Christmas Store 2009

2010 Preface: The New Year has begun with a flurry of activity for us here at Sunshine. We have already hosted a Bridge Builder group, begun teaching classes at a second Community Technology Center (@ Christ Bible Church), and re-launched all of our after school programs after the holiday break! Therefore, this update was slightly delayed but definitely not forgotten.

Our Christmas Store this past year was on Saturday December 19. It was a great day! The day before the store we had a FULL day of sorting, pricing, and setting up the store. When Saturday morning arrived, we were ready! We had a great store staff comprised of Sunshine staff, volunteers, and friends. One of my favorite parts of the store was serving together all day. We invited approximately 60 families to come and shop at the store. I was outside during the store hours, greeting people as they came in and helping them load their cars if needed. That gave me the opportunity to ask people "how it went." Everyone seemed to have had a great time at the store, and for that we praise the Lord. We really wanted the love of Christ to be displayed and felt by all who came through our doors, and by God's grace I think this happened! Here are some answers to some frequently asked questions concerning the store...

What did you do with the proceeds from the store?
We "gifted" the proceeds to five families who were in need of a little financial assistance as the holidays approached. Pete, our youth pastor, and his wife Nikki delivered the cash gifts to the families the week after the store. These deliveries were a pleasant surprise to the families involved. They were received with smiling faces and great appreciation! One of the mothers stopped by our office just this week to once again thank us in person, and to drop off a thank-you card and letter to our staff.

Did you have leftover gifts, and what do you do with them?
We will be using the surplus gifts three different ways:
(1) We will use leftover toys in our "Sunshine Stores" for the children in our after-school programs. In all of our youth programs: AWANA, Club 2-5-2, Horizons, and ASM - we have a mini-economy set up. Our students earn Sunshine bucks through attendance, good behavior, saying memory verses, academic progress, etc. Then every couple of months we set up a store where they have an opportunity to spend their Sunshine Bucks. This not only serves as a great incentive for the kids, it also allows us to teach financial literacy in an experiential way!

(2)We are donating clothing items to a partner ministry of ours here in the neighborhood called "2nd CHANCE." 2nd CHANCE works towards transitioning women from homelessness to self-sufficiency by providing them shelter and guidance on every day living. The transitional home is located on the second floor of the building. The first floor houses 2nd CHANCE Resale Boutique. It is an upscale thrift store, which helps to support the transitional home.

(3)We are donating any surplus baby/toddler items to another of our partnering ministries, Africa Revolution (AR). AR is committed to church-based orphan care in impoverished areas of South Africa, Swaziland, and Mozambique. We will be sending a package to South Africa to be used at the newly launched "Life House" for abandoned babies.

We want to thank everyone who donated to our store this year! We are continuously overwhelmed by the generosity of our supporters - both churches and individuals. The economic downturn only seemed to inspire greater generosity from God's people! We also want to thank everyone who served with us on the day of the store. We look forward to continue to partner with all of you in ongoing Kingdom work in the new year!