JOHNSTOWN, PA  [Diocesan Chancery] -- With the Thanksgiving and Nativity Fast Season upon us, the Diocesan Chancery is pleased to provide you information regarding the Orthodox Christian Fellowship’s (“OCF”) Student Leadership Board’s 2017 Giving Tuesday Challenge. Giving Tuesday is November 28, 2017, which is less than a week away. As most of you know, OCF is our Orthodox Church’s campus ministry. You can visit OCF’s website at www.ocf.net to learn more about all of OCF’s programs and events.

Recently in 2017, I agreed to join OCF’s Board of Directors, the governing body of OCF. In addition to OCF’s Board of Directors, OCF has a Student Leadership Board. OCF’s student leaders comprise the Student Leadership Board and develop and plan leadership training, programs, regional and district retreats for our Orthodox college students. All across the United States and Canada, OCF, through its Student Leadership Board, hosts retreats for college students. These retreats are opportunities for students to join together in fellowship to deepen their Orthodox faith and serve their communities. To hear how these events are impacting our students, visit http://www.ocf.net/tag/regional-retreat-reflection/.

To keep the regional and district retreats affordable, the OCF’s Student Leadership Board has established a campaign whose sole purpose is providing funding to make attending these retreats possible for students who otherwise would be unable to participate. For the fact remains, most of our Orthodox college students and their parents struggle to pay the ever-increasing cost of a postsecondary education and lack funds to attend these OCF events.

While the 2017 Giving Tuesday Challenge is designed to be a student driven effort, our OCF’s college students need the help of all of our Diocesan faithful in spreading the news of this effort to make the OCF 2017 Giving Tuesday Challenge an overwhelming success.

Please spread the word by mouth, email, on social media accounts, and websites. Moreover, please consider giving any amount that you are able—every single gift counts. If the goal of $10,000.00 is reached, a matching donation of $10,000.00 will be given by a generous donor.

The 2017 Giving Tuesday Challenge is already open. Online donations must be made by November 28, 2017 at 11:59:59 Pacific Standard Time and mailed donations must be postmarked on or before November 28, 2017 to be credited to the matching challenge. Contributions can be made online at Donorbox.org/giving-tuesday-17 or by mailing a check to Orthodox Christian Fellowship, Giving Tuesday Challenge, 50 Goddard Avenue, Brookline, MA 02445. To follow OCF's Giving Tuesday progress on the 28th, you can follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (@ocfministry). When making a donation please designate on your online or mailed in donation that the donation is for the Giving Tuesday Challenge.

Please remember our Orthodox college students in your hearts, minds and prayers during this Thanksgiving and Christmas season as they complete their fall semester studies and travel back home to their families.