• Overview
• Start-up
• How to Order
• How to Volunteer
• Questions

OVERVIEW

History

Msgr. Youtz and the Parish Council realized that we, as a parish, are not utilizing an opportunity for stewardship by our community that was available through the generosity of local and national retailers. By establishing a “Giving Card Program” at our parish, we could receive a rebate of varying percentages from many retailers by selling their gift cards at our church. This program would not “cost” the members of our community any incremental dollars but would allow us to fund important areas that may have had to be ignored, or not fully addressed, in the past.

Barbara Goss, the president of the Parish Council, made some initial inquiries and found that a parish of our size and history of support had an outstanding potential for such a program.

While we did have a similar program at ST. John Neumann in the past, it was not presented as the stewardship opportunity it truly is and the information about the program and its visibility was minimal. Therefore, all these issues were discussed and the new program was developed to be presented as it is, as a stewardship of prayer, time and talent and within the guidelines of the archdiocese.

Presently

Procedures have been put in place to try to reach all parishioners, have them understand the program and how it will affect them. Also, it has been determined that the dollars earned from the program will fund a scholarship at St. Anne’s School and/or Lancaster Catholic High School, youth ministries here at SJN, and social service needs as they are brought to our attention.

Most importantly, we have tried to communicate that this is a stewardship opportunity for all, with no cost to any. Msgr. Youtz has discussed our plans in a parish mailing, Angela Richards, Program Coordinator, will make a presentation on June 16/17 at all Masses, and information on the program will be placed in the weekly bulletin on an on-going basis. This website will also be checked and updated on a regular basis.

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START-UP

The Giving Card Program is due to begin over the weekend of July 14/15. To insure that all runs smoothly, the first weekend sales will be limited to the 5:30pm Mass on Saturday and the 9:00am Mass on Sunday.

That Monday and Tuesday morning at daily Mass, sales will also be initiated. We plan that these orders will be distributed beginning Friday morning, July 20th and will continue over the weekend at all Masses when Giving Cards will also be sold for the following week.

Currently, we will only be accepting orders for Giant, Oregon Dairy, Stauffers of Kissel Hill, and Weiss Grocery Stores. However, in the near future, we hope to include many of your favorite retailers, both local and national!

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HOW TO ORDER

Here are the ways for you to place your order for Giving Cards:

• You can place an order with a volunteer, either outside the Music Room or Library after all weekend Masses, and after daily 9:00am Mass on Monday and Tuesday. You must pay with cash or check and will be given a receipt for your purchase.
• You can use the bulletin tear-out order form and attach a check to your order and simply place in the tray so designated outside the Library or Music Room. We cannot accept cash using this method unless you obtain a receipt from the volunteer at the station.

Orders should be ready for pick-up by the following Friday and will be organized alphabetically according to last name as shown on the order. Again, areas will be outside the Library and Music Room.

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HOW TO VOLUNTEER

You can volunteer by calling the parish office at (717) 569-8531 ext. 227 and leaving a message for Angela Richards. Or, e-mail her at arichards@saintjohnneumannlancaster.org.

She will contact you and you can discuss how you can be of service.

Volunteer opportunities are:

• Taking orders after Mass—on weekends and Monday and/or Tuesday after daily Mass
• Distributing orders from the prior week after Mass on Friday or on weekends
• Picking-up ordered cards from various locations on Thursday morning
• Preparing orders for distribution on Thursday afternoon
• Inputting information into computer system in parish office and printing reports as needed
• Preparing bulletin information weekly.

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QUESTIONS

If you have any questions, concerns, or have experienced a problem situation, we would like to hear about them. Also, if you have some suggestions and/or positive feedback, we’d like to hear about that too. Simply call Angela Richards at (717) 569-8531 ext. 227 or e-mail at arichards@saintjohnneumannlancaster.org. She’d love to hear from you.

Thank you for your stewardship!!