WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD!
My Coins Count is a fun way to raise money for special projects of VMMissions and Mennonite Central Committee. Coins (as well as currency and checks) are collected and then counted at the Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale, held the first weekend of October at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds near Harrisonburg. As a joint initiative, funds raised are shared evenly between the two agencies. This is a great way to raise money for missions at your church, school, home, or business.
This year, Park View Federal Credit Union is providing buckets for My Coins Count, which makes it much easier to count! Contact the credit union at (540) 434-6444 to get a bucket for your church or organization. VMMissions can provide project information and container labels. Consider collecting for My Coins Count throughout the year!
Bring the buckets to the Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale on Friday evening or no later than 9 a.m. on Saturday morning at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds near Harrisonburg. The coins are sorted by volunteers and counted in machines from Park View Federal Credit Union, whose staff calculate the total value of each congregation’s coins.
Checks should be made payable to “Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale,” designated for My Coins Count.
2025 Projects
At the Table With Jesus
Food for Displaced People
The Project of VMMissions
At the Table With Jesus
VMMissions will use its share of the My Coins Count money to help mission workers invite more people to the table.
No matter who you are or where you’re from, you have something in common with people all over the world—you have to eat! Sharing food with others is something we do beyond just making sure they have enough to eat. It’s also a way to share something of ourselves—eating a meal together can make even strangers feel more like friends.
As VMMissions workers eat with their neighbors, they learn to know and care for the people they eat with. They share their lives with others and hear what people need and long for.
- In Italy, the Shawn and Laura Green family shares food with neighbors through a food pantry.
- In Albania, Norma Teles provides food for the Roma children she teaches, so they can focus on learning.
- In Germany, David and Rebekka Stutzman gather with their neighbors at the community center ‘The Villa’ and share food and coffee, while children and youth play games and work in the community garden together.
As workers share food with their neighbors, and as their friendships grow, they can also share about God’s love for everyone. That sounds a lot like what Jesus did when he ate with people!
The Project of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)
Food for Those Who Have Left Home
MCC will use the My Coins Count money to buy food to share with families who don’t have the food they need to stay healthy. That might be because of fighting or because of a disaster like a flood or drought.
Often families receive things like cooking oil, rice, beans, flour and salt. Sometimes, families, also get canned meat that MCC workers and volunteers prepare. The food is the kind that lasts a long time without needing to stay cold.
In South Sudan, ongoing conflict and intense flooding have made it so that many families can’t stay
at their homes. They sometimes move into camps for displaced people. Food can be hard to come by in the camps. People often make do with whatever they can find, even if it means eating water lilies they find growing in flooded areas. To make sure families can enjoy tastier, more filling meals, an MCC partner in South Sudan is sharing monthly food packages with families who have had to leave their homes.
By helping people feed their families, we’re showing that we love God by following Jesus’ teaching to give food to people who are hungry. Sharing in this way makes a huge difference to hungry kids and makes our world a better place.
How can we promote My Coins Count?
A few ideas:
- Fill a children’s wagon full of mugs and have kids take mugs through the pews to collect for My Coins Count during the morning offering.
- Designate My Coins Count as the offering project for Sunday school classes or Vacation Bible School.
- Have a special church fundraiser for My Coins Count.
- Highlight My Coins Count during your Sunday morning worship service. This could be every Sunday or just once a month.
- Have children fill a small container with coins at home, then give them a reward for each full container of coins they bring to church.
- Match the amount of your church’s contribution! Match $250, $500, $1,000 or the whole amount your congregation raises. Make it a contest!