Taking care of the widow and orphan if what James, the brother of Jesus, called pure and undefiled religion. Since we value partenering with great organizations of excellence, that are doing works that we could not do on our own, The Gathering, has decided to partner with First Place Pregnancy Centre. First-place describes itself as "a non-profit agency offering compassionate support and assistance to anyone facing an unplanned pregnancy or experiencing emotional effects after an abortion." The Gathering partners with First Place on various initiatives as listed below (and others that may not be listed):

Walk, Run, Bike:
Every September First-Place does a walk, run, bike, roller blade around Dow's Lake to raise funds for their organization. Wether it enables a doula to be with a woman going through a pregnancy all alone or provides sexual education in the high schools in Ottawa, all that First-place does is worth raising money for.

Operation Baby Bottle:
Definitely one of our larger fundraisers, we encourage attendees of our church to take home baby bottles and fill them with the loose change they have left over in their pockets, lying around the house, or stuck between the cushions in the sofa. They bring these bottles in at Christmas time and place them in the manger of hope. Just as God came as a gift to us in the person of Jesus at Christmas, bringing hope to us. We want to bring hope into the lives of young women who are facing a pregnancy and have nowhere to turn to, or those with post-abortion depression.

Diaper Mountain for Mother's Day:
At the Gathering you can bring in baby clothes or diapers to give to mom's in need at First-Place any time of the year, but one Sunday a year we do a special focus on bringing in diapers for mom's that can't afford to purchase them in Ottawa. What better Sunday to do this then Mother's day.

First Place OPTIONS Banquet:
Yearly, a banquet and auction fundraiser is held by the First Place OPTIONS Center, to assist in covering the costs incurred by running the organization and offering their services at no charge to the general public. By buying a ticket and bidding on items, you can not only enjoy a night of fun and possibly something to take home, but also support First Place OPTIONS in changing the lives of 2 generations of people forever.

Get Involved:
For more information and to find out how you can get involved in these initiatives, send us an email via the "Contact Us" form below.