Outreach 2013 Review

Kokomo, IN disaster relief

The St. Alphonsus Parish Outreach Committee is made up of various subgroups that help target areas of need in our community and across the globe. Volunteers help inform and connect the parish to reach out (or in) and serve others with love and charity.

Ever wonder how our gifts offered are blessed? Here is a brief report from the Outreach Committee about some of the charitable work our parish offered in 2013.

National/International Disaster Relief - The Outreach Committee formulated a Disaster Relief Policy to guide outreach efforts when national and international disasters strike. The policy included placing envelopes in the pews for donations in lieu of second collections. Donations are sent to Catholic Relief Services (for international help) and Catholic Charities (for domestic help).

Since the policy was instituted the parish raised $5,652 for disaster relief in the Philippines, and $4,470 for relief in West Texas.

Local Disaster Relief - After the November tornadoes hit Central Indiana, the Outreach Committee contacted Catholic Charities Local Response to ascertain the help needed. A few men from the parish joined two others from the Outreach Committee to help in Kokomo. Based on needs articulated by the local Catholic Charity representative, the Outreach Committee responded with gift cards to distribute.

$1,000 in Walmart gift cards were delivered prior to Thanksgiving to Local Catholic Charities.

St. Alphonsus Liguori Outreach Committee is now affiliated with Catholic Charities and a local response team is being assembled to assist with future local disasters.

Habitat for Humanity - Parishioner Tony Kaufmann was named the Habitat volunteer of the year for the state of Indiana. Tony reported that St. Alphonsus’ help and service included:

531 hours toward the construction of Habitat homes in Boone County
$10,100 in gifts
- $6,100 in gifts from parishioners
- $4,000 donated by the Knights of Columbus
Approximately $20,000 in donated materials.

St. Rita Parish

St. Rita Parish - The collection for the Needy Parish was designated to our sister parish of St. Rita in Indianapolis. The parish of St. Rita's has expressed their gratitude for our friendship over the years. Fr. Eusebius sent a letter in December thanking St. Alphonsus for its generosity. Several from the committee attended the African Mass, held the first Sunday in December.

$6,962 was given by St. Alphonsus families to support our sister parish’s needs.

Caring Center - Amelia and Ryan West began coordinating this ministry in 2013. Erin Leonard, who chaired the ministry for many years, assisted in the transition. Four food collections, (also known as the "Black Bag Food Drives"), were held during the course of the year. Steve and Diane Michael, as well as Mark and Jennifer Whitlock, supported coordinating efforts, by facilitating two collections per year.

Parishioners of St. Alphonsus donated 10,162 pounds of food last year (value of approximately $20,100).

Hunger Symposium - Members of the Outreach Committee assisted with the Hunger Symposium held at the Boone County Fairgrounds on April 23, 2013.

Birthday Boxes - Also in April, the Shay family coordinated the Birthday Boxes program, which is a First Communion Service Project. Religious Education classes collect cake mix, icing, candles, party favors, plates, cups and napkins – everything for a birthday party – into a special box. The finished birthday treats are then collected and taken to the Caring Center for families.

Thanksgiving Turkeys & Scouts – The parish helped to supply 40 turkeys to the Caring Center for families to enjoy as part of their holiday dinner. Thanks to the assistance from parish Boy Scouts, the turkeys were delivered to the center the week before Thanksgiving.

Giving Tree – Volunteers delivered two vans loaded with gifts to the Caring Center. Included were several new bicycles and gift cards. The generosity of the Parish was very inspiring.

The Giving Tree allowed 139 children to shop (or 85 families) for gifts at Christmas.

FunPacs - Brian & Laura Graefritz coordinated the FunPacs this year. FunPacs are packages created to promote quality for families. Items collected include games and movies along with fun snacks such as popcorn.

75 FunPacs were assembled and delivered to the Caring Center this Christmas.

In-Reach – This is a new program whereby parishioners help parishioners. This year efforts have taken the form of meals, window washing, and snow removal.

Haiti – Over the course of 2013 the parish paid the salary for eight teachers, two dispensary workers, and two Gift of Water technicians to serve families in Haiti for a total monthly contribution of $1,200. The Committee also participated in a Tufts Study, which entailed providing 200 Gift of Water units and supporting an additional technician for part of 2013.

A medical mission traveled to Croix Fer in March - The mission saw 1,300 in three and one-half days. The Haiti Committee provided medications at the clinic in the church and left large quantities of medications for distribution by dispensary workers. The medical mission saw dental patients, distributed hats and sunglasses, and generally educated the village about health care during its stay.

In the Spring - Father Nova's truck needed unexpected repairs. The new tires, shock absorber and air conditioner repair exceeded the money in the Haiti budget. The Outreach Committee authorized $1,000 of its funds to go towards the repairs.

In the Summer - The Haiti Committee learned that Fr. Nova was assigned a new parish, nearer where he teaches. Fr. Ronald Gauthier is the new pastor.

On October 12 and 13 - A Haiti Festival was held after masses, with food, music, and GOW and items brought back from Haiti being sold.

Gift of Water - Recognizing that clean water is essential to the health of the parishioners of St. Anthony's, the Outreach Committee established a Gift of Water initiative whereby people may purchase a Water Purification Unit in lieu of a gift or as a memorial contribution at a death. This has proved to be a very successful program; between May and December of this year, a total of $9,886 was raised for purification units and technicians for St. Anthony.

Texas Poker Night - The Outreach Committee assisted with the Texas Poker night by providing volunteers. The event netted $760 for charity. 37 players participated. The charities that will benefit were: Caring Center, Haiti, and Catholic Radio.