Where Do Your Mission Gifts Go? One Place is Stop the Violence

On Dec 16, members of Derry Church’s Mission & Peace Committee visited Stop the Violence (STV) to deliver gift cards, hats and mittens, toys, and canned food that was collected at the Dec 5 drive-thru. This long-time mission partner is a Harrisburg non-profit dedicated to providing counseling for women of domestic violence, as well as food, clothing, gifts, and school supplies to community residents in need.

Stop the Violence, led by Rev. Mim Harvey, offers many outreach projects and programs including:

• A back-to-school drive that provides children with new backpacks and school supplies
• Thanksgiving turkey baskets – more than 120 – for families in need. STV also provided food to three other local churches with needy families.
• Deliveries of soup, crackers, and homemade cookies to elderly people to spread love and brighten spirits.
• New coats, toys, and food to 100+ children so that they could have a joyful and warm holiday season. Santa also visited the children on a fire truck!
• A shelter in Steelton that currently houses three people. The shelter has recently been renovated but still requires some additional care. STV has asked for a new fence to ensure the safety of the children living there, flower boxes to beautify the location, and children’s play equipment (playhouse, swings, etc) to make the shelter not only safe, but a nice place to live.
• A food bank (open twice a month) that also fulfills emergency calls for food and supplies.
• Encouraging and assisting members of the community with COVID vaccines.