Through whom does the Church carry out its mission? The Church carries out its mission through the ministry of all its members. -The Book of Common Prayer, page 855

Treasure Box

The Treasure Box, located on the first floor of the Smith Building, accepts donations of clothing and household items for resale within the community. The proceeds are distributed annually to local agencies and organizations such as C-CAP and the Winchester Day Nursery. In 2005 a total of $15,800 was distributed to local organizations.

Hours of Operation

Wednesdays & Fridays 10-4 pm; Saturdays 10-1 pm

Mission Statement

As an outreach arm of Christ Episcopal Church, the Treasure Box has been serving the local community for over forty-five years by selling good quality merchandise at affordable prices. The profits are then returned to the community in the form of monetary donations to charitable organizations. Our mission is to continue to serve our community.

A brief history of a little shop

Plans for establishing a church thrift shop got underway in the Spring of 1959 by the women of the parish. The first question: where to locate? It was decided the basement room under the office in the Old Rectory could be renovated for this purpose.

With the Vestry's approval, two rooms were created out of the basement space at a cost of $900. The women of Christ Church advanced $200 to get the shop started. Of this amount $79 was used for paint and decorating to make an attractive shop. Twenty-five dollars was set aside for petty cash to start each day with change.

An appropriate name for the shop was of prime importance. The women of the parish made special trips to other shops seeking ideas, and the name "Treasure Box" was selected after one of the parishioners visited a lovely little shop by the same name in Canada.

The Treasure Box opened on November 18, 1959 and has been in continuous operation ever since. It was moved to its current location in 2000 and continues to provide a vital service to the community. In 2006 donations of $14,000 were made to the local community.

Items we gladly accept

We accept donations any time, but preferably in season due to limited storage space. Clothing, women's/men's/children's, shoes, household items, linens, glassware pictures/framed art, decorative objects, "Smalls", jewelry, books and magazines

Items we do not accept

Large appliances, computers & accessories, furniture, firearms, underwear, prescription glasses, personal hygiene items, cosmetics/bath products (unless unopened), medications.

Join our family of volunteers!

One of the benefits of becoming a volunteer in the Treasure Box is getting to know and working with a great group of gals, also known as the "GGG" factor! You may work as little as one shift per month or as much as once a week, if you like. It's easy and fun.  You may choose to be trained either as a cashier or a marker.  Shifts are only 3 hours each: You choose: 10-1 or 1-4 pm.  Call the Church office: 540-662-5843 or send an email to: info@christchurchwinchester.org

Mary's Family: respite child care

Come out and play. Volunteer the gift of friendship.
by Alix Cooper

Christ Church is preparing to embark on a small but important outreach project - a Saturday activity program for youngsters with disabilities once a quarter. The program will give much-needed respite to families who provide nonstop care to their children with special needs. The pieces are in place; all we need now are volunteers.

And what do volunteers do? Essentially, they play with a new friend, a child with special needs. Trained staff, including a registered nurse, are on hand to provide guidance and support while volunteers do the fun stuff - listen to music, put a puzzle together, create a piece of art, play with the parachute, read books, celebrate a birthday.... All the materials are provided, even lunch (compliments of our own EFM group).

The vehicle for this new enterprise is Mary's Family, a nonprofit launched five years ago in Fauquier County with the help of our own Michael Mohn and a boost of funding from the Diocese. Mary's Family expanded into Winchester with a second respite program last year. Having gotten its footing, it is now looking to rotate among several local churches. Christ Church, having already made a name for itself with the Monday Special Worship Service, is a natural to be one of the hosts.
Mary's Family in Winchester will be held the first Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tentatively the quarterly schedule for Christ Church will be March, June, and September. Volunteers can work the whole time or just take a morning session (9:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.) or afternoon session (noon to 3 p.m.).

No experience is necessary. Volunteers will be indoctrinated on site and given specific information about the friend assigned to them. According to Martha Toomey, Mary's Family's founder, some of the best volunteers are men aged 60-80. Children can be especially good too, she says. Officially the lower age limit for volunteers is 18, but younger children are welcome to come with their parents. Indeed, it's a benefit for special-needs children to play with non-disabled children.

As the parent of a child with special needs and a longtime advocate in the disabilities field, I can attest to the toll caring for a disabled child takes on families. The divorce rate among couples in these families is a shocking 80%. When my husband was alive, we rarely went out as a couple. Mostly, we did things separately, tag-teaming child care. This is pretty typical. Siblings of special-needs children can easily get short-changed when it comes to parental attention and are often called upon to watch their brother or sister. Sitters are hard to find, and they need to be more than any neighborhood teenager.

With a structured respite program in place, couples have a chance to go out of a "date," neglected siblings can get their own time with a parent, and beleaguered single parents have a chance to take a breather. The need is tremendous.

Volunteer forms are available from the church office, or can be downloaded from the church website or from www.marysfamily.org. Please return completed forms by email or snail mail to Bill Jarvis in the church office. If you have any questions, email or call Alix Cooper at (540) 723-0878.

Outreach Committee

"Verily I say unto you, in so much as you do this for the least of you, you do it for Me." (Matthew 25:40)

Baden Outreach Center

The Marie Cooper Trust Fund