All Saints
Episcopal Church
Outreach
All Saints Episcopal Church Outreach Ministries
Lisa Ghessie, Chair
Angel Tree (Contact: Faith Hahn)
Partners with the local middle school and high school to provide at-risk middle school and high school students with supplies critical to their attendance at school. Cards identifying requested gifts will be displayed at church and posted on a wishlist on our website beginning November 14 with gifts due back to the church by December 6 for distribution to the students prior to Christmas. Volunteers will be needed for the display of cards, the collection of gifts, and delivery of the gifts to the two schools.
Blood Drives (Contact: Carol Horowitz)
Blood drives are held on-site via a bloodmobile multiple times each year. Volunteers help by providing on-site support.
Family Promise (Contact: Joyce Emmett)
Family Promise is a non-profit organization that addresses the needs of families transitioning out of homelessness. All Saints is one of many area congregations that opens their doors to provide as many as 15 adults and children with a warm welcome, food and shelter, on-site, for up to four weeks annually. During COVID, families have been sheltered in a local hotel. All Saints members currently support Family Promise by purchasing/donating cash as well as Food Lion gift cards. We hope to host families on-site once again some time in 2022.
Feed My Sheep [Contacts: Pam Cooper (Sandalwood), Barbara Read (Grateful Hearts)]
Throughout the pandemic, we’ve focused our donations on Sandalwood Community Food Pantry at Queen Chapel AME Church and The Grateful Hearts Soup Kitchen operating near Holy Family Catholic Church. Requested food and/or personal care items are announced in the eBlast each week. Red wagons in the narthex for Sunday services and in Gordon Mann Hall for Sat@5 and two bins outside the office doors serve as All Saints collection points for the food donations for Sandalwood and Grateful Hearts. Volunteers are needed to provide/donate food to the church, to deliver food items to both food pantry sites, and/or to assist with lunch preparation at Grateful Hearts.
Garden Tour (Contact: Barbara Peterson)
The All Saints Garden Tour was the first All Saints Outreach effort, and remains the largest in terms of funds raised for the needy. Held the third Saturday of each May, the event features a tour of several beautiful gardens in the Hilton Head area, lunch at the church, a boutique, an auction of original artwork, and the sale of handcrafted wares and homemade baked goods. This is a huge effort raising approximately $30,000 per year and requiring help from most of the parishioners and friends of All Saints. All net proceeds go to local charities supporting hunger, homelessness, aging, and literacy needs.
International Missions
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Tumaini Fund (Contact: Doug Burke) A ministry founded to support the HIV/AIDS widows and orphans in north-west Tanzania towards independent existence by improving standards of living and promoting health and education.
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Dominican Medical Mission (Contact: Judy Cote)
Internet Access/Technology for Students (Contact: Joyce Emmett)
Through a “Beloved Community“ grant from The Episcopal Church and donations from parishioners All Saints provided and continues to provide internet access and technology support to at-risk students during the pandemic.
MLK Committee for Social Justice (Contact: Jenifer Gajdalo)
The HHI MLK Committee for Social Justice sponsors an ecumenical, community-wide five days of events in mid-January to promote racial reconciliation in recognition of the work and ministry of Martin Luther King. All Saints participates on the committee, takes part in a walk and other activities to raise awareness and has also provided breakfast for the Saturday service project volunteers. In addition, the MLKCJS works to address social justice issues in our community throughout the calendar year. Recently, a Covid vaccination clinic was organized and held in September at the HHI Boys and Girls Club. Another is planned in November at the Bluffton Boys and Girls Club. Volunteers are always appreciated as events are announced.
Pop Top Collection (Contact: Patti Soltys)
Pop Tops are collected by parishioners to support the Savannah Ronald McDonald House. The donated pop tops are sold by the Ronald McDonald House organization for scrap metal and the funds raised help pay for facility utilities. Collection bins are attached to the red wagons in the narthex and Gordon Mann Hall.
Social Justice Committee (Contacts: Sherm Barker, Caroline McVitty)
The mission of the ASEC SJC is to educate and inspire the congregation to increased awareness of human need and the unjust distribution of resources in our society, and to increased action to meet those needs through (1) affirmative action, (2) the development of programs to help address such needs and injustices, (3) partnering with likeminded people and organizations, and (4) giving voice to the marginalized in our community. Currently, the SJC is sponsoring a monthly Lunch & Learn zoom series and a Lenten prayer vigil, and will be supporting 2022 MLK week programs.
Women in Philanthropy Fall Sock Drive (Elizabeth Loda)
Women in Philanthropy, a women’s giving circle and a Fund of Community Foundation, is currently holding its second annual sock drive for those in need. Socks of all colors and sizes, for adults and children, are collected during the month of October for distribution during the Thanksgiving season.