Community Partnership Update

September 2024

September Opportunities at a Glance

9/1 – WKU Pantry Collection Date (all services)
9/6 – First Friday Open House at HOTEL Inc. (8:30am)

9/7 – HOTEL Inc. Farm to Table Fundraiser at Tayvin Gardens (6-9pm)
9/12 – TC Cherry Mentor Day

9/14 – Community Baby Shower at The Foundry (10am-12pm)
9/15 – WKU Pantry Collection Date (all services)
9/21 – Saturday Meals (7-9:30am)

9/21 – BUMC Fall Work Day (Melrose Campus) (sign up HERE)

9/25 – Housing Authority Food Box Assembly (10am-12pm)

9/26 – Y2K Lip Sync Battle for Megan’s Mobile Grocery (sign up HERE)

9/28 – International Festival

9/28 – Postpartum Support International’s The Climb (more info HERE)

9/28 – Good Neighbor Day (downtown BG)

9/29 – Wesley Foundation Dollar Difference (all services)

9/30 – BGCAN Fall Rally of the Neighborhoods (5:30-8:30pm)

To view all upcoming opportunities, go to the Community Partnership Serving Calendar. (Instructions at the bottom of this update.)

Kindness Challenge: Funding Request Application

During Broadway’s September Kindness Challenge, we have an opportunity to provide funding via the Dollar Difference for a few select Kindness initiatives outside of our designated Community Partners for the year.

Apply HERE for a Kindness Challenge grant to help resource the work you or your outside organization are doing to meet needs and lift up others outside of our church community.

WKU Wesley Foundation

Last month, Broadway teamed up with the WKU Wesley Foundation to help new students move into Pearce Ford Tower! This was a great and practical way to share the love of Jesus with students at WKU, and they had a fun time doing it!

Looking for ways to serve WKU students via the WKU Wesley Foundation?

Below are some needs, and the sign-up form is below.

Meals or Meal Delivery

Every Thursday night, 20-25 WKU students gather at the Wesley for a time of fellowship, worship, and Bible study. Broadway is signed up to bring 2-3 meals a semester, and we are looking for folks to either provide a meal or simply deliver one that has already been prepared.

Student Care Packages

Coordinated throughout the year, these packages of snacks, supplies, and notes of encouragement let students know that they are prayed for and cared for by our church community.

Deep Cleaning

This is typically done between semesters so that everything is fresh for the new semester!

Maintenance/Repair

The WKU Wesley Foundation meets in an older building that needs repairs from time to time, and there are always ways to maintain and beautify the space!

Item Donations

The following items are needed in good or new condition:

• kitchen items
• neutral couches and chairs
• dining room table for studying

Monetary Donations

Give via their online site HERE.

Special Projects

If you are interested in doing something that requires more investment of time and resources, please reach out to Landon Harting at landon@wkuwesley.org.

For more information, or to sign-up for any of the above WKU Wesley Foundation opportunities, click HERE.

The Foundry

In August, Broadway participated in the Second Saturday Back to School Bash, and it was a blast! The health education theme was personal hygiene, so for the kids’ craft our team helped little ones personalize their own backpack friendly hand sanitizer. The kids created fun labels, and by the end our team was covered head to toe in various shades of bio glitter.

This month’s Second Saturday is the Community Baby Shower for new and expecting moms in our community. We will be distributing new mama care packages with a few goodies and notes of encouragement handwritten by young moms in one of the Melrose campus Life Groups.

To sign up to serve click HERE.

Saturday Meals

The Saturday Meals program continues to increase their reach and is weekly delivering food boxes and a hot meal to over 220 households! The need for church participation has increased, and we would love to find 10-15 volunteers to commit to 2-3 Saturdays a year to complete a Broadway Saturday Meals team! Serving with Saturday Meals is a great way for families to serve together, and it is the perfect serving opportunity for small groups/life groups!

If you are interested in making a commitment or would like more information about serving with Saturday Meals, please click HERE.

The new schedule will be available soon, but note that we are always invited to serve during “all churches” weekends (holiday weekends) when volunteer participation is low but food needs are still high.

School Partnerships

Our school supply drive was a major success! Through Broadway’s generous giving (three carloads full!), the resource shelves at TC Cherry and Cumberland Trace are well stocked with much needed school supplies!

Interested in helping to meet the needs of students, teachers, and staff at these schools? Let us know HERE.

The pandemic had a negative impact on the Mentor Program at area schools, but this year has been a good year of rebuilding! At the moment, we have 22 volunteers signed up to mentor at TC Cherry or Cumberland Trace Elementary, which puts us just over halfway to our pre-Covid mentor numbers!

Interested in mentoring but can’t start right away? Both schools accept new mentors all year long. Save the sign-up link HERE for when you are ready to say yes!

Good Neighbor Day

In a similar vein as Broadway’s Kindness Campaign, the City of Bowling Green will be participating in and promoting National Good Neighbor Day, September 28th. National Good Neighbor Day emphasizes small acts of kindness and neighborliness to combat the recent epidemic of loneliness, isolation, and division.

On September 17th at 3pm, the City of BG will be signing a National Good Neighbor Day Proclamation at City Hall. All are welcome to be there to witness the signing.

Monday, September 30th, BGCAN will host its Fall Rally of the Neighborhoods  at 707 E. Main Avenue. A networking hour will begin with food served starting at 5:30 p.m. in the upstairs foyer of the Neighborhood & Community Services building, with program agenda starting at 6:30 p.m. in the community room on the lower level.

The program will include stories by local neighborhood group leaders and a recap of National Good Neighbor Day

For more information about National Good Neighbor Day, see below:

https://www.hopefulneighborhood.org/good-neighbor-day/

https://www.nationalgoodneighborday.org/

Save the Date

Below are some Q4 Opportunities to mark on your calendar!

10/20 – BAM Chili Cook-off (12pm at GW)

10/20 – Feast For All Planning Meeting (4:30pm at MR)

10/21-25 – HOTEL Inc. Neighborhood Improvement Week (Sign-up HERE)

11/7 – Kentucky Children’s Home Visit (Lexington)

11/28 – Feast For All (Sign-up to serve HERE)

12/6-7 – Christmas Store

All upcoming opportunities, info, and sign-up forms can be found in the Community Partnerships Calendar found in the Community Partnerships 2024 Group in the BUMC app and on the website.

Community Partnerships Calendar: How to Access

From the BUMC App:

In the app, go to “More” —> “Groups” —> “Community Partnerships 2024” —> “Calendar”

Once in Calendar, you can click on events from the dates or the list below to view event details and sign-up link. Press “Save to Calendar” to add the event to your Google or Apple Calendar!

To sync the entire calendar (not just events), you need to login on the BUMC Website HERE. Go to the “Groups” icon (looks like three people) and find the “Community Partnerships 2024” Group using the search tool (magnifying glass). Once in the group page, click on “Calendar.” At the bottom, click on “Subscribe to group calendar” (in blue).