100x$1,000 Campaign Finds Faith in Action

I had heard about the Community Housing Fund's campaign "100x$1,000" but hadn't thought too much about it. In April, 2007, I attended the Faith Forum, sponsored by the Inter-Religious Action Network (IAN). There, I heard Ramsay Weit explain the mission of the Community Housing Fund and how the effort was being made to recruit 100 churches in Washington County to contribute at least $1,000 each to the Fund. I thought to myself, "our church can do that."

I am the former pastor of the Hillsboro United Methodist Church and now glad to be sitting in the pew. I knew that there was little chance of adding a line item to the church budget for the CHF, as finances are always tight. I believed that we could solicit the needed funds by a quiet campaign within the congregation. I shared my idea with our pastor, Gwen Drake, who was very supportive. The two of us met with Kathy Andersen who gave us encouragement.

We sent letters to about 15 families in the church who we felt had both a concern about affordable housing and the means to do something about it. By letter, we explained what we were seeking to do and invited the folks to a dessert at my wife's and my home to hear Kathy explain the Fund. More than half of the letter recipients said they could not attend the dessert, but would contribute $100. Representatives of seven families attended the dessert, asked some very good questions and contributed at least $100 each.

We raised more than twice our goal of $1,000 and are gratified that a few members of our congregation have a better understanding of the need for affordable housing and what the Community Housing Fund is doing to address the problem.

Dale Harris
July 12, 2007