Like the rest of the world, the Covid crisis has had an impact on our faith community financially. But, lucky for us, as a brand new church we don't have too many expenses.  With that in mind, Different Church is committed to modeling generosity in our community.  For the months that we didn't have in person services, we were proud to still pay rent at our location - The St Pete Opera Company.  They lost a ton of income, and so it only made sense for us to try and help out where we could.  Also, we have given away over 10,000 dollars to local non profits.  We believe in giving back, and we're not going to let tough times stop us from helping the city of St. Pete.  Here's a sample of who has benefited from your generosity:

Punky's Bar & Grill - $1,000 Tip
Did you know this was one of our first official meeting spots when we were planning out the concept of Different Church over a year ago? Since then, we've held many meetings here and have grown close to the staff. Like many restaurants in the area, they are operating at 50% occupancy and seeing a reduction in customers because of the virus - which means the servers are living on minimal tips. We gave Punky's a $1,000 tip to be evenly distributed to its 20 employees, which should equate to about a week's worth of groceries. 

Reach St Pete - $1,500 Donation
As soon as we were big enough to contribute to Reach St Pete's goals, we have been involved. They are an amazing local organization that helps combat homelessness by bridging the gap between person and resources by offering food, hygiene items, personal care, and bill pay assistance. Out of caution, they are operating at a reduced capacity but have more requests and needs to fulfill. Our contribution will help meet those needs. 

St Pete Free Clinic and Food Bank - $1,000 Donation
This is another incredible local organization: they provide food, hygiene items, and medical care to those in our community most in need. A large number of their clientele are elderly who only have social security income to live on. Our contribution will help provide goods and care to those in need.