St. Michael’s Outreach Supports Our Neighbors and Provides Emergency Relief
November 1, 2021: St. Michael’s Outreach Committee met in October and unanimously voted to disburse $13,000 in Outreach funds to meet these priorities—serving the needs of our neighbors who have food insecurity; housing insecurity and supportive services; meeting the needs of our most vulnerable populations, and for disaster/emergency assistance. Donations of $2,000 each will go these current community partners: AFAC (Arlington Food Assistance Center); APAH (Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing); Doorways for Women and Families, and PathForward (formerly A-SPAN or Arlington Street Peoples Assistance Network). The Committee had previously disbursed $1,000 to each nonprofit. In addition, the Committee, voted to donate $5,000 to support disaster assistance—$2,500 each to Lutheran Social Services for Afghan refugee relief and resettlement and to Episcopal Relief and Development for Haitian disaster relief. The Committee will have additional funds from the Mission Spend plan to disburse at year-end which can also be carried over to the following year.
Two new volunteer activities were also approved. Todd Trapp agreed to serve as our liaison to the Arlington Addiction Recovery Initiative and will publicize volunteer opportunities to raise awareness about substance addiction, treatment and recovery. Fran Houston will serve as liaison for the Hoffman-Boston Elementary School Read-to program. The Outreach Committee is committed to meeting the needs of our neighbors and being responsive to church members. We are working on a way to identify priorities and partners in the coming year.