Thank you to the following people who took the lead as members of the HarvestFest planning committee:
Diane Droege
Debbie Glenn
Donna Grote
Sue Hoffman
Kay Kreder
Julie McAllister
Diann Sheahan
Debbie Washburn
Sandy Wilkins
Pat Winship
Carolyn Wolff

And to the following people, without whom HarvestFest would not have been possible:
Ruth Huston
Ivy Chapel Christian Action Bd.
Ivy Chapel Christian Ed Bd.
Ivy Chapel Deacons
Ivy Chapel Trustees
Anita Jones
Tom Kelley
Helen Kersten
Kay Kreder
Gary and Sue Lindhorst
Tamara Litvin
Nancy Litzinger
Linda Lowry
Nancy Marston
Julie McAllister
Nelie McNeal
Madeline McTague
Jack and Ann Molyneaux
Jo Ann Moody
Ebello and Norma Pasia
Elaine Pieper
Charlie and Lynn Potts
Frank and Carole Purviance
Jane Puttman
Carl and Marsha Ramey
Amy Sheahan Ray
Stacey Reynolds
Annie Sampath
Vince Santangelo
Marilyn Salzman
Suzie Serkes
Jim and Diann Sheahan
Mary Lou Spellmeyer
Evelyn Stecher
Cleo Steffens
Lambda Stephens
Dan Suereth
Tami’s Trousseau
Ted Drewes
Gail Thoele
Don Thompson
Mike and Celeste Tichy
Kim Truka
Debbie and Russ Washburn
James Wehrenbrecht
Jim and Joan Wendt
Glenn and Nancy Wintrode
Jim and Sandy Wilkins
Dan and Sue Wilson
Bill and Jan Wirtz
Don and Carolyn Wolff
Scott Worley
Larry Zablin
Mariya Abramovich
Bob Archer
Todd and Norma Armstrong
Jane Arneson
Wendy Ballard
Jeanny Barbata
Ray and Rosalie Buente
Lisa Busekist
Gene Bryant
Donnagail Carr
Rich and Emily Collup
Bob and Diane Droege
Shannon Farrell
Cindy Foster
Nancy Gerdes
Tom and Debbie Glenn
Robert Govero
Beverly Govreau
Mike and Donna Grote
Gulf Shores Restaurant
Irene Gulovsen
Lee Headrick
Rich and Sarah Heend
Paul Hertenstein
Rod and Judy Hertenstein
Phil and Sue Hoffman

Watch this space for more thank yous and, by request — recipes from the great food served at the event.

Here’s just a sample of the fun things we’re going to have this year:

Bubbly Bags: Love surprises? The Bubbly Bags are for you. These gift bags, priced at $10 and $20, will contain great, secret gifts… and one of the bags will contain $50! When you purchase a bag you’ll leave it closed until just before the oral auction begins.

Wine rack raffle: Purchase a raffle ticket for $5 — or three tickets and a mini wine bottle for $10 — and enter to win a great wine rack from Pier One, plus four bottles of wine, crackers, bread spread, cookies, wine biscuits, Bissinger’s chocolates and a gift certificate for a wine class. Why not take a chance?

Ivy Chapel’s HarvestFest is Saturday, October 24 at 6:30 p.m. Ivy Chapel is located at 620 N. Woods Mill in Chesterfield, MO.  Tickets to the event are $15 per person.

Want to reserve your place? E-mail our church office or call 314-434-4991.

About Circle of Concern (from their website):

Circle provides a variety of services to those in need. Operating as a food pantry, we hope that the food provided to the families will enable them to use their income for other needs.

Food Pantry: Each month over 1,000 people receive food from Circle. Families receive groceries once a month based on the size of their family. They get canned goods, frozen meats, fresh produce, bakery items, bread, milk & eggs. Personal care items & paper products are also given out each month.

Financial Aid: Circle provides emergency assistance for rent, utilites, prescriptions, gas vouchers and other necessities. Such aid is provided on an individual basis as funds are available at Circle.

Circle is operated primarily by the dedication of over 150 volunteers and the support of the community through monetary and in-kind donation.

Programs

Scholarships: Each spring high school seniors from low and moderate income families can apply for a scholarship through Circle. These scholarships are used for college tuition as well as trade or professional schools.

Back To School: Each summer Circle organizes a school supply drive to provide students of our families with new supplies for the upcoming school year. Each student (kindergarten through high school senior) receives a pre-sorted bag of supplies and a backpack. Gift cards are given out so families can get items specific to their child’s school. Over 400 kids were helped in 2009.

Camperships: Over the summer months Circle provides numerous children with the opportunity to attend various camps and programs.

Winter Holiday Programs: Every winter Circle shares the spirit of the Holidays by providing our families with a Holiday Basket filled with a turkey, other food items & gifts for Thanksgiving. Circle also matches sponsors with our families for Holiday Adoptions and Circle organizes a toy drive to give children a new toy at Toy Day.

Birthday Club: Children under 12 receive a gift from Circle on their birthday. Along with a new toy, each child often receives a Birthday Bag that has cake mix, icing & party favors/supplies.

About Joint Neighborhood Ministry (from their website):

Our Mission is to promote the transition of families toward greater independence, by providing Christian-based, supplemental and emergency support services and educational programming to an “at risk” population.

Since 1966, Joint Neighborhood Ministry has delivered help and hope to low-income families.

We began as an outreach of two south city churches, Epiphany United Church of Christ and Curby Memorial Presbyterian Church.  In 1986, St. Marcus United Church of Christ partnered with Joint Neighborhood Ministry and became incorporated.

Location and the Neighborhood we Serve:

We’re located in the Benton Park neighborhood of south St. Louis City. We serve an area that is basically zip codes 63118 and 63104. The food pantry, clothing room, and offices are located at the rear of Epiphany United Church of Christ, 2911 McNair.

Who We Help

Our programs and services are available to all neighborhood families without discrimination.

• Over half of our clients are children.
• Client incomes average $600 per month (or less) for a family of four.
• High incidence of unemployment or underemployment.
• Over 50% of those over age 16 have not finished high school.
• Higher than average infant mortality rate in the area.
• Higher than average reported incidents of child abuse and neglect in the area.

How We Help (Click on links below for additional details.)

• The Food Pantry provides supplemental and emergency hunger relief.  A Senior Food Delivery Service is available for those over 60 and/or those with disabilities.
• The Clothing Room is open on Tuesday mornings for our families to supplement their wardrobe.
• The Family Advocate program assists families whose utilities or rent are in jeopardy.  The program also helps with emergency medical prescriptions and transportation.
• The JNM Full Circle Program assists Social Security and Social Security Income recipients with budgeting their incomes and managing their finances.
• Youth and Summer programming provides fun and educational activities and events for “at risk” youth.  Each summer, JNM offers about 100 children, ages seven to eleven, a week-long camping opportunity to experience the great outdoors.  Additional summer programming includes softball teams for youth and Vacation Bible School.
• JNM works in collaboration with other community organization such as Friends of Mom, Grace Hill Health Center, and Near Southside Employment Coalition to provide transition to independence.

Please leave comments here if you have ideas for ways we can all continue to support these worthy organizations… both at HarvestFest and all year long.

Family Membership to Woods Mill Tennis Club
Chiffon Dress from Su Ellen
Baseballs autographed by Cardinals Carpenter, Ankiel and Wainwright
Blues Tickets (Thanks to Tom Glenn)
Cardinals Tickets
Child’s Rollaboard suitcase from Graff Shoe Repair
Free bread for a year from Panera Bread
Opal Pendant and Earrings (thanks to the Hertenstein family)
Original Debbie Stonebraker framed print, “The Lunch Club” (thanks to Jan & Bill Wirtz)
Celebration basket with champagne and two glasses
Old Movie night with DVDs and popcorn
Homemade jellies and jams (thanks to Nancy Gerdes)
Scrapbooks (thanks to Debbie Glenn)
Bread baking lessons (thanks to Sarah Heend)
Homemade Christmas cookies
Muffins from Mimi’s Café
Home consultation and paint items from Porter Paints (thanks to Cindy Foster)
2 rounds of golf at Four Seasons Golf Course
Wine Basket (thanks to the Armstrong family)
6 home-cooked meals (thanks to Sue Hoffman and Julie McAllister)
Symphony Tickets (thanks to Irene Gulovsen)
Snowflake Fleece Throw

Thanks to everyone who has given so generously to this event. If you have any questions, please contact us.

Here’s just a sampling of the new gift certificate donations we have so far:

Morgan Le Fay’s Tapas Bar
Gulf Shores Restaurant
Maggiano’s
Salon Blanca (multiple)
Country Club Car Wash
Growler’s Pub
Kreis Restaurant
Mad About You Salon
Olive Garden
Houlihan’s
Imo’s Pizza
Season’s St. Louis
Cheesecake Factory
Ted Drewes
3 months of unlimited Jazzercize
Spiros
Gourmet Food, Work, Deli & More
Four Seasons Barbershop
Wild Horse Grill (thanks to Christian Education Board)

Want more? Check back in the next couple of days for a look at the great items & services we’ll have up for auction. And if you own a business and would like to donate (and get your name mentioned on our blog and in the program), please contact us.

Need to give friends a little “push”?  Download the official Ivy Chapel HarvestFest Invitation, and pass it along to everyone you know… and post it on bulletin boards in stores, at work,  at the gym, or anyplace you want!

Want to sign up to help? Contact Pat Winship.

Want to help solicit businesses? Contact Frieda Clark in our church office for a sample solicitation letter.

Keep watching this space for updates… and be sure to follow us on Twitter!

Donations for auction items are also rolling in, including:

Gift certificate to Granite City Food and Brewery
Gift certificate to Garden Walk Massage Therapy (thanks to Rich and Emily Collop)
Flower Arrangement for the altar (thanks to Ruth Houston)
Gift certificate to Creve Coeur Camera
Gift certificate to Paul Manno’s
Pearls from Genovese Jewlers
Gift Certificate from Drury Inns
Gift Certificate to Nail Studio
Gift certificate to Schnucks
Gift certificate to to Salon Branca

Meatballs with an apricot sauce
Feta and caramelized onions in phyllo dough
Rumaki
Rye bread pizzas
Cheese logs served with crackers (cream cheese, dried apricots,dates,orange flavored liqueur rolled in nuts)
Cheese olive balls