Scarsdale Congregational Church Outreach Survey 2023 

Love Your Neighbor is our theme as we enter SCC’s 100th year of outreach and community generosity together. As serving the needs of our neighbors is a key component of our Christian life, it’s important for us to periodically assess your interests in our Outreach Program design and how you feel called to action.

This brief survey is designed to answer two important questions:

Can SCC’s Outreach activities count on your support? Do you endorse the organizations and individuals to which the Outreach Committee provides annual financial support? If not, we’d like to explore why.

Please see SCC’s draft Outreach calendar for the 2023-24 year here. Our mission, as a committee, is to help build the opportunities to make it more effective for you to be active and engaged in meaningful outreach.

How are we doing on a scale of 1-5? 

1 - Very Satisfied

2 - Satisfied

3 - Neutral

4 -Dissatisfied 

5 - Very Dissatisfied

Please look at the 2023 SCC Outreach budget which was sent in the 10.13.23 e-news. 

In the past we’ve supported a wide variety of initiatives for neighbors both across the street and around the world. This has generally fallen into two categories:

1. Supporting neighbors in need in Westchester County and the Bronx (includes ongoing support for housing, hunger, health, children, and families)

2. Supporting our members and families in outreach initiatives they bring to the table.

Here is how our 2023 Outreach contributions are divided:

 - 56.0% – UCC Metro Association Dues and support for Our Church’s Wider Mission

A detailed description of the giving to the UCC:
For the past three decades, Churches in the UCC have funded the wider church in the following way:
• Individual donors give to their local congregation.
• Local congregations pay their per capita dues to their Association, ours is assessed at $14 per member.
• Local congregations then designate funds for Our Church’s Wider Mission (OCWM), which goes to their conference – The New York Conference of the United Church of Christ (UCCNY)
• The Conference keeps part of the OCWM funds for their own ministries, then sends the rest to the national setting of the UCC.

Such donations are still the primary source of funding for our ministries beyond the local church. There are no hard and fast rules about how much a Congregation should be giving to OCWM. But those funds go to help other local congregations in need, they pay for services for retired clergy, and they fund special ministries such as racial justice initiatives. So OCWM donations help locally, at the state level and at the national level.

 - 34.7% of the Outreach Budget goes to contributions to nineteen charities, averaging $600 each (listed below) 

Housing: SHORE - $1,000, Furniture Sharehouse - $300, Re-Member Pine Ridge - $500, Nazareth Housing - $650, Bridge Fund - $800, Westhab - $500

Hunger: United Interfaith Food Bank - $2,000, Ecumenical Emergency Food Pantry - $1,250

Health: Partners in Health - $500, Kids for World Health - $500, AYFA - $400, NAMI - $100

Children: Andrus Children's Center - $300, Green Chimneys - $300, Pajama Program - $250

Families: Hope's Door - $500, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice - $100, Scarsdale/Edgemont Family Counseling - $800

 - 9.3% – Contributions to the Diaw Family and the Aguirre Family 

The Diaw Family came to SCC's attention through our beloved Pat Collella and her work at Legal Aid over 15 years ago.  Ibrihima (husband) was the first one in his family to arrive in the U.S. from The Gambia after he gained U.S. asylum.  He was followed by his wife Fatou and their three children.  There are now six Diaw children, ages 3-21.  Their youngest daughter has been hospitalized at Blythdale for over a year and a half. 

Ibrihima left his family here in New York to return to The Gambia this summer.  It is not known when he is to return.  Fatou has been left struggling to pay her bills in NY and is contemplating moving to Harrisburg, PA where she has friends and there is a lower cost of living. A potential move is complicated by medical arrangements for her youngest daughter.   

SCC has given the Diaw family roughly $20k since 2008 for rent, cars, and other expenses.  For the past 5 years, SCC's contributions to the Diaw's have averaged $1,800/year. In addition to what SCC has supplied through its budget, generous individual donors have made pass-through contributions via SCC to receive a tax deduction for their donation.  These individual donations which are earmarked for the Diaws in the amount of $17.7k. 

2.  The Aguirre Family came to SCC's attention through our beloved Bonnie Mitchell.  Conjoined twins Clarence and Carl and their mother Arlene flew from Manilla for the boys to be separated twenty years ago.  Since then, they have lived across the street from our church on Post Rd in the little white house. SCC has donated VISA fees and Christmas presents for the boys since 2006.  Currently, the “boys” (who are now 21) are waiting for their residency approval and Arlene will also be filing shortly for permanent residency.  SCC’s total support through its budget to the Aguirre’s over 18 years has been $13.3k and has averaged $950/year for the past 5 years. Individual pass-through donations have totaled $4.4k.

Regarding our UCC Contribution: 

Do you feel this amount is...  (check one)

Regarding our donations to charities: Do you feel that supporting nineteen charities is...  (check one)

In general, do you favor supporting... (check one) 

Do you favor tying our donations to our outreach activities where possible (e.g.   SHORE-where SCC has engaged in several hands-on service projects and also donates funds)?

Do you prefer:  

Do you feel it is important that we have direct contact or a relationship with the organizations we donate to?  Please write yes or no and If yes, would you be willing to volunteer to help Outreach to re-connect to organizations and evaluate our ability to effectively help? Please indicate your willingness to help. 

Do you feel SCC should provide direct, long-term, ongoing financial assistance to specific families in need?

The SCC Outreach Committee is eager for new members. We have a range of tasks and activities that can be accomplished with a little time at home or in collaboration with others. Are you interested? Please say yes! If so, send your name and email and the preferred way to communicate to Jaye Freyer, Outreach Co-Chair, at jfreyer@me.com. Please ask Jaye any questions you have, too!

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts,

SCC Outreach Committee