IT IS VERY EASY TO HELP…. WHO WILL I BE HELPING?
THE NEED
There are a number of brethren and sisters living in South Africa who are either out of work or living in poverty. Their welfare needs are very great and to help them earn a living whilst keeping their dignity, we have started Project Greeting Card (“PGC”).
THE SOLUTION
PGC is a COP Trust initiative that aims to assist brothers and sisters in disadvantaged communities to establish and maintain a sustainable means of employment and income so that they can support their families. The project involves individuals in these communities making greeting cards and the COP Trust then facilitating the sale of these to overseas ecclesias. 
This initiative is being trialled in the rural community of Mariannhill in KwaZulu Natal and is in the process of being established as part of the activities of the Good News Centre to be completed in March 2009, God willing. Mariannhill ecclesia only started in January 2008 
with three youth baptisms after Amanzi youth conference. The ecclesia has already grown to about 15 members since then and is still growing. We have experienced wonderful blessings of a new hall, regular baptisms, good community support and a Sunday school of about 30 children.
Once PGC is running smoothly at Mariannhill, it is intended that this initiative will then mirrored in other communities throughout South Africa.
THE PROCESS
God willing, PGC will work as follows:
# The COP Trust approaches brethren and sisters to participate in the project and explains their responsibilities;
# The brother/sister receives training, along with the first batch of materials to begin making greeting cards;
# The cards are made by the brother/sister in their typically creative African way!
# The cards are checked for quality by the Business Coordinator, a designated brother/sister who is the on-the-ground contact for the project in their area;
# The COP Trust collects the cards and pays the brother/sister for their work;
# The COP Trust posts the cards to participating ecclesias;
# The ecclesia pays the COP Trust for the cards online via pay pal;
# The ecclesia sells the cards to members and the community, keeping the money to recover the cost of the cards;
# The brother/sister uses the money to support themselves and their families and also uses part of the money towards buying more supplies so they can continue making cards.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
The success of PGC in helping our ever-growing number of brethren and sisters in South Africa with welfare issues will rely completely on the love and generosity of their brothers and sisters overseas! And this is where you come in.
The first way you can help is by buying a set of these beautiful hand-made African cards as soon as you see a local representative in your area in possession of some — your purchase will go towards feeding and supporting the family of a brother or sister in South Africa (information about the person you are helping is included in the set of cards)
The first batches of these greeting cards are packs of 5 different cards, one of each of the designs pictured. New designs will be created shortly as the project evolves and the brothers and sisters develop.
The second and most sustainable way you can help the project is to either commit yourself to buying a batch of cards or helping your ecclesia to participate by purchasing a batch of cards on a regular basis. These cards can then be on-sold as a fundraiser.
A “batch” of cards consists of 40 sets with 5 cards each (a total of 200 cards). The cost of these cards is USD400 per batch or USD10 per set (this may vary as the USD moves) which can be paid online using the pay pal system. The selling price of the cards when they are on-sold by individuals or ecclesias will depend on the exchange rate at the time. 
We are looking for people or ecclesias willing to buy a batch of cards in support of Project Greeting Card (either once off or on an ongoing basis) and then sell these to others. To get involved, it is as simple as this:
# Email Leah Egginton and ask for a participation form so you can complete this – leah.egginton@gmail.com;
# Pay USD400 using the simple paypal process on the donations page of the GNOGKOG website – www. gnotkog.org # (under “I want to make a once-off donation”);
# Wait for your batch of beautiful cards made by your brothers and sisters to arrive in the post.
# On-sell these cards to family, friends, ecclesial members or the public and keep this money to cover the cost of you purchasing the cards.
The income generated from each batch of cards goes towards:
1. The brother/sister making the cards – the Business Partners;
2. The brother/sister who oversees the project in that area – the Business Coordinator;
3. The COP Trust, to support welfare needs in that community; and
4. Buying supplies to create more cards.
Your support of PGC will not only be helping disadvantaged brothers and sisters, but will also greatly assist the work of the COP Trust and the 2010 preaching campaign! 
PROGRESS TO DATE
Australia 
Project Greeting Card has already been launched at YC09, a youth conference recently held in Sydney, Australia. About 750 cards were sent over to the conference with Tom Ryder (a 2010 volunteer who was in South Africa for 6 months). The cards completely sold out and there was lots of enthusiasm in terms of people wanting to support the project. Orders for thousands more cards were received at the conference! The Mariannhill brothers and sisters are busily working on more greeting cards in anticipations of filling these orders!
United Kingdom 
Sister Dida Smalley was over here in South Africa during the June-July 2008 P2P campaign and has volunteered to help promote Project Greeting Card in the UK. Dida has already had a very positive response so if you are in the UK and would like more information, please contact her on
kat_numba1@hotmail.com.
If you would like to help promote Project Greeting Card in your area, please contact me directly on leah.egginton@gmail.com and I can give you some information and a presentation to help you do this. 
PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING PROJECT GREETING CARD – YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN SOUTH AFRICA WILL THANK YOU.
For more information, contact Leah Egginton:
Email: leah.egginton@gmail.com
Skype: "Dan & Leah Egginton"
Phone: +27 711 33 22 06
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