A Free Way to Help Housing Assistance 

The next time you buy groceries, you can add a bonus item to your shopping list: a free gift to Housing Assistance.  

Since 1993, the Dennis-Yarmouth Ecumenical Council for the Prevention of Homelessness’s (DYECH) mission has been to raise money for Housing Assistance’s homelessness prevention programs. 

To raise money, DYECH sells gift certificates, called Cape Cod Caring Cards, to participating stores. The stores sell the gift certificates in bulk to DYECH at a five percent discount, and DYECH then sells the certificates at face value to community members. The five percent margin goes directly to Housing Assistance. This generates several thousand dollars per month to help families pay rent, mortgage arrearages, or housing expenses, preventing them from becoming homeless. Since DYECH started, it has donated $1,688,000 to prevent homelessness for local families. 

Caring Cards are available for Stop & Shop, Shaw’s, Peterson’s, Dennis Public Market, Ring Brothers, Dominos, McDonald’s, Subway, Starbucks, CVS, Walgreens, Dairy Queen, CC Creamery, 99, Yarmouth House, DiParma, Scalley’s, Target, Home Depot, Marshalls, Wendy’s, Dunkin Donuts and Speedway.   

Participating churches sell Caring Cards after their services. You also can obtain them from Housing Assistance; email mbenaka@haconcapecod.org for more info.  

Due to DYECH’s success in fundraising for family homelessness prevention, the Barnstable Interfaith Council (BIC) was established in 2000 with the mission of helping individuals remain in their homes. 

Since its founding, BIC has contributed $485,100 to support those in need. Gift cards to benefit BIC are available for purchase at:

Our Lady of Victory (Centerville)

First Lutheran Church (West Barnstable)

Unitarian Universalist Church of Barnstable (Barnstable Village)