Click here for the original announcement from General Council.

With Giving Tuesday coming up in just three weeks, General Secretary Nora Sanders has formally accepted Moderator Jordan Cantwell’s challenge to give something meaningful through Gifts with Vision. Now that Gifts with Vision options for 2016–2017 are available, she is encouraging all United Church of Canada leaders and members to consider choosing Gifts with Vision as a way to honour friends and relatives throughout the year.

“Most of us think of Gifts with Vision as we plan for Christmas, but you can use it year-round for birthdays, anniversaries, or any special occasion,” says General Secretary Nora Sanders in a new video message. “There are so many choices that offer ways to support innovative, educational, and community projects in Canada and right around the world. Gifts with Vision offers gifts that make a difference in people’s lives.”
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Giving Tuesday is on November 29, 2016, and all Canadians will be encouraged to donate to charities of their choice. This year, with 29 gifts that will make a significant difference in communities across Canada and in other areas around the world, Gifts with Vision offers meaningful options to those who will be donating. To order gifts, please visit giftswithvision.ca or call 1-844-715-7969. Gifts with Vision supports The United Church of Canada’s Mission & Service–supported programs and partners.

Winchester Springs residents are invited to come out and hear firsthand about the work of ending world hunger from Ruth Munyao, a Senior Food Security Specialist working with Canadian Foodgrains Bank projects in Kenya.
She will share from personal experience how help from Canadians, including many Canadians from southern Ontario, is helping small-scale farmers in Africa grow more and better food, and put an end to hunger.  
Munyao is Kenyan, and has extensive experience working to end hunger in countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Kenya and South Sudan.
“It’s a sad fact the majority of people in the world who don’t get enough to eat are small-scale farmers in the developing world who struggle to eke out a living on small and often marginal plots of land,” says Foodgrains Bank Regional Representative for Ontario Dave Epp.
“The problem of ending hunger in places like the African continent can sometimes seem overwhelming,” he says. “That is why we are excited to welcome Ruth, and to hear from her directly about the progress that is being made in ending hunger, as well as the challenges that still exist. “
Programs such as the ones Munyao works with in Kenya receive significant support from small Ontario communities such as Winchester Springs, Epp adds.
“There are about 125 growing projects across Ontario, with a number of them right here in southern Ontario,” he says, noting that growing projects happen when a group of farmers and farm supporters come together and grow crop, selling the proceeds on the Canadian market, and donating the proceeds to the Foodgrains Bank to be used in the work of ending hunger around the world.
“It’s going to be a really interesting discussion,” says Epp. “Hopefully many people will be able to come out and join the conversation.”
Munyao will be in Winchester Springs November 19th at 2:00 p.m. at Hope Springs United Church, 12347 Oak Valley Road. All are welcome to attend and learn about the activities of the Foodgrains Bank in both Ontario and in Kenya.
​For more information, contact Gordon and Gladys Garlaugh at (613)535-2440 or [email protected].