Ways You Can Help

We will continue to apply for grants, but it appears that God is asking His people to complete this project. Of the $393,000 raised to date, only $12,950 has come from grants. The balance has come from the generous donations of God's people. We need your continued support to complete this project. We also need your help in spreading the word about our efforts to preserve this important piece of our Christian heritage.
We are asking our supporters to hold fund-raisers in their communities and in their churches to benefit the restoration of this important piece of our Christian heritage. ORCF board members are spending a great deal of time on fund-raisers that could be spent on writing grants and arranging meetings with corporate and foundation boards.
Some churches and parochial schools have held bake sales, rummage sales, craft sales; some have sold our calendars, crosses and bricks; others have given concerts or programs (or asked one of our board members to come give a program) and collected offerings for the effort. We greatly appreciate all efforts made for this worthy project. If you are interested in holding a fund-raiser or special program to benefit the restoration of The Old Rugged Cross Church, we will be happy to send you a supply of brochures and/or offering envelopes. We look forward to hearing from you. Just give us a call at 269-683-4540 or send your request to:

You can help by sending your donations to:
The Old Rugged Cross Foundation (ORCF)
PO Box 41 Niles, MI 49120

You can help by making a donation, purchasing one of our gift items, or a memorial brick to be placed in The Old Rugged Cross Memorial Garden adjacent to the old church. You can also help by forwarding this website to all of your friends.
If you would rather, you may click the PayPal link below and give your donation knowing YOU had a part in saving this Historic Legacy.

Gifts may be sent to:
The Old Rugged Cross Foundation, Inc.
PO Box 41 Niles, MI 49120

You can make a donation with a credit card online to our PayPal account by clicking the link below.

WAYS YOU CAN HELP
Although direct donations are greatly needed and the easiest way for most folks to help, there are many other ways you can help to restore this historic legacy.
1. Organize a fund raiser to benefit the restoration effort and send profits to ORCF, or encourage your church or civic organization to do so.
2. Sign up for Gordon Food Service and/or Meijer rebate programs (see below) and help just by shopping.
3. Purchase one of the many gift items or commemorative bricks offered by the ORCF
4. Ask that memorial gifts be given in memory of loved ones to ORCF
5. Make a pledge or donation via check (send to the ORCF at PO Box 41, Niles, MI 49120) or through Pay Pal through this web site.
6. Ask your church to host an Old Fashioned Hymn Sing
7. Invite an ORCF board member to speak at your church or civic organization meeting
8. Bring your group, organization, family, etc. for a tour of the ORC Historic Site.
9. Volunteer to help with our fund raisers.
10. Forward this website to all your friends and ask them to send a donation.
11. Tell your friends, family members and associates about the project.
12. Pray for the project and its leaders.

Additional Information regarding the above:
1. ORCF board members would be happy to work with you, suggesting activities which have worked well for others. The ORCF board feels that the project would benefit more if board members spent their time meeting with corporate and foundation heads and writing grants, rather than holding the fund raisers themselves, as is currently being done.
2. GFS and Meijer Rebate Programs: Gordon Food Service and Meijer Rebate Programs Do you shop at Gordon Food Service (GFS) Marketplace? Or Meijer Stores? If you said “Yes,” your purchases could earn rebates toward restoration of the Original Old Rugged Cross Church!

Gordon’s provides “Fun Funds” rebates on Old Rugged Cross supporters’ purchases on most items in GFS Marketplace Stores. Rebates range from five to ten percent of the total of all Old Rugged Cross participating supporters’ Fun Funds purchases each calendar quarter. The program is for individual shoppers who do not receive other discounts at GFS stores in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.

Meijer’s “Community Rewards” program provides a rebate of one percent on most Meijer purchases paid for with a Meijer credit card, and a rebate of one-half percent on most purchases paid for with cash. Rebates are available for purchases at Meijer stores in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

To enroll in the GFS program, you can
Go to the Customer Service desk at a FGS Marketplace store, and say you want to sign up for “Fun Funds” for The Old Rugged Cross Foundation. Tell them we are organization number 002104816.
Or, you can ask us to send an enrollment form to you in the mail. Fill out the form and mail it to Gordon’s. You can request an enroll ent form from us by:
  • writing to The Old Rugged Cross Foundation,
  • P. O. Box 41, Niles, MI 49120
  • sending an e-mail request to orcf@aol.com; or
  • calling 517-796-4990

To enroll in the Meijer program, you can
Enroll on-line at www.meijer.com/rewards. You’ll need the Foundation’s six digit Meijer “Community Rewards” number, which is 453604.
Or, pick up a “Community Rewards” application in your local Meijer store, complete the application, using our six-digit number shown above, and mail it to Meijer. Or, write to us at the P. O. Box above, send us an e-mail request, or call the phone number above, and we’ll send an enrollment form to you.

Please be sure to tell us which program you want to sign up for if you ask us to send you an enrollment form.

After you enroll in either (or both) program's, they will send you an ID card that shows you’re earning rebates for The Old Rugged Cross Foundation. Have the cashier scan the card while ringing up your purchases. That’s it! You just make whatever purchases you normally would, have your card scanned, and the Foundation gets credit for any rebates your purchase earned. It’s that easy! Thank you!

3. See our Gifts Page to see pictures of many of the items currently available. We still have 2007 calendars available with beautiful pictures of the historic site for $20; wooden crosses made of wood lath removed from the old church (includes leather cord to wear or hang, certificate of authenticity and square nail from the old church) for $20; “Favorite Songs of The Good Old Days” books for $25; wooden plaques with words and music of “The Old Rugged Cross” laser cut into it for $30; license plates saying “I’m Helping to Restore The Old Rugged Cross Church in Pokagon, Michigan” for $10; and memorial/ commemorative bricks (which will be placed in the entryway to The Old Rugged Cross Memorial Garden behind the old church) for $50.

4. Last year $2,150 was donated in memory of loved ones. Several families designated The Old Rugged Cross Foundation to be the recipient of memorial gifts for their loved ones.

5. A “Make the Match” pledge drive was held in 2006, which raised $10,560. Many of our supporters had already been pledging and those pledges raised an additional $5,373.50 in 2006.

6. The Old Rugged Cross Foundation is asking churches in Michigan and Indiana to host Old Fashioned Hymn Sings. The host church would, with the help from ORCF’s public relations director, invite the public and other churches to join them for an afternoon or evening of singing their favorite old hymns. In this day and age of contemporary music, many of our seniors miss singing the old hymns. Halfway through the program, a member of the ORCF board would give a brief synopsis and update on the project and ask for a free-will offering, which would benefit the restoration of the old church.

7. Our board members just love to do programs for organizations. We do not charge for presentations (although donations are always welcome). We can bring pictures, or power point presentations and give a synopsis of what we are doing and why.

8. Another favorite activity of our board members is to give tours of the Historic Site. Just make an appointment and you and/or your group can get an on-site tour of the garden and the old church. Again, there is no charge (and again, donations are always appreciated). We will schedule a tour for as few as one or by the busload.

9. We have a rummage sale every year and we operate a restaurant at the Cass County Fair every year. We can always use more volunteers. Fair week is especially a difficult time, as we have to “man” three shifts from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm for six days. If you or your group would be interested in helping, please call the ORCF office at We are asking our supporters to hold fund-raisers in their communities and in their churches to benefit the restoration of this important piece of our Christian heritage. ORCF board members are spending a great deal of time on fund-raisers that could be spent on writing grants and meeting with corporate and foundation boards.
Some churches and parochial schools have held bake sales, rummage sales, craft sales; some have sold our calendars, crosses and bricks; others have given concerts or programs (or asked one of our board members to come give a program) and collected offerings for the effort. We greatly appreciate all efforts made for this worthy project. If you are interested in holding a fund-raiser or special program to benefit the restoration of The Old Rugged Cross Church, we will be happy to send you a supply of brochures and/or offering envelopes, and help you in any way we can. We look forward to hearing from you. Just give us a call at or send your request to: