Sacred Heart Parish Outreach: Community members helping one another

I want to thank each and every one of you for the amazing response to our Ash Wednesday collection for Parish Outreach. You were so generous, and together you raised more than $4,000 for our ministries. I am blown away every time by the generosity of this parish. You all must know of my deep gratitude for your support. Thank you.

Parish Outreach Center

With the weather warming up, I feel a sense of hope and excitement. Here is what Parish Outreach has been up to this spring:

We have some exciting news to share about the SonShine Boutique and Our Mother’s Cupboard. Both ministries will be moving from the Chapel on Stage Road to the convent behind Sacred Heart Church, where the Food Pantry is.

In fact, the convent will soon be known as the Sacred Heart Parish Outreach Center.

‘One stop shop’

It is our hope that the Center will be a “one stop shop” for many needs in our community— food, clothing, housewares, furniture and spiritual and emotional support. Keep your eyes open for information on how to support the Boutique at the new location.

Kathy Terwilliger and Mike Beeler have been heading the renovation efforts of the convent. Their hard work and eye for detail is inspiring. We are so grateful to all of our Boutique and Mother’s Cupboard volunteers for their willingness to help every week in these beautiful ministries.

Furniture

This past year, the St. Mother Teresa Furniture Program made 130 deliveries of gently used furniture. A house is not a home without furniture. The St. Mother Teresa Furniture Program makes happy homes possible. We are so grateful to Nancy Seliga for her tireless dedication as administrator. The program would not be possible without her care, as well as the hard work of Andy Calvano, Paul Drumgoole, Anthony Spagna, Jim Banville, and members of the Men’s group who often give up their weekends and free time to deliver furniture to those in need and pick up new donations.

The past year saw more than furniture being delivered. Whenever requested and wherever possible, we also delivered dishes, silverware, glasses, pots, pans, towels, linens, comforters of all sizes, clothing, and food. Thank you to all of you who offer to donate your furniture to the program. We are still in need of able-bodied volunteers to keep the program going.

I would like to share an upcoming goal for the Furniture Program. Currently, we pay monthly rental fees to keep the donated furniture in storage units until being moved into a new home. As you can imagine, these fees add up quickly. We are hoping to get past the need for rentals by purchasing our own shed. If you know of any recommendations for affordable sheds, please email us at parishoutreach@sacredh.... Or perhaps you might be interested in sponsoring the Furniture Program with a donation? We would be grateful for any advice as we take this next step.

Housing insecurity in our community

Parish Outreach continues to aid with housing insecurity in our community. Over the winter season, several Sacred Heart parishioners gave generous donations that were specified to go to rent assistance. With these donations, we were able to assist six families with making their rent as they went through challenging times brought on by illness or unemployment.

I want to say a special thank you to Bernadette Munzelle and her family, who worked with Parish Outreach and graciously opened their home to a recently widowed woman in need of a new place to live. We are inspired at the compassion and generosity of Bernadette and her family.

I am humbled to serve with so many faithful, generous people in this community. Let’s keep working hard and praying for one another.

Sincerely,

Kimberly Gutman

Sacred Heart Parish Outreach