This online catalog will remain open and active through the ELCA Youth Gathering and afterward. Your offerings and purchases will continue to support the recovery and rebuilding work in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast area. Please keep giving generously, and please tell others about this online opportunity for supporting important ministries of service.

Change in New Orleans

Lutheran youth, their family and members of their congregations and synods have historically been very generous! They come to the Youth Gathering arms full of gifts to contribute to the in-kind offering, items like cans of food, children’s books, or gift cards. The 2009 ELCA Youth Gathering’s focus on service and recovery in New Orleans makes it necessary to gather gifts earlier so that they can be in New Orleans BEFORE youth arrive.

This on-line giving opportunity allows us to purchase the items youth will use during their service experiences in New Orleans. The best part is that the items will remain in New Orleans when ELCA youth leave.

There is power in numbers

The group buying power of the Gathering community is amazing! Instead of each congregation buying a shovel at their local hardware store and hauling it to New Orleans, we can pool your generous contributions and purchase 1,000 shovels in advance at a greatly reduced price. We may need 1,000 shovels and rakes and paint brushes, and items for school kits! There will be 12,000+ Lutherans in New Orleans each day, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, leaving their mark – God’s work. Our hands – on a city that is still very much in need of some tender loving care.

And if that’s not enough, our large-scale purchases in New Orleans will support local businesses, assure that community organizations are getting what they need, and will make sure that most tools and supplies are on-site when groups arrive at their assigned project.

Here’s a real example of the group buying power of Change in New Orleans…

The cost of a congregation buying individual items to assemble school kits for children is $27.70 per kit
The cost of pre-purchasing all the supplies needed to assemble 13,500 school kits is $16.56 per kit

It’s a huge savings and multiplies the impact of your generosity! Consider the savings and increased buying power we have when you look at the variety of items in the Change in New Orleans… catalogue below.

Shop ‘til you drop

The City of New Orleans is getting ready to receive ELCA youth just as youth are preparing to enter New Orleans. The citizens of New Orleans are counting on us! It takes tons of planning and lots of supplies to engage 36,000+ servants in projects that will: 1) be meaningful for the servers, and 2) really make a difference in the rebuilding of New Orleans.

Change in New Orleans… is an opportunity for the whole church to be part of this huge service experience of God’s work being done through the hands of Lutheran youth.

Change in New Orleans… will ensure that the right supplies, equipment and resources are ready and waiting to be put to good use by ELCA youth. It takes an amazing amount of supplies to carry out the hundreds of projects youth will do, and it is a lot more effective if the supplies arrive in New Orleans before the young work crews show up. Contribute now!

Change in New Orleans… reflects the needs of the neighborhoods and people ELCA youth will serve. Many of the items listed below are requests from local leaders who are hopeful that you will join them in meeting the specific needs of their community.

This might be one of the most meaningful “shopping trips” you take this year. People’s lives can be changed by your choices. Together we can help New Orleans rebuild in ways that will also enrich the experiences of the youth during the ELCA Youth Gathering.

Literacy
	School Supplies per child quantity:
	Back Packs & Books per child quantity:
	Playgrounds $3,000.00 - per playground quantity:
Housing
	Tools per unit quantity:
	Household Maintenace per unit quantity:
	Habitat for Humanity per house quantity:

The Arts & Culture
	Instruments per unit quantity: click here to donate a used musical instrument.
	Art Supplies per unit quantity:
	Tools per unit quantity:
Environment
	Trees per unit quantity:
	Tools and Equipment per unit quantity:
	Foliage per unit quantity:

Health & Wellness
	Park Restoration per unit quantity:
	Health Fair per unit quantity:
	Black Dirt per load quantity:
Wealth & Poverty
	Anit-Racism Training per student quantity:
	Sod per pallet quantity:
	Stand Against Modern Day Slavery per unit quantity:

Subtotal Literacy:
Subtotal Housing:
Subtotal The Arts & Culture:
Subtotal Environment:
Subtotal Health & Wellness:
Subtotal Wealth & Poverty:
Total:

If you have questions about your purchase on the online catalog, please send an email to jennifer.malwitz@elca.org. Include in your email the name that appears on the credit card that was used, the transaction date, and the amount.

As an alternative to an online purchase, you can mail contributions for the online catalog items directly to the ELCA Youth Gathering office at:

              Attn: Jennifer Malwitz
              ELCA Youth Gathering
              8765 W. Higgins Road
              Chicago, IL 60631

Write "Youth Gathering Online Giving" on the check memo line, and include a brief cover letter stating how you would like the check to be spent (which items/ Interest Areas).

Disclaimer...
We will do our best to purchase the items you are contributing toward, but we reserve the right to make choices based on needs as they change. For example, if we get an over abundance of contributions for the purchase of tools, but we still need school supplies, we may use some funds to purchase school supplies. All donations will be recorded in the ELCA’s gift registry. Donors will receive a receipt for tax purposes. You do not need to be a Lutheran or a member of an ELCA congregation to contribute to these efforts. Tell your friends and family about this great opportunity to make a difference in New Orleans.