Episcopal Church Women ~ ECW

The Episcopal Church Women’s organization is active at Annunciation. All women are members by their baptism.  Meetings are held on the first Thursday of the month from October through May, following the Thursday morning Eucharist.  Each meeting usually has a short business meeting and a speaker or program and refreshments or lunch.

We have two or three big sales each year, usually earning $3,000-$4,000 each, making the ECW one of the main fund raising bodies of the church. Virtually all the money raised goes to our Church or to charitable organizations in the area and around the world.  The ECW also supplies the funds for the coffee hour throughout the year.

White Elephant Sale

The ECW sends their thanks to the whole parish who helped with the White Elephant Sale, with special thanks to Suzy Cowgill who chaired the event.  The sale was a huge success with profits of around $4,200.  The benefits of the sale continued when all the leftovers were carefully sorted and set to appropriate charities in town: Goodwill, Women’s Resource Network, Coalition for the Homeless (now Turning Points) and other local agencies.  We appreciate so much all those who donated, worked, baked, and shopped at the sale.

ECW Makes Donations from 2012 Fund Raisers

At their meeting in early December, the board decided on the following donations with money from our fund raisers in 2012. The membership approved them at their January meeting:

$500   SMART     Sarasota Manatee Assoc for Riding Therapy - Helping autistic children and wounded veterans by having them ride horses.

$1000 Women’s Resource Center - provides counseling, job counseling, temporary housing—needs of women following divorce, death of a spouse etc.

$700   Our Daily Bread – provides food for the hungry.

$1000  Community Coalition on Homelessness - Serving the homeless in Manatee County by providing job referrals, counseling, and other emergency needs.

$1000  Hope Family Services  Services for women who have been abused, provides temporary shelter, counseling, legal counsel etc.

$ 500  Manatee Library System - Provides programs for children at the Island Library.

 $1000  Rev. Dee’s Discretionary Fund - For emergency needs within the parish.

Already done in 2012:

 $2075  Our Little Roses in Honduras – For the Orphanage in Honduras for girls in abject poverty. (Profits of Old Bag Luncheon)

 $2000  ECW pledge to the Church

 $2500  Weekly Coffee Hour for church

 $ 250   Toward Ice maker in Kitchen

$12,025 TOTAL DONATIONS FOR 2012

Thank you for your generous support of ECW.