IMMANUEL CHURCH-ON-THE-HILL
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Christmas Families ​IN AUGUST

​Christmas Families in August
Campaign for Learning 2025

Haiti and Alexandria ​(disadvantaged and refugee families)

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​Help children with school supplies - critical tools for learning!
It is hard to learn to write if you don't have a pencil. God means for every child to have a pencil so they can learn and develop to their full potential, and He asks for our help to get there. This is a larger issue of social justice. Education is supposed to be the great equalizer in society, but as of now it is not. Rich children have pencils, poor children do not. There are many factors that make educational opportunities unequal, so, rather than giving everyone an equal chance, education actually cements inequality in society.

To make real strides towards more equality requires systemic change, including high-quality preschool for all children and improving support for refugee / immigrant children in school. Immanuel has contributed to this goal, but larger impact requires more government action. As Christians in the world we can work on influencing government.

There are also small things we can do. In Christmas Families in August we work through the Dept. of Community and Human Services (DCHS) and the Refugee Ministry to provide school supplies to children in need.
 
There are two ways you can help:
(1) Sign up to provide a backpack filled with school supplies for the children in one family,
So far we have 80 families with 160 children referred by DCHS and we are expecting families from the Refugee Ministry administered by Christ Church for the Alexandria Episcopal churches.
Sign up after each service between Sunday, June 8 and Sunday, August 3 or in the Zabriskie Narthex during the week. Some children also need back-to-school clothing.  

We will give you a yellow instruction sheet with the children's names and all the information you need.

Or email Linda Serabian <[email protected]> to arrange for selecting a family.
Bring the backpacks to church (or the office) on or before Sunday, August 10 to be blessed at the altar. Unassigned school supplies, especially backpacks (new or lightly used) are also welcome.
 
(2) Donate money through the special collections held on Sunday, June 8 and Sunday, August 10.
Please make checks out to ICOH and mark them XFAM. The money will go to
  • the Haiti Micah project (50%, last year $2,000)
  • Community Lodgings (25%, last year $1,000)
  • Buying school supplies for families not signed-up for (last year $1,200).
The Haiti Micah Project (HMP) is one of Immanuel's major international outreach ministries, one of the two charities supported by the Immanuel Easter Appeal. For the 150 children it serves, education offers the only path out of extreme poverty. In Haiti, there is no free public education.
The additional funding is specifically earmarked for school supplies
 
Former rector, The Rev. Dr. Bill Dols, said "Christmas Families is a ministry of things". It is that, but it is so much more: It is things, tools for learning, that empower and lift the spirit and send children off to a good start in the new school year.
 


RESOURCES

CALENDAR
Sunday, June 8
First signup and special collection
Sunday, August 10
​Ingathering and special collection
CHRISTMAS FAMILIES 2024
CLICK HERE to see a report on last year's Christmas Families program.
​CONTACTS
Dagobert Soergel
[email protected]
Linda Serabian
[email protected]

Connie Kurz
[email protected]  
Dorothy Kellogg
[email protected]

Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill

Episcopal/Anglican

ZABRISKIE CHAPEL
3606 Seminary Road
Alexandria, Virginia 22304
(703) 370-6555
​[email protected]


IMMANUEL CHAPEL
3737 Seminary Road
Alexandria, Virginia 22304
To download the map at bottom right, please click on
MAP of VTS
.

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  • ABOUT US
    • Accessibility and Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Clergy & Staff >
      • The Rev. J. Randolph Alexander, Jr.
      • The Rev. Susan Parsons
      • The Rev. Sarah Spurlock Biggs
      • Dr. Jane Tavernier, D.M.A.
    • Vestry, Administration, Annual Report, Bylaws, and Living Wage Certification >
      • Previous Vestries
      • Annual Report
    • Parish Directory 2025
    • Virginia Theological Seminary
    • Valley Drive Cooperative Preschool
    • Scouts BSA Troop 131
    • Annual Pumpkin Patch for Charity
    • History >
      • 75th Anniversary
      • Coronavirus Response >
        • Community Reflections on the Pandemic
  • WORSHIP
    • Lectionary
    • Sermons
    • Worship service bulletins >
      • Service Bulletin Archive
    • Funerals, Committals, Memorials and Funds >
      • Brad Ashton Funeral 6-25-25
      • Walk to Zabriskie Memorial Garden
      • Memorial Garden at Zabriskie Chapel
    • WEDDINGS
    • Music at Immanuel
    • Lectors
  • GIVE
    • 2025 Every Member Pledge
    • 2025 Online Pledge Card
    • FAQs & Proportional Giving Chart
    • 2025 Downloadable Pledge Card
    • Stewardship Minutes 2025 Campaign
    • Ways to Give
    • Online Giving >
      • Legacy Online Giving
    • Altar Flower&Music Dedications
    • Practical Matters & Faithful Giving
    • Tax Questions
    • Planned Giving
    • Trust Funds
    • Amazon Associates
    • Tithe.ly
  • SERVE
    • Outreach
    • Pastoral Care
    • Creation Care Ministry >
      • The Climate Crisis: Here's How YOU Can Help
      • Celebrating Trees
      • Immanuel's Solar Project >
        • Blessing of the Solar Panels
        • Solar Panel Project Updates
      • Water/Weed Volunteer
    • Senior Adult Ministry and Fellowship
    • Social Justice Ministry
  • LEARN
    • Children, Youth, and Families
    • PYM & Shrine Mont Camps
    • Adult Education >
      • Breakfast Bible Study 2025
      • Forum Hour Videos
    • Benedictine Community
    • Lay Committee for Seminarians
  • CALENDAR
  • Simple Gifts Newsletter
    • Simple Gifts Archive
  • Episcopal News Service
  • Subscribe