Community Outreach

St. Mary's has a long tradition of helping our neighbors in need. Some activities have included cooking and serving at Raphael House, helping renovate homes for the elderly and the Episcopal Charities walk-a-thon. Our outreach fundraiser allows us to provide grants to eligible organizations.

Grant request deadline is Friday, November 5, 2010 - click here for application

Part of the volunteer team at the San Francisco
Food Bank, April 10, 2010 - Steve White, Nancy Clothier, Pat Lusse and Marta Johnson.

Night Ministry Needs New Crisis Line Counselors - For over a decade very special St. Mary’s parishioners have served as Night Ministry crisis line counselors. Volunteers serve one evening or more each month answering calls from San Franciscans in need. The Night Ministry provides transportation for volunteers who require it. There also is abundant parking available. Before becoming a counselor, volunteers undergo extensive training, including presentations by psychologists, social workers, clergy, and law enforcement personnel, all expert in assisting San Franciscans with needs ranging from a sympathetic ear to referrals to social service agencies. Those interested please contact Br. Jude Hill at judehillssf@aol.com or by calling the Night Ministry at (415) 441‐0123. Messages left during daytime hours will be answered no later than the next day.

The Village Well - Looking for donations for Canon Barcus - Visit the Village Well website and click Outreach Wishlist to see what is needed and how to make the donation

Sandwiches for Seniors - Our parish community has launched a new outreach service in response to the funding cuts to Canon Kip Senior Center. Canon Kip is supported by Episcopal Community Services (ECS) and serves homeless and at risk seniors. As part of Canon Kip’s service, a hot meal is served daily at noon to any senior in their program. Funding cuts have forced ECS to close Canon Kip’s Sunday lunch service. Various parishes have taken on providing and serving bag lunches to close this gap. St.Mary’s is responsible for the 4th Sunday of each month.

This easy project takes only a few hours. It consists of adding a few extra groceries to your weekly basket at Costco or Safeway, setting up 60 brown bags, making 60 basic meat and cheese sandwiches, filling the bags with sandwiches, fruit and a cookie, and serving them on Sunday morning at Canon Kip House (8th and Natoma) to 60 grateful seniors who are living on the brink. They have open hearts, appreciative smiles and some great stories to share. If you are interested, please call Sheri or Michael Coholan at 415-921-3308 or email michael@hilltopllc.com

Raphael House: First Monday of the month - cooking starts at 3:00 PM and serving begins at 5:00 PM - To sign up, contact Marisa at 415-927-2716

SMV Outreach in Action - by John Walsham
St. Mary the Virgin’s outreach dollars help to support a number of worthwhile Bay Area charities. One of them, Bayview Mission has garnered media attention and is poised for expansion.

The Rev. Nina Pickerrell, a deacon at Grace Cathedral, founded the mission at her own home in 2004 to provide a community resource and safe haven for families and children in the tough Bayview/Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco.

Nina started the mission by inviting local children to come pick out their very own pumpkins from her pumpkin patch. Mutual trust grew from there and eventually her garage became a food pantry.

Now every Monday a team of volunteers distributes bags of groceries and other household staples to needy families.  An old garden room in the basement houses a children’s lending library and a selection of children’s books are often included in the food bags. 

In its early days the mission served about fifteen families each Monday. A recent count at the food pantry showed that 358 families were served including over eighty children and infants. Nina recently purchased the house next door and will be using that to expand the mission.

ABC News profiled Nina and Bayview Mission not long ago. The profile video can be viewed on http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/media?id=6191026

Community Outreach to Homebound Elders
Episcopal Senior Communities-Senior Resources has partnered with The San Francisco Ministry to Nursing Homes (Eldergivers) to match their volunteers with a homebound elder. In 1985, Rector Richard Fowler of St. Mary the Virgin founded this ministry to serve elders in nursing homes who were isolated from family and friends. Today Eldergivers focuses on bringing art teachers to those elders in assisted living and board and care facilities.
A compassionate presence in the life of one who is isolated and alone can truly make a difference toward meeting the social, emotional, and spiritual needs of the elders. A volunteer's presence and gift of time on a regular basis can have a major effect on an older person's well being.

Our volunteers receive extensive training in the psychosocial needs of elders, interpersonal and listening skills and ongoing support. If you know of an older adult who would benefit from this service, or if you would like to become a volunteer, please contact Josie McGann at 415 752-0139.

Requirements Volunteers participate in an all day training to familiarize themselves with the needs of elderly and to help diminish fears or reservations they have about visiting. Two visits per month are desirable, but most volunteers tend to do more than required.
E-mail or call for an application
jmcgann@jtm-esc.org or 415 752-0139

ESC has recently partnered with the Downtown Senior Center in the Tenderloin. One time or on-call volunteers are always needed especially on Saturdays. If interested, please call Kathleen Mayeda at 415 923-4488

TALK Line Telephone Crisis Counselors - the core of the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center's network of family support services - 24 hour crisis and counseling line for parents. For more information or to learn how you can volunteer, call Anita Moran at 415 387-2684 X325

Volunteer Child Caregivers - Childcare assistants in the Children's Playroom and at the Respite Center - observe, care for and play with some really great kids. For more information, call Jacky Bloom at 415 387-3684 x243

Canon Barcus Community House - They are in need of school supplies: backpacks, spiral notebooks, loose leaf paper, pens and pencils and small, handheld solar calculators.

Food for those in need - Now more than ever our community needs your donations of canned goods or dried foods, or foodstuffs appropriate for after school snacks for homeless kids.  Proceeds go to St. Gregory's Food Pantry where 2 tons of food are given away every Friday.  Volunteers are welcome anytime 1-6 p.m. to help distribute food.  If you can help in delivering these goods on Fridays around 1 PM, please call Mother Beth at 921-3665, ext. 314

Simple Gifts for Kids - Provides birthday gifts for children in need.  Please wrap an appropriate gift for a child ages 2 to 12.  Indicate the age of the which for which it is appropriate on the bottom of the gift and leave it in the narthex in the "Simple Gifts for Kids" box.  Some families are encouraging their children to donate a gift in the month of their birthday

Pastoral Care Team: If you can give assistance or know of someone who will need some extra care, please give us a call at St. Mary's office: 921-3665, ext. 362.

Disaster Relief 
Disaster relief contributions can be sent to: The Episcopal Relief and Development, PO Box 12043, Newark, NJ  07101. One hundred percent of your dollars go directly to those in need.  Designate on your check to which disaster you want your contribution applied. For more information on this organization, visit their website at www.er-d.org.

Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities for Individuals
Helping Homeless Families

---Raphael House  is an emergency shelter that serves homeless families in crisis and helps them regain stability. Casework, counseling, education, and a children's program all provide necessary ingredients for families to find and maintain permanent housing and to strengthen family bonds. Aftercare programs help families hold on to the gains that they made while in residence. 

Most positions are in the field of family service:

Children's Program volunteers coordinate arts and crafts projects, play games, tell stories, lead singing and facilitate numerous other activities. Daily in 3 shifts: 1) 7:30 AM to 11 AM; 2) 4 PM to 6 PM, 3) 6 PM to 8 PM.

After-School Tutorial volunteers help both current and former resident children with homework and in scholastic areas where they need additional attention. Tuesday through Thursday, 3 PM to 6 PM

Residential Service volunteers stock supplies and assist the shelter manager with routine responsibilities during the day and provide support for the orderly progress of evening activities, including maintaining supplies and assisting residents. Volunteer opportunities daily in 4 shifts: 1) 9 AM to Noon, 2) Noon to 4 PM, 3) 4 PM to 6 PM, and 4) 5:45 PM to 9:30 PM.

Activities volunteers conduct a variety of classes, including creative writing, cooking, computer skills, exercise, sewing, jewelry making and other crafts. Activity hours are 8:30 PM to 10:30 PM daily for residents, with volunteers coming once week. 

Additional positions are available in the kitchen and thrift store. There are also opportunities available for fundraising projects, administration, and special projects.

Requirements: Training is mandatory and is held in September, January, and May. Training consists of one or two five-hour sessions on consecutive Saturdays, depending on where you want to volunteer. Most volunteers work one shift, about three to five hours a week.

Information: Volunteer Coordinator, 1065 Sutter Street, 415-474-4621