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Mennonite Central Committee

Relief, development and peace in the name of Christ

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Mennonite Central Committee

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), a worldwide ministry of Anabaptist churches, shares God's love and compassion for all in the name of Christ by responding to basic human needs and working for peace and justice. ​

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Happy Birthday, MCC! 

It's been 100 years since we first started responding to basic human needs in southern Russia (present-day Ukraine). Now, we continue to work for relief, development and peace all over the world. 

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MCC U.S.
MCC U.S.
21 South 12th Street
PO Box 500
Akron, PA 17501-0500
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  3. Three ways you can make a difference this Christmas

Three ways you can make a difference this Christmas

November 22, 2021

This Christmas season, you and your family can celebrate in ways that are not only festive, but life changing.

Sometimes the holidays can be too busy. We focus on crossing gifts off our list and preparing for the festivities. So you may be looking to incorporate the true meaning of the season into your celebrations.

Whether you’re looking for gifts, decorations or food, there are a myriad of ways a tap of your credit card can make a difference.

Here are just a few options to increase the impact of your gifts and celebrations:

A girl smiles while holding a mosquito net.

Shop the Christmas Giving guide

This holiday season, you can give gifts that help change the lives of vulnerable people around the world.

Everybody likes to get cozy and warm over the holidays. Why not give the gift of warmth and comfort?

For $20, you can provide thermal blankets, heaters, clothing and shoes to internally displaced Syrian families and their host communities through MCC’s local partner.

If you feel like giving a reindeer-sized gift this holiday season — even by teaming up with your church —  you can donate $4,000 to help build a whole well to ensure children like Sewhone Debas and Ayalew Misgan in Ethiopia have access to clean water all year round.

MCC provides the money for the well, while communities contribute labor and team up to do maintenance and repairs.

Items at a Thrift shop.

Shop thrift

You can also buy gifts for people closer to home, gifting gently used second-hand items.

This year, consider gifting Christmas baking in a container or baking dish from your local MCC Thrift Shop.

You can also thrift a picture frame and give a beautiful family portrait or piece of original art to a friend or loved one.

Not only are you helping to reduce waste by shopping secondhand, every purchase is a gift to the world.

That’s because all of the profits from MCC Thrift goes right back into MCC’s ministry at home and around the globe.

There are so many creative ways to incorporate thrift into your giving this season. Check out the free resource, Twelve Tips for a Thrift Christmas, for tips on how to incorporate shopping second-hand into gifts, decorations and wrapping.

Fair trade gifts and decorations

Ten Thousand Villages stores provide an easy way to gift beautiful, artisanal, fairly traded products to your family and friends. Every purchase of a beautiful hand-made gift for your family also helps contribute to a fair living for artisans around the world, which enables them to contribute to their own local economies.

You can shop in person or online across the country. Find your Ten Thousand Villages store on their website here.

Whether you’re looking for jewelry to bring some sparkle to your holiday outfit, want some chocolate to stress eat after Christmas shopping or are looking for ornaments, Ten Thousand Villages is the place to go.

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