also communicate an important sense of caring and concern for these recently released individuals. You can sponsor a drive to collect these things, and then schedule a session to organize the donations and parcel them out.
Download the Paul & Silas Bags Information Sheet [Adobe PDF], which includes a list of suggested items. Please include some or all of the items listed in a large durable backpack or duffel bag. CMS will work with you to ensure that the packs get to an appropriate recipient. All items should be new.