The OutReach Commission:
The work of the OutReach Commission is based on a St. Andrew’s Core Value – Serving in God’s World. Through the Commission, parishioners find opportunities for service in their local communities and beyond through numerous volunteer and fundraising efforts.
Roles of the OutReach Commission
• Raise congregational awareness of, enthusiasm for and volunteer participation in OutReach ministries supported by St. Andrew’s Church.
• Develop and implement programs and projects to raise supplemental funds to support OutReach ministries.
• Provide grants to OutReach Ministries to serve Christ through the “least” of his brothers and sisters (Matthew 25:40), those typically on the margins of society – the hungry, the homeless, the sick, the suffering, those easily forgotten.
The current focus of the Outreach Commission service effort is threefold: the Episcopal Hunger Relief Network, St. Andrew’s mission work in Haiti and community-based “Done in a Day” volunteer projects.
St. Andrew’s – At Work in Your Community
One of our core values is “serving in God’s world,” but have you ever wondered what that looks like in our own backyard? Here’s a snapshot of our Outreach ministries here in Kansas City:
To learn more about our Outreach ministries, check out the big bulletin board in the coat rack hall.
Jesus’ brothers and sisters are all around us,
and we’re committed to serving them
– in Kansas City, in Haiti,
and wherever else God leads us.
Volunteer and Service Opportunities
The BackSnack Program
Parishioners fill backpacks with food for hungry students living just a few miles from the church. Last school year, we partnered with Blenheim Elementary, with parishioners giving more than 125 hours to stuff 4,000 packets of food. This year, our partner school will be Benjamin Banneker School, located at Gregory and Askew in east Kansas City. Our goal is to step up our commitment to “our kids” at Banneker through community gatherings and mentoring opportunities, as well as BackSnack.
Click here to view pictures from our September "Banneker Meet, Greet & Stuff" Day!
Done-in-a-Day Projects
Done-in-a Day Projects are enjoyable volunteer/service opportunities for St. Andrew’s parishioners that can be completed in less than a day.
So far this year, St. Andrew’s volunteers have stuffed seed packets at the Kansas City Community Gardens, joined other community organizations to paint Ladd Elementary School as part of the Hands of Hope project, and worked on a Habitat for Humanity house. On Sept. 18, we’ll volunteer at the Rose Brooks Center for battered women and children, sorting clothes for clients. For more information on that opportunity, contact Richard Moseley.
Episcopal Hunger Relief Network
The Kansas City Community Kitchen
The Kansas City Community Kitchen, located at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral in downtown Kansas City, offers a weekday hot-lunch program for the poor and homeless. It currently serves 500 meals a day. The kitchen receives government grants, as well as financial and in-kind donations. St. Andrew’s supports this important ministry by providing volunteers to serve clients every Friday as well as food items and grants.
More than 100 parishioners volunteer to serve clients at the Kansas City Community Kitchen. Every Friday, a team of six St. Andrew’s members feeds a hot lunch to about 400 people. To get involved, contact Brian Egbert.
Commissary for KCCK Clients
St. Andrew’s serves as the collection point for goods donated for KCCK clients by local businesses and organizations. Periodically, we set up a “commissary” during lunch at the KCCK, where clients can select from items such as socks, T-shirts, underwear, sunscreen, toiletries, toothbrushes and toothpaste. To get involved, contact Joy Krug or Julie Gilchrist.
Culinary Cornerstones Training Program
We award the Mary Ann Diehl Scholarship each year, a gift of $5,000 that supports a student through the Culinary Cornerstones job-training program at the KCCK.
St. Andrew’s Haiti Mission
St. Andrew's is a member of the Haitian Episcopal Learning Partnerships – HELP - an organization of ten Episcopal Churches in greater Kansas City dedicated to supporting education, health and nutrition, economic development and literacy in Haiti. St. Andrews’s specific Haitian focus is St. Augustine’s Church and School in Maniche, Haiti, as well as the Maison de Naissance Birthing Center.
St. Augustine’s Church and School, Maniche, Haiti
St. Andrew's Church is the sole benefactor of St. Augustine’s school, providing teachers’ salaries as well as school upkeep. The goals for the next few years are to continue to improve the standard of education, provide a safe environment in which to learn, and to look for opportunities to "leap frog" the education from a 19th century model to a 21st century model.
Maison de Naissance, Torbeck, Haiti
Healthy Mothers-Healthy Babies Program
Maison de Naissance is a maternity center designed as a birthing home. Its mission is to provide preferential care for mothers and babies in extreme poverty in Haiti. The Healthy Mothers-Healthy Babies program provides outstanding pregnancy and infant care for the villages.
Funding and Resource Development
For 2008-09, the St. Andrew’s Vestry resolved to allocate 4% of pledged income to OutReach efforts along with 10% of net proceeds from designated church fundraisers.
OutReach Fundraising Efforts
Advent Fundraiser for St. Augustine’s School in Haiti
Parishioners have the opportunity to “adopt” students at our partner school in Maniche, Haiti, and support the cost of their education for a year. Parishioners receive cards with photos of the students they support. (The cards make excellent Christmas gifts!) Other giving options include providing the cost of the school-lunch program one day per week or paying the annual salary for a teacher. Click here for more information.
Fools for Christ’s Sake Dinner
This annual April parish party is a major OutReach ministries fundraising event. The 2008 Fools for Christ Sake event included a concert and a gourmet Haitian dinner. Proceeds supported a new lunch program at St. Augustine’s School.
Grants and Donations
In 2008, the OutReach Commission supported the following organizations.
Kansas City Community Kitchen
Created the Mary Ann Diehl Scholarship for a student at Culinary Cornerstones (the Kitchen’s food service training program) in memory of Mary Ann’s dedication in promoting this ministry and leading the St. Andrew’s volunteer efforts at the Kitchen for many years.
Kansas City Community Kitchen
Provided ponchos, water bottles, socks, and various toiletries to clients. Gifts were partially funded through a grant from the parish OutRreach budget. OutReach also held an Advent OutReach program that provided holiday gift bags for clients served by the Kitchen (Link to Advent Project for Kansas City Community Kitchen see below)
St. Augustine’s School in Maniche, Haiti –
Provided a grant to help support the cost of a new roof and the floor of a second story on the school. We’re also providing books and school supplies for the students.
Maison de Naissance Birthing Center - St. Andrew’s supported the cost of educating a nurse midwife to serve at the birthing center. Note: Because that grant triggered a matching-grant, a second midwife will be trained as a result of the St. Andrew’s gift.
Special OutReach Opportunities
Advent Project for the Kansas City Community Kitchen
During Advent, parishioners donate items such as hats, socks, scarves and gloves to about 500 people served by the Kansas City Community Kitchen. Volunteers assemble gift bags, which are distributed the Friday before Christmas.
Spring Poncho Project
During the spring rainy season parisioners collect and donate ponchos and other personal items to Kansas City Community Kitchen clients.
JulieG6724@aol.com
Mission Trips
Haiti Mission Trip
Each winter or spring parishioners can join a week-long mission trip to Haiti where they work with the people of both the Maison de Naissance birthing center and St. Augustne’s School. Trips are usually led by Fr. John Spicer and include time daily for reflection and prayer.
Youth Mission Trips
Mission trips specifically for teens are also available. In 2008, Episcopal teens went to the Mississippi Gulf coast in June to help with the ongoing recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina - a great opportunity for young people to live out their faith, see a new part of the country and build new relationships.
