As the name implies, outreach means reaching out to people beyond our walls. Who are they? They are the poor, the sick, the dying, the homeless, and victims of disaster and oppression. Our contributions can and do make a tremendous difference in other people's lives.

Why practice outreach? We do it to bring comfort and healing in the spirit of Christ and to live out our faith through our work. Outreach is very important to us. It provides abundant opportunities for us to make ourselves available to others and we devote significant portions of our financial resources and volunteer time to outreach projects.

Each year a sizable portion of St. Anselm's operating budget is set aside for charity. The agencies to be funded and the amount each is to receive is decided by a vote of the entire parish. The largest awards are made to the highest-rated charities. Since 2000, we have given ten percent of our budget to 18 to 20 agencies working mostly in Contra Costa County, including:

Animal Rescue Foundation
Bay Area Crisis Nursery
Berkeley Canterbury Foundation
Child Abuse Prevention Council
Contra Costa Crisis Center
Contra Costa Food Bank
Family Stress Center
Fresh Start
Friends Outside in Contra Costa County
Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County
Loaves and Fishes
Habitat for Humanity East Bay
Rainbow Community Center
Senior Helpline
Shelter, Inc.
VESTIA (Volunteer and Emergency Services)
Community Violence Solutions
Project Second Chance
School for Deacons
Youth Homes

Other outreach projects are not funded by our operating budget, but by spontaneous giving by parishioners who feel the cause to serve. Our gifts take many forms -- money, labor, time and talent. With informal projects, we take much of the responsibility for delivering services and/or fund-raising. Although we work cooperatively with the umbrella agencies that sponsor the programs, we do most of the work. Some of these projects are listed below.

Homeless Outreach

St. Anselm's and other Contra Costa churches provide food and shelter for homeless families (approximately thirty people) when the weather turns cold. The families move from church to church for stays of about one week at each church. We provide home-cooked meals, warm and comfortable places to sleep, and supportive activities for the children. The program works! Several of our families have saved enough money to move into permanent living quarters.

Adopt-a-Family

We provide Christmas gifts for some of Contra Costa County's neediest families through the Adopt-a-Family program. A parishioner "adopts" a family member by buying gifts on a family member's wish list. The gifts range from practical (warm clothing) to fantastical (mountain bikes). In the past five years we have helped over one hundred and fifty adults and children celebrate a Christmas they had only dreamed about. A stream of thank-you notes shows our efforts do make a difference.

Heifer Project

We provide farm animals, such as cows, pigs, and sheep, for impoverished families in developing nations through Heifer Project International (HPI). The families use the animals or animal products (meat, milk or wool) for their own needs or as a supplement to the family income. The family agrees to pass any offspring on to other needy families in the community. Like a stone dropped in still water, these gifts ripple out for years to come.

Shelter Meals

One week a year, members of the parish prepare and serve dinners at the North Concord Shelter for the homeless. The residents greatly appreciate the meals, and show their enthusiasm in a variety of ways such as compliments to the chefs, requests for seconds, and applause after dessert.

International Education

For he past two years St. Anselms has helped to fund the education of Izaru Richard Benson (Ben), a young man met by one of our parishioners traveling in Uganda and Sudan in 2008.  Ben is very bright and aspires to a university education. But he and his family are very poor and he couldn't afford one.

In Spring, 2009, we began to raise funds to help Ben attend Makerere University, Uganda's premier institution of higher learning. In a few short months, the fund was sufficient to finance Ben's first academic year. St. Anselm's parishioners contributed about 85% of the money needed.  Since then we have helped fund Ben's second academic year.  We will continue to support him until he graduates.  For more information about Ben and what he is doing with his life, click here.

 

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