Outreach
Outreach Mission Statement
The members of Trinity Church are committed to Outreach, a committee that reaches out beyond our parish to serve the needs of others locally and globally. We support a diverse group of programs through monetary donations and the time and talent of our parishioners. Our Outreach Committee is made up of parishioners that meet monthly to discuss ideas and opportunities to support programs by raising funds, coordinating collections and working with various organizations that reach those in need. Organizations that we support are:
Center for Food Action
The CFA in Mahwah provides emergency food, homelessness prevention and utility assistance to tens of thousands of individuals and families living in Northern NJ. The Center distributes, throughout the year, food packages to local families and individuals consisting of seven day’s-worth of food. The amount of food a household receives is based on family size. On average, an emergency food package consists of 6 bags of groceries. As needed, CFA clients can come for food packages up to 12 times a year.
Trinity Outreach contributes basic “staples” as well as Thanksgiving Meals and Back to School supplies for families in need. Our dollar donations, coupled with many others, enable the CFA to help hundreds of households with other basic needs such as; rent, security deposits, utility & heating bills and miscellaneous assistance.
St. Paul's Shelter/CDC
The Emergency Men's Shelter at St. Paul’s Church in Paterson provides emergency housing, clothing and food to as many as 30 homeless men per night. The Shelter relies on volunteer support from area churches (some 200+ volunteers) per year that bring prepared food and serve hot meals each night.
The Shelter staff works to make each resident's stay as brief and helpful as possible by providing referrals for housing, employment, mental health and rehabilitation services. As a condition of staying in the Shelter, all residents must participate in day programs to help them treat their addictions, address their educational needs or find work.
It is the ultimate goal of the SPCDC Emergency Men's Shelter to work with clients to identify the root causes of their homeless condition and through collaboration, to give the residents a sense of control over their own futures, consequently, being more likely to take responsibility for their own goals.
As part of Trinity’s Outreach Ministry, parishioners provide dinner for the men at the St. Paul’s Shelter on the third Thursday of every month. We cook, deliver and serve the meal for a varying number of men, usually about 30. The cooking is done at home or in the church kitchen.
Mitten Tree
Trinity parishioners have created a Mitten Tree in the narthex during Advent, festooning the limbs of the tree with sets of mittens, gloves, hats and scarves for the folks at St. Paul’s CDC, making their winter experience a better, warmer one.
Outreach delivers the mittens to St. Paul’s just before the coldest days of winter arrive in January every year. This project is a gift of pure love for our brothers and sisters at St. Paul’s CDC.
“Souper” Bowl of Caring
The Souper Bowl of Caring is a national movement of caring! The mission is to use the energy of the “Super Bowl” to collect dollars and cans of soup for a charity of your choice. Trinity Outreach chose the Center for Food Action as our charity.
Our total dollar amount and total cans of soup collected is reported during the game and becomes part of the national total. This has always been a well received collection for our Outreach Program
Alleluia Fund for Outreach
North Porch
Our diocese celebrates and shares God’s abundance with gifts to the Alleluia Fund for Outreach. Together, our Episcopal Charity transforms lives, both near and far.
Key areas of support include food pantries, after school programs, shelters for those most vulnerable and critically needed international programs; all are vital ministries of the Alleluia Fund. Through this fund, Trinity’s gifts have a direct and immediate impact.
North Porch fills the gap in emergency situations when needy families are displaced or have shortfalls in their budget by providing diapers, formula, baby food, wipes and toiletry items - critical supplies for babies and toddlers in need.
A 501(c)3 non-profit organization, North Porch was incorporated in 1984 in Newark, New Jersey by the Episcopal Church Women of the Diocese of Newark. Its Women and Infants’ Centers provide emergency aid, in the form of baby supplies, to mothers and infants in northern New Jersey, to help them stabilize and improve the quality of their lives.
At centers in Newark, Dover and Hackettstown, clients are referred by social service agencies and religious organizations. They are able to visit up to four times a year and at each visit receive one week’s supply of diapers, wipes, formula, baby food and toiletries. In northern NJ, the Cathedral House center in Newark serves clients 3 days a week. In Dover, the center operates out of St. John’s Episcopal Church.
Mustard Seed Academy
Founded by former parishioners, Elaine and Joe Griswold, and current parishioners, Kathryn and Dana Hiscock, Real Partners Uganda (RPU) is a registered 501c3 non-profit charity. RPU supports Tree of Life Ministries, a Ugandan Charity that operates Mustard Seed Academy, which educates and cares for orphans and vulnerable children in Lukaya, Uganda. There are now more than 650 children at Mustard Seed School, including 3 years of nursery, 7 years of primary, 4 years of secondary, and two years of Career Opportunity Pathway.
The school is unique in offering comprehensive care for children in addition to a first rate education. The kids are fed, clothed, given medical care and supervised by loving adults--all things in short supply where they live in the impoverished town of Lukaya. Some whose families have fallen apart or who are vulnerable board full time. Needs are infinite.
The impact is amazing: Since the school’s first government Primary 7 exam 6 years ago, all our students passed and were eligible for secondary school.
In our first group of secondary students who were eligible for A levels (two more years of secondary school), all finished and received government scholarships to university and one scored the highest in all of Uganda. Other Mustard Seed Graduates are pursuing careers as teachers, lab technicians, nurses, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, tailors, mechanics etc.
RPU and its Ugandan partners are working actively to establish a self-sustainable learning community, and to address the root causes of poverty in East Africa. This coming year, 2020, the leadership, teachers and students of Mustard Seed will participate in the Teach a Man to Fish Program.
Trinity Outreach funding has long supported the school and students, and this year will sponsor five young students at Mustard Seed. In addition, parishioners sponsor their own students. At Christmas, Outreach sponsors a Holiday Meal program to help fund meals for children who leave school for the December break and return to homes deep in the village where sometimes there is not enough food for even one meal a day.
Tails of Hope Foundation
Allendale Fire & Ambulance
Tails of Hope Foundation works to provide Military Working Dogs (MWDs) and their military handlers the extra supplies that are crucial for the care of these working dogs that have been used to support the military since 1812.
These “4-legged soldiers” are highly trained and have 250 million scent receptors that are capable of detecting explosives that a soldier would not see. It is believed that over 10,000 lives were saved in Vietnam alone due to the MWDs.
As with many organizations, budgets have been cut and therefore the protective gear for extreme heat and cold as well as bullet-proof vests with cameras to provide the soldier sight from afar or underground are often not provided for these working dogs. Tails of Hope Foundation supports the military working dogs and their handlers, as well as veterans and their families.
Tails of Hope also sends care packages directly to American military men and women overseas. Working with this organization will enable us to be part of this ministry that extends care for working animals.
Prison Ministry
Trinity Church celebrates its connection to Allendale’s emergency volunteers by holding an annual Holy Eucharist service of recognition, appreciation and support for these volunteers and professionals.
The Allendale Volunteer Fire Department is always seeking members. Men and women who are experienced or even brand new to the job will be welcome. AVFD members are exposed to many different emergency and non-emergency situations, including structure fires, motor vehicle crashes, technical rescue situations, and mutual aid alarms. Joining the department is a great way to support Allendale and even prepare for a paid career in fire service.
Allendale Volunteer Ambulance Corps provides pre-hospital emergency medical care to the Allendale and Saddle River communities 24/7/365 on a volunteer basis. Ambulance Corps services are always free with no cost to the patient and no insurance billing. The Corps depends upon the generosity and good will of community members to support the organization's financial needs.
Fully trained volunteer EMS professionals who take training designed to prepare them for any and all emergencies, Corps volunteers are members of the EMS Council of New Jersey and the Northwest Bergen Emergency Medical Service Association.
The Prison Ministry of the Diocese of Newark is motivated by the Gospel imperative “I was in prison and you visited me.” We visit Christ when we help the incarcerated, the children of the incarcerated, their families, and our communities. The Ministry advocates for restorative justice, interfaith programs, and personal healing for prisoners, their families, and communities.
Trinity helps make the holidays brighter by collecting Christmas gifts for children whose parents are incarcerated. The gifts are then given by the parent to the child at men and women’s units parties.
Covenant House
Since 1989, Covenant House of New Jersey has provided food, shelter, immediate crisis care and other important services to homeless, runaway and trafficked youth between the ages of 18-21. There are 30 Covenant House locations in the US, Canada and Latin America. Covenant House is the largest privately funded agency in America. At the Newark crisis center, there are 186 beds and over 4,000 youth are served every year. Young people are welcomed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, no questions asked. They are provided a safe haven where they can live while they resolve the issues that have blocked their way and work on a plan to transition to a stable living environment and advance their life goals.
From the crisis center, the youth are transitioned into independent adulthood, free from the risk of future homelessness. Services include healthcare, educational support, job readiness, skills training, drug abuse treatment and preventative programs, legal advice and mother-child programs.
Outreach at Trinity church supports this mission with contributions and several members of the church have participated in the Women Unite Sleep Out to raise funds to help Covenant House Newark operate and bring awareness of the homeless youth to our community.
GRAMM
Growing Relationships and Making Memories (G.R.A.M.M.) is a volunteer nursing home outreach program dedicated to forming relationships with socially isolated residents of nursing homes. Many nursing home residents have no visitors. Similar to the Big Brother/Big Sister philosophy, GRAMM builds individual relationships through activities such as playing games, reading, sharing stories, reading and more.
Although the Government can supply some medical expenses, the simple pleasures in life are often not met. Many of the elderly are in need of clothes, food, hair cuts, flowers for special occasions, holiday gifts, etc. GRAMM provides these funds for those in need.
Outreach Committee Members
Paralee Restivo – Outreach Chairperson
Donna Speizer – Cooking Ministry Coordinator
Nancy Schneberger
Shane Walters
Mimi Brauch
Priscilla Henry
Jane Sheehan
Janet Zacco
Mary Ann Pearson
Elie Dallal
Karen Roy
Deborah Brown