Although Trinity United Methodist Church has closed its doors, the ripples of good they do in the community continue to be felt. The Montgomery County Youth Service Bureau is one of the organizations to have benefitted from their thoughtfulness and generosity.
When the church was closing, members had many decisions to make, not the least of which was how to disperse remaining funds that had been used to support the community and missions. They knew they wanted to keep the funds local, and so as a group set about making decisions about how the funds would be divided. Their priorities were to give to projects that would be ongoing and have a lasting impact. They particularly focused children and youth as well as other vulnerable populations. They wanted to support sustainability. All of these priorities led them to the YSB as one of the beneficiaries of their support.
Trinity church has been a loyal supporter of the YSB over a number of years. They championed a suitcase drive for children in foster care, and Necessity Boxes for those same children who came into custody, often without their own belongings. These suitcases helped children by providing a way to move their belongings without having to put their belongings into trash bags to move from one location to another. The Necessity Boxes provided them with personal hygiene items, comfort items and let them know that they had at least a few things to call their own until they could get their own belongings. The congregation at Trinity were always looking for ways they could support the community.
Karen Branch, YSB executive director, said, “When Trinity contacted us and asked about our needs, we talked about our endowment and how a gift could help build long term sustainability. They really liked the idea that their gift would exist in perpetuity to serve the children of our community long into the future.”
Trinity then made the decision to donate $40,000 to the Youth Service Bureau endowment at the Montgomery County Community Foundation. They also made a donation of $10,000 to the Nourish endowment, which with the 2 to 1 match, became a donation of $30,000.
“We are so appreciative of the support from Trinity,” Branch said. “Trinity and other churches, businesses and individuals are the reason the Youth Service Bureau has been serving youth for 49 years in Montgomery County.”
For more information about the YSB, visit its website at www.mcysb.org or contact Branch at admin@mcysb.org or 765-362-0694, ext. 105.
The Montgomery County Youth Service Bureau is a Montgomery United Fund partner agency.
