An alternative Christmas gift that honors family and friends by feeding the hungry

National Advance hunger-relief ministry
unveils its 2008 alternative Christmas card

Increasingly, people are searching for meaningful, alternative ways to share the celebration of the birth of Christ with their family and friends. The chaos that has become Christmas in the secular world is so “loud” it nearly drowns out the true meaning of this holy season.

Helping to provide food for some of the 35 million Americans who don’t get enough to eat is a perfect way to put Christ back into Christmas, since it is He who commands us to feed “the least of these.” And in today’s climate of financial uncertainty, the need is even greater for those who are forced to rely on critical service agencies to feed their families.

The Society of St. Andrew, a national hunger relief ministry and Advance #801600, offers an alternative way to share the true meaning of Christmas, not just with people you know, but with thousands you will never meet but whom you can help feed. For a minimum donation of $12 per card, you can send their custom-designed alternative Christmas card to those you wish to honor with a donation to feed the hungry, or you can have the Society of St. Andrew (SoSA) send the cards for you.

This year’s card is the fourteenth in a series designed exclusively for SoSA by Virginia liturgical artist Annis McCabe. The 7 inch by 5 inch card features original full color artwork both inside and outside plus an inspirational message. This one-of-a-kind card announces your generous gift to feed the hungry in the name of your honorees; you will also receive the card as a thank you and confirmation of your order.

The Society of St. Andrew saves perfectly good, nutritious, excess fresh produce that will go to waste for various marketing reasons and gets it distributed to service agencies across the country that feed the hungry, at no cost to the agencies or those they feed. The $12 minimum gift donation for each card will provide about 800 servings of nourishing food to the hungry through SoSA’s fresh food salvage programs: Gleaning Network, Potato & Produce Project, Harvest of Hope, and Hunger Relief Advocate Initiative.

“The extraordinary popularity of this program continues to grow,” said Carol Breitinger, communications director for the Society of St. Andrew, “providing more and more servings of fresh food to the hungry each year. Last year over $105,000 was raised, providing more than six million servings of food nationwide! This year the need is even greater.

“This alternative Christmas card, which has a wonderfully meaningful message presented through a moving poem and illustrative art, is the perfect gift for someone who has everything,” offered Breitinger. “It’s a super stocking stuffer, too. No other gift can do so much for so many with so little! And you can finish your gift shopping and greeting card lists in just a few minutes.”

The Society of St. Andrew’s Christmas Gift Donation Cards can be ordered by mail, phone, fax, or online: 800-333-4597; fax at 434-299-5949; email to card@endhunger.org; online at www.endhunger.org/card. To guarantee delivery by Christmas please order by December 1. SoSA will make every effort to expedite late order.

SoSA also has available order flier and church bulletin insert masters, both in color and B&W. Call or email Carol Breitinger at 800-333-4597 or sosapr@endhunger.org to receive these digital files.

For more information about the Society of St. Andrew and its hunger-relief ministry or Christmas Gift Donation Cards call 800-333-4597, email sosausa@endhunger.org or go to SoSA’s website at www.endhunger.org.