Service Friday Description

Our past project have at these placements:

Inspired by the compassion of Christ, "FAST" promotes healthier living and independence by providing interfaith, volunteer-based, non-medical support and caregiver services to individuals who are homebound, frail, elderly, disabled or afflicted with chronic illnesses in the Greater East St. Louis community. FAST seeks to ease loneliness and isolation.
We worked with Faith in Action in April 2008. They are really in need of volunteers and would love for us to come back!

Habitat for Humanity St. Louis works in partnership with people everywhere, from all walks of life. Its purpose is to develop communities with God's people in need by building houses so that there are decent houses in decent communities in which people can live and grow into all that God intended. Habitat is dedicated to eliminating substandard housing in St. Louis.
This is accomplished by a comprehensive program that helps families who are determined to proactively better their lives by investing time and effort into actually building, owning a home, and becoming a contributing member of the community.

Forest Park Forever

Forest Park Forever, a private, nonprofit organization, was founded in 1986 to work in partnership with the City of St. Louis and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry to make Forest Park a premier urban park. Over the past decade, more than $94 million has been invested in the restoration of this community treasure.
We volunteered with FPF in October 2007 and Spring 2007. We planted native MO plants around Post Dispatch Lake in October. In the spring, we pulled an invasive plant material in the Kennedy forest. In the fall they usually have planting projects. We loved working with them!

Gateway Greening is a nonprofit organization dedicated to community development through community gardening. Since 1984, Gateway Greening has helped transform neglected and abandoned lots in St. Louis into productive gardens and beautiful landscaped areas. Our mission is to provide resources and training to neighborhood groups who believe in their communities and want to reclaim them from urban decay.
CNC worked on their urban garden project called City Seeds in September 2006. City Seeds works in conjunction with St. Patrick Center, whose clients work through a job training program as they rehabilitate from addictions.
We also worked with Gateway Greening in Spring of 2008 with the Great Perennial Divide.

The mission of Guardian Angel Settlement Association is to serve the poor by helping them improve the quality of their lives and achieve economic independence. GASA operates a food pantry, developmental child care center, senior services, youth employment program, thrifty boutique, tutoring projects, and a Christmas program. GASA runs all these programs out of three different sites.
We volunteered with Hosea House in December 2006. We also worked with GASA in December 2007. In 2007, we helped set up tables for their Christmas store.
We also participated in “The Christmas Program” that they run. We usually receive a letter in the mail asking us to adopt a family or senior citizen at Christmas time; we participated in December 2007 and all the students seemed to really enjoy it.

There are more than 80,000 students in St. Louis who cannot afford basic school supplies like pencils, paper and crayons. "KidSmart—Tools for Learning" helps these children succeed in school by providing free school supplies through KidSmart’s Free Store.
Donations from individuals and businesses help keep the shelves of KidSmart’s Free Store stocked with everything from crayons, markers and glue to business surplus items such as binders, envelopes and promotional items.
Community volunteers stock the shelves, manage inventory and keep the free store running each shopping day. KidSmart distributes the supplies through teachers who shop at KidSmart’s Free Store once a month. After shopping, teachers distribute the materials directly into the hands of our kids in need. Schools where 70% or more of the children are on the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program, a national poverty index, qualify to shop at KidSmart.
In spring 2007, we helped distribute books to grade schools in the city in honor of Dr. Suess’ birthday. We read books to the kids and then chatted with them. We went to three schools total.
We have also participated in KidSmart’s “Gift of Heart” school supply drive in February in 2007 and 2008.

Since 1869, the Little Sisters of the Poor have served over 10,000 of St. Louis' needy elderly providing care, food and shelter in a homelike setting. Residents come to the Home with very limited financial resources and would be categorized in the poverty level. The Sisters welcome all into their home and ensure that all are provided with love, dignity and respect. The Residents' lives are enriched and respected in various distinct, loving housing environments.
We volunteered with the Little Sisters during Lent 2008. Each Wednesday night during Lent we would help serve dinner and provide companionship to the residents. Lectio Divina prayer was held after dinner.

Operation Food Search, a non-profit organization, distributes food free of charge to community agencies to help feed hungry individuals, families and children. In helping to alleviate hunger, OFS also increases awareness on issues of hunger and works to eliminate waste in the bi-state region.
We volunteered with OFS in December 2005. We helped organize coats from their Warner’s Winter Warm-up coat drive. OFS usually has warehouse work – organizing canned goods, packing boxes, helping with food distribution. They have lots of volunteer groups so they are able to handle small and large groups.

Our Lady's Inn is an emergency shelter for pregnant women in crisis. Founded on January 22, 1982, Our Lady's Inn provides pregnant women and their children shelter and hope for a new life through humble acts of love.
We worked with Our Lady’s Inn in September 2007. We actually worked with the Defiance (St. Louis) location cleaning rooms for new mothers and children, and organizing supplies and clothes.

Rake-a-thon

This has been our service project in November (2006 and 2007) where we supply the people, rakes, lawn bags, to rake the lawns of St. Ann parishioners who need assistance.

St. Patrick Center

St. Patrick Center provides opportunities for self-sufficiency and dignity to persons who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Individuals achieve permanent, positive changes in their lives through affordable housing, sound mental health, employment and financial stability.
We worked with St. Patrick Center in spring 2006 for Alternative Spring Break projects.