A message from the Outreach/Evangelism Committee…
Dear St. Mark’s Parishioner,
One of the goals of St. Mark’s Outreach/Evangelism Committee is to expand the parish’s current outreach activities to provide increased focused hands-on ministries. Three of our main outreach ministries are shown below: Canterbury Court, CARE House, and St. Paul United Methodist’s Food Pantry.
Here are the links for their respective websites:
Canterbury Court: http://www.episcopalretirement.com/affordable-living/canterbury-court/home
CARE House: http://thecarehouse.org/
St. Paul’s UMC: http://www.stpauldayton.org/
Hope4Riverside: Hope4Riverside | MVLF (miamivalleyleadership.com)
Although opportunities are identified in this letter for contributing treasure, the emphasis of these expanded ministries is on contributions of time and talent. These additional ministries will strengthen St. Mark’s Year-round Stewardship Program. The intent is to have a large portion of our parish participate in these expanded ministries to provide the critical mass required to make a difference. The Committee decided that these ministries should address the needs of the two age extremes: elderly and youth.
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Opportunity #1 is with Canterbury Court. Canterbury Court is a program of Episcopal Retirement Homes. Located in West Carrolton, Ohio, Canterbury Court has a contract with HUD to provide rent subsidy. It provides a community living arrangement with 150 one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments under one roof. The eligibility criteria for these apartments include persons who are 62 years of age or older or persons who are physically disabled and in need of the design features of an accessible unit. The average income and age of a Canterbury Court resident is $13,055 and 77 years, respectively. Volunteer needs for Canterbury Court include the following:
a) Bingo: Call bingo for 20-30 residents from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday and/or Saturday evenings
b) Coffee Hour: Serve as host to 20-25 residents, provide snacks (e.g., Danish or donuts) from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Saturday mornings.
c) Transportation: Provide transportation to residents for physician appointments, grocery shopping, running errands, etc.
d) Friendly Visitor: Participate in the Friendly Visitor Program and visit with residents, read (e.g., mail, books or scripture) to persons with sight problems, etc.
e) Mending and Alterations: Perform mending and alterations of clothing.
f) Exercise Class: Service as instructor of an exercise class
g) Gardening: Assist residents with their gardens
Opportunity #2 is with CARE House. Located at 410 Valley Street in Dayton, Ohio, CARE House is the community’s advocacy center for child victims of abuse and neglect. The child-friendly environment and multidisciplinary approach are at the heart of its advocacy work on behalf of children. CARE House is a partnership of The Children’s Medical Center, Dayton Police Department, Montgomery County Children Services, Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. These agencies work together to: a) Implement a prompt, comprehensive, multidisciplinary response to child victims of abuse and neglect, addressing the needs of the victims and their non-offending family members; b) Hold the offender accountable for his or her actions; and c) Provide the child victims and their family with needed services to protect the child from further harm.
How To Help CARE House knows that together with your support, we can make a difference in the lives of the children in our community. The following are ways you can get involved and help us help the children.
How to Volunteer
Volunteers at CARE House play a special role on the team. Thanks to their generous gift of time and energy, we are able to make the advocacy center a better place for kids. The following are examples of volunteer opportunities at CARE House:
>> Interacting and playing with children
>> Working in the gardens
>> Clerical support
>> Providing child care during support groups
Call (937) 512-1670 for more information about volunteering.
How to Donate
The vision of CARE House is to be the community leader and model for the multidisciplinary team approach to addressing and preventing child abuse. It is the generosity of those who donate time, money and resources to CARE House that enables us to realize this vision. The following are some ideas about how to donate and make a difference:
At this time, CARE House especially needs:
>> Pre-paid cards for children and their non-offending family members in transition (for example: $5 through $25 denominations for gas, groceries and personal needs)
>> Individually wrapped drinks and healthy snacks to serve to children and their families (for example: juice boxes, cheese crackers, granola bars etc.)
>> Activities and materials for preschool-age children, elementary-age children and adolescents (for example: activity and coloring books, hand-held games, journals, markers, paper, gel pens, stamps and stickers, sports items)
>> Plastic tableware (for example: forks, knives and spoons)
Please Note: CARE House currently has abundant plush animals and toys and individual-size personal toiletries to share with the children and families. We are NOT in need these items at this time.
As part of The Children’s Medical Center of Dayton, CARE House is unable to accept used items due to our infection control policy.
Call (937) 641-4545 for further information on how to make a difference.
Opportunity #3 is with St. Paul’s United Methodist’s Food Pantry. Located on Huffman Avenue, this food pantry feeds numerous people in need in the East Dayton area every week. You can contribute in numerous ways including donating in canned good and other foods every Sunday or you can volunteer there to help stock shelves. This is a wonderful organization that provides assistance to those who need it most.
Opportunity #4 is with Hope4Riverside.
The Riverside community knows the joys and heartaches of the Miami Valley’s story over the past few decades.
Along with many communities in the Miami Valley, Riverside has faced difficult challenges as the area experienced the pains of industry’s departure. Families came under the increasing way of joblessness and lack of career readiness, and youth became increasingly isolated. Schools took on the role of community centers, caring for students’ education, emotional, and physical needs. Like many communities in the Miami Valley, Riverside became a community overwhelmed with obstacles. St. Mark’s is located in the heart of Riverside. So join that team and make a difference to the local community. They need your help!
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Other St. Mark’s Outreach Programs
Hunger Sunday: Food and money are collected and distributed to area food banks on the third Sunday of every month.
Annual Yard Sale: Parishioner and friends donations of good used clothing and household items are sold at very reasonable prices every year in the local in the area. Leftover goods are donated to Goodwill Industries. Proceeds are further returned to the community by donations to St. Paul’s United Methodist Food Pantry and other worthwhile charities.
Christmas Project: Gifts and food baskets are supplied to needy families in the area.
Other Collections: Examples include the Christian Children’s Fund, distribution of toiletries to Veterans, and special disaster relief.
Recreational Activities: Examples includes St. Mark’s Softball Team, our yearly service held in one of our local park facilities, Family Games Night, and various after-church festivities highlight St. Mark’s activities.
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Some previous St. Mark’s Outreach Activities…
(The above two article were from the October/November 2013 Interchange.)
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