October 22, 2009

CHICAGO – This holiday season the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is offering exclusive gift ideas designed to help change the lives of people close to home and around the world.

"ELCA Good Gifts," the church's yearlong giving catalog, features 19 pages of gift ideas designed to support the mission and ministries of the ELCA that "nourish, nurture, heal and inspire." Gifts can be purchased through the catalog or the newly designed http://www.ELCA.org/goodgifts on the ELCA Web site. There are more than 65 gift ideas available year round.

Donation opportunities include supporting ELCA World Hunger ministries that focus on women and children, water and agriculture, health care, HIV and AIDS, and malaria; investing in future leadership; engaging in disaster response; and supporting global partnerships. Gifts can also be made to the ELCA Vision for Mission Fund, which supports the entire mission of the ELCA spanning from outdoor ministries to the work of Lutheran military chaplains.

"More and more organizations offer this type of alternative giving. What a great thing for ELCA members to participate in alternative gifts while supporting the work of their church," said Jennifer Grandberry, director for marketing communications, ELCA Development Services.

A gift of $10 can purchase a mosquito net for a family in a malaria- prone area. From the catalog's "God's Global Barnyard," a $250 donation can help start a community fish-farming project. A $50 gift immunizes a child against preventable diseases such as measles and tetanus, and a $100 gift provides a year of home visits and medications for a person living with HIV and AIDS. A $200 gift covers a month's rent for an ELCA missionary, and a $1,500 gift sponsors a whole classroom of students for one month at a Lutheran school in the Holy Land.

When a gift is made in honor of someone, a variety of personalized e-cards, note cards, printable inserts and certificates offered at http://www.ELCA.org/goodgiftscards/ can be used to announce the gift.

"To date, more than 12,000 donors have responded to the catalog or given a gift online. These gifts have totaled over $4 million," said Laury Rinker, associate director for marketing communications, ELCA Development Services.

Information about the ELCA Vision for Mission Fund is at http://tinyurl.com/yzvkstp/, and information about the ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Appeal is at http://www.ELCA.org/hunger/, on the ELCA Web site.

ELCA News Service