Alternative Giving at Christmas 2023
Supporting the Ministries and Neighbors of the Cathedral Community
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Alternative Giving at Christmas 

Alternative Giving at Christmas is a program that let's you give an alternative gift your friends and family by donating to Saint Luke’s ministries. It allows you to share the real meaning of Christmas with those you love—and there’s no shopping and no wrapping!

Because of Alternative Giving, children in Haiti have been given a chance to attend school, our neighbors have received boots and gloves from Saint Elizabeth’s Jubilee Center, our Food Pantry has distributed milk, eggs and fresh produce to hundreds of hungry guests, and Family Promise was able to help a homeless family find housing and provide them with school supplies, warm clothing and more!

Please consider adding Alternative Giving to your Christmas season this year! Below you can find information about different ministries at the cathedral that you can support, as well as contact information, and alternative giving options for the Christmas season.

To participate in Alternative Giving, complete this online form and visit our Realm Giving Page. Please select each ministries you would like to give to in the dropdown menu.

You may also make your gift by mailing a check to the cathedral office at our mailing address of P.O. Box 4141, Portland, ME 04101 with “Alternative Giving” in the memo.

For any donations received by December 15, we will mail you cards for each item donated to put in your Christmas cards or a special someone’s stocking. Cards may also be picked up in the office.
Your Name *
Your Mailing Address
*Please note that your mailing address is where we will send the cards recognizing your donation
 *
Haiti-Maine Partnership

We have a passion for providing education and resources for children around the world. This is why we’ve partnered with the school of St. Simon and St. Jude, located in the rural  mountains area of southern Haiti.

This collaboration supports the basic needs of the school children in Duny, Haiti. Current projects include providing lunches, scholarships, facility maintenance, and hurricane relief. We love the relationship we’ve built with the people in this community. Please consider donating or providing other resources to this partnership.

For more information, email Karin Draper or Meredith Cough.  

Donate to the Haiti-Maine Fund

How You Can Help the Haiti-Maine Partnership
$10.00 can help buy a child's school lunch for one month
$50.00 can pay for one month's teacher salary at the school in Duny, Haiti
$100.00 can allow for one child to attend school for a year

Alternative Giving Support for the Haiti Maine Partnership
$10.00 to support children's lunch
$50.00 to pay for a teacher's salary
$100.00 to support a child attending school
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St. Elizabeth's Jubilee Center

St. Elizabeth’s Jubilee Center a non-barrier Essentials Pantry located at St. Luke’s Cathedral is a diocesan ministry project which seeks to provide basic daily essentials to those living in need in the greater Portland, Maine area.

The Essentials Pantry continues to serve 250+ neighbors every Tuesday morning from 8:30 to 11 am. Essential items include toilet paper, laundry detergent, bath soap, etc. Each week, a unique item is offered. In addition, dental care products, diapers, soft housewares, and hard housewares are provided monthly. 

Congregations support St. E’s financially, with volunteers, and by donating both new and used items. Each Tuesday, volunteers serve the public directly, sort donated items, and pack new items for distribution, among other things. 

In-kind donations can be left in the blue St. Elizabeth donation box in the lower hall, next to the stairs. We do not accept donations of clothing, but we do welcome donations of winter coats, hats, gloves, and scarves. For more information, email Sarah Borgeson.

Many parishioners also volunteer with programs fighting hunger and homelessness through Preble Street.

Donate to St. Elizabeth's Jubliee Center

St. Elizabeth's Video
How You Can Help Saint Elizabeth's Jubilee Center
$10.00 can buy a dozen diapers for 5 babies
$25.00 can buy a large cooking pot
$80.00 can provide 3 pair of warm winter boots or 2 winter coats 

Alternative Giving Support of the Saint Elizabeth's Jubilee Center
$10.00 to buy diapers
$25.00 to buy a large cooking pot
$80.00 to buy winter coats or boots
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Greater Portland Family Promise at Saint Luke's
$10.00 can provide quarters for laundry
$50.00 can provide one month of basic cell service or internet
$100.00 can help with moving costs for a family moving to it's first apartment

Greater Portland Family Promise at St. Luke's

Family Promise helps families in Greater Portland transition from homelessness or risk of eviction to stable homes. While the pre-COVID model worked with faith communities such as ours for temporary housing, the current model has changed the focus to connecting families with needed resources such as food, bus passes, and quarters for laundry and housing.

Volunteers at St. Luke’s work with graduate families directly to support them. St. Luke’s also provides space for the Family Promise monthly Peer Advisory Council (PAC), where families mentor new families and helps to train new volunteers. We also host the monthly distribution of culturally appropriate foods to program families.

To get involved, please email Connie Bingham or Mary Linneman.

Donate to Greater Portland Family Promise

Alternative Giving Support of Greater Portland Family Promise
$10.00 for laundry quarters
$50.00 for cell/ internet service
$100.00 for moving costs
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St. Luke's Food Pantry

St. Lukes’ Food Pantry is a long-running Cathedral ministry. Begun in 1998, it has evolved into a weekly Thursday morning 8-11 pantry which currently serves approx. 100 families. We operate out of the Cathedral’s rear entrance at 134 Park Street.

We buy food from Good Shepherd Food Bank and get salvaged food and great assistance from South Portland Food Cupboard, Wayside Food Programs and Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association. Our neighbors are diverse: long-time Mainers, new immigrants, and those facing short-term food shortages.

Our band of 10-15 dedicated volunteers gather together the fresh, frozen, and canned food Wednesday mornings and distribute it on Thursdays.  Some work one day, some both days. All of us find the work compelling and each other’s company enjoyable.

We benefit from loyal volunteers and donors, but the cost of food always increases and the need is always greater than our capacity.  Please consider stopping by to see us in action either morning or by donating our most-needed items: flour, oil, pasta, dried beans. Food donations can be left at the rear of the Cathedral under the portico or brought to any church service.

Financial donations allow us to buy food from Good Shepherd Food Bank. Even when our visitor numbers surge, nobody goes away empty-handed; but we do strive to offer more than canned fruits and vegetables. 

For more information:
Email Mary Brighthaupt, Exec. Director, St. Luke's Food Pantry

Donate to the St. Luke's Food Pantry

Ways to Help the St. Luke's Food Pantry
$20.00 can buy eggs for 7 families
$50.00 can buy oil for 10 families
$100.00 can buy flour for 18 families

Alternative Giving Support of the St. Luke's Food Pantry
$20.00 to buy eggs
$50.00 to buy oil
$100.00 to buy flour
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An Additional Donation to the St. Luke's Outreach Fund
This can allow us to meet needs which arise in our community during 2024
My Total Amount that I Wish to Give as Part of Alternative Giving Is:  *
My Total Number of Items (how many cards I would like to receive is) *
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