Emanuel Outreach Programs

(Volunteers Welcome)

Emanuel Food Pantry

Emanuel has offered a food pantry each Monday for the past seven years. The food pantry is staffed by dedicated volunteers and sustained by the support of the Emanuel congregation and many of our mission partners. Over 80 families are helped each month by Emanuel's food pantry. Supporting the food pantry is a very direct way of helping the residents Emanuel's neighborhood.

About Emanuel Community Center (ECC)

Emanuel Community Center is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation formed as part of Emanuel's community outreach organization. The ECC was incorporated when Emanuel opened a day care center in Ericson Hall in the 1970's. Today the ECC remains active in many community oriented programs, such as the summer Breakfast, Bible Stories. etc. program. The ECC offers opportunities for foundations and secular organizations to participate in our programs while remaining financially separate from Emanuel Lutheran Church.

Programs for Children

Of special concern to the members of Emanuel are the children and adolescents of the area. There are a number of factors that put them at risk for delinquency, alcohol and drug abuse, and substandard health. These factors include the negative influence of gangs, lack of a safe place to play and study, lack of adult supervision and positive role models.

Many of these children select and prepare their own meals, and do not have training or resources to prepare nutritious meals. Poor nutrition has immediate consequences in the performance of these children in school, and sets the stage for health problems later in life.

The immediate neighborhood of Emanuel has no YMCA, public pool, or safe parks for children to easily access during the summer. As a result, Emanuel attempts to provide some activities and support to local young people in several ways during the summer.

Emanuel seeks to address these and other needs of the community through Emanuel Community Center, a non-profit corporation that supports the following efforts:

Emanuel Summer Program

Emanuel revised its summer program this year. Neighborhood children were invited Monday through Friday, beginning with Camp Emanuel on July 2 and reaching its finale with the Pat Painter Memorial Back to School Carnival on July 29.

Camp Emanuel

A tradition at Emanuel. This year's day camp was sponsored by Briarwood Lutheran Camp. From 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. each day, children were treated to reading, games activities and crafts, as well as a nutritious lunch.

Breakfast, Bible Stories, etc.

Monday through Friday for these three weeks, children gathered from 9:30 - 11:30. They received a continental breakfast and heard Bible stories, followed by reading and word/spelling games.

Pat Painter Memorial Back to School Carnival

Our Annual Back-to-School Carnival is always the grand finale of Emanuel's Summer Program. School supplies are a real area of need for neighborhood families. Each year, Emanuel hosts a carnival where the kids participate in games and win school supplies as prizes. This program has grown tremendously over the years, with about 400 students receiving school supplies at the carnival in 2000. We freely distributed 300 backpacks (donated by Brady Hull and Associates of Houston) and an estimated $8,700.00 worth of supplies. Emanuel members from our Spanish worship service coordinated a fajita plate lunch fund-raiser that raised money to purchase new ELCA Spanish hymnal.

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Updated March 29, 2007

	Emanuel Summer Program Emanuel revised its summer program this year. Neighborhood children were invited Monday through Friday, beginning with Camp Emanuel on July 2 and reaching its finale with the Pat Painter Memorial Back to School Carnival on July 29.
	Camp Emanuel A tradition at Emanuel. This year's day camp was sponsored by Briarwood Lutheran Camp. From 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. each day, children were treated to reading, games activities and crafts, as well as a nutritious lunch.
	Breakfast, Bible Stories, etc. Monday through Friday for these three weeks, children gathered from 9:30 - 11:30. They received a continental breakfast and heard Bible stories, followed by reading and word/spelling games.
	Pat Painter Memorial Back to School Carnival Our Annual Back-to-School Carnival is always the grand finale of Emanuel's Summer Program. School supplies are a real area of need for neighborhood families. Each year, Emanuel hosts a carnival where the kids participate in games and win school supplies as prizes. This program has grown tremendously over the years, with about 400 students receiving school supplies at the carnival in 2000. We freely distributed 300 backpacks (donated by Brady Hull and Associates of Houston) and an estimated $8,700.00 worth of supplies. Emanuel members from our Spanish worship service coordinated a fajita plate lunch fund-raiser that raised money to purchase new ELCA Spanish hymnal.