St. Andrew's makes $5000 in outreach grants

The Vestry earmarked $10,000 of St. Andrew’s 2019 budget for outreach. The Outreach Team has approved the following grants from those funds, totaling $5,000. The remainder of the funds will be granted by the Outreach Team in the fall.

$500 to Foodbank of VA Peninsula - Established in 1986, the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank has been the leading hunger relief organization across the greater Peninsula region, serving the 1 in 7 Virginians who struggle with hunger in the cities of Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, and Williamsburg, and the counties of Gloucester, James City, Mathews, Surry, and York. St. Andrew’s donation will potentially directed toward summer food service program. The summer food service program is designed to fill the nutrition gap and make sure children can get the nutritious meals they need while school is out.

$500 to GraceInside – GraceInside is Virginia’s prison chaplain service. Their mission is to provide full-time chaplains in all of Virginia’s state adult and juvenile prison facilities. St. Andrew’s donation has been designated for Nottoway Correctional Facility.

$500 to Hilton Community Playgroup – The Hilton Community Playgroup meets in our building every Tuesday and Wednesday morning, providing games and art and learning for our youngest neighbors.  Brad leads songs for the children with his guitar, and Lorna visits regularly to get to know the children and the parents. 

$500 to Holy Cross Anglican School, Belize - Francis and Vernon, two missionaries from St. Andrew’s, founded Holy Cross School in 2006. They saw the incredible need for a new school in San Pedro – the existing schools were full and then some – and, unlike many who would have just felt sad about the need, they did something about it. The school educates over 450 students from preschool to 8th grade.

$500 to Episcopal Annual Appeal – This donation to the Annual Appeal of The Episcopal Church will help support the many ways in which we, together as The Episcopal Church, witness to the loving, liberating, and life-giving way of Jesus Christ.

$500 to Together Again/Juntos de Nuevo Cuba Pensions Campaign of the Episcopal Church – The 2018 General Convention of The Episcopal Church voted to restore the relationship of the Episcopal Church and La Iglesia Episcopal de Cuba (the Diocese of Cuba, a missionary diocese, was ejected from the Episcopal Church in 1966). The immediate goal of this fund is to help provide for the pensions of clergy serving in Cuba. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry invites us to think beyond this – “This is part of the work of reconciliation, bringing us together across historic divides. This is not just fundraising, it’s following Jesus and finding our way back to each other.”  

$1,000 to Rector's Discretionary Fund - The primary use of discretionary funds is to assist the poor of the congregation and the larger community.  Discretionary Funds have been in use within the Episcopal Church for decades if not centuries, yet the Canons of the Church do not mention Discretionary Funds by name. The basis for discretionary funds apparently comes from Title III, Canon 14(f) first approved in 1814 which provides for a special offering for the poor to be administered by a member of the clergy as Almoner, the person charged with giving alms to the poor.

$1,000 to Newport Harbour Neighborhood Network Community Center – The center provides support and services to families and children in the Newport Harbour neighborhood of Southeast Newport News, including afterschool tutoring, food assistance, and recreational activities.