Mission

Dorchester Serves Day

The Charleston Crisis Ministries is a multi-service homeless shelter and soup kitchen serving over 100 residents in downtown Charleston, SC.  Every other month on the third Tuesday evening, we prepare and serve the evening meal at the shelter.  We also furnish breakfast food for the next morning.  Members in our congregation help to provide food and donations to make this meal possible.

Ronald McDonald House

The Ronald McDonald House in Charleston provides rooms for out-of-town parents whose children are confined to the hospital with serious illnesses.  On the fourth Monday of each month, we prepare and deliver a home-cooked meal to the families staying at the house.  The youth also collect can tabs, which the RMH is able to turn in for money to be used for the general operation of the house.

HELP of Summerville

This volunteer organization helps residents of Dorchester County in emergency situations providing food, clothing, funds for utilities, rent and medicine.  The first Sunday of each month, we collect non-perishable goods that are delivered to the HELP food closet

Palmetto House

Palmetto House is a homeless shelter for families and individuals in Dorchester County.  We assist this shelter with personal care items as well as kitchen supplies.  

My Sister's House

Personal items, children's games, books and clothes are collected and delivered monthly for victims of domestic violence in the tri-county area.  We also assist with maintenance and organizational projects when needed.

Thornwell Home for Children

Throughout the year, we collect Box Tops for Education and Campbell Soup Labels for The Thornwell Home for Children. The staff is able to turn these in for needed funds. As a part of our Sunday School Kick-Off each year, we also collect school supplies and participate in the Thornwell Offering.

Dorchester County DSS

Sunday school classes contribute to a weekly offering to the "Shoe Fund" which provides not only shoes but also needed clothing and school supplies for foster children. In the Fall of 2006, Dorchester was given the opportunity to furnish and decorate two rooms (an infant and child's room) in the new Children in Crisis shelter that will house children for a night or two while a more permanent home is secured.

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity develops communities for and with people who need and deserve a home of their own.   Dorchester Presbyterian is honored to have been part of the initial organizing committee in establishing the Dorchester County Habitat for Humanity. Volunteers from Dorchester, in partnership with Habitat, provide meals and work crews during construction of these houses, as well as work in the Habitat Store. Throughout the year, we also collect aluminum cans to raise funds for Habitat.

Crafting

The Presbyterian Women meet four times a month (the second and fourth Monday evenings at 7:00 pm and the second and fourth Thursday mornings at 10:00 am) to create a variety of crafts, such as quilts and rag rugs, which are donated to local charities. Quilts and other hand made items are also sold during the year to raise funds that are donated to local and foreign mission organizations.

Gulf Coast Mission Trips

In the Spring of 2007, Dorchester took it's first mission trip to Pearlington, MS to help with the rebuilding efforts still needed after Hurricane Katrina blew through in 2005.  We work with the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance program. They are committed to being in Pearlington for six years, and we are committed to taking a mission trip every six months until the people have safe and comfortable homes.

Christmas Project

The CIFC (Community Impact for Christ), housed at Old Fort Baptist Church, provides our church with a list of ten families who could use a little extra love and support at Christmas. The names and needs of each family member are placed as ornaments on our Charlie Brown Christmas Tree to be chosen by members of the congregation. We provide a gift for each family member, a basket of non-perishable foods, fruit, and a gift card for a ham or turkey, a hand-made quilt, and poinsettia. We host a reception the week before Christmas so we can give these families there gifts, as well as spend time getting to know them.

Haiti Mission Auction

Our mission in Haiti is an ongoing commitment to the people of Haiti as friends, prayer partners, and supporters of programs. We financially aid three homes for homeless boys and abandoned children as well as a training program by Haitians to improve farming methods and establish co-ops and low-interest loans. We finance these projects by holding a Haiti Mission Auction each November with other churches in the area. Members provide all of the goods and services to be auctioned off during an evening of fun, food, and fellowship for members and friends.

Haiti Mission Trips

Members of our congregation have traveled with other church members in our presbytery each year to visit the homes for abandoned children and to take hard-to-purchase items that are needed in these programs.

God's Gift Shop

God's Gift Shop is an alternative Christmas gift market. A catalog with lists of local and global mission projects is available with items priced to "buy" as a gift in honor of someone for Christmas. Gift cards are provided to send to the person for whom the gift was purchased. God's Gift Shop provides an opportunity to give a gift and aid mission efforts at the same time.

Red Cross Blood Drive

Each Spring, Dorchester sponsors a blood drive with the Low Country branch of the American Red Cross. Church members and others in the community can donate.

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