Putting our faith and love into action, serving our neighbors near and far
The work of Outreach is truly the work of the whole congregation. These ministries are supported by the church general fund money, individual donations, fundraising events, and your contribution of time, talent, and treasure. Funds raised for the Compassion Fund go directly to these ministries, putting action to our call to help those in need. There are many opportunities to participate in hands-on ministry and the Outreach Committee welcomes all who wish to participate.
The Outreach Committee meets the first Wednesday of each month (except July) at 7:00pm in the parlor. We are always seeking new members and invite you to attend a meeting to learn more.
For more information please contact:
Gail Calabrese – gailcalabrese@verizon.net or Sharon Holcombe, sholcombe2020@gmail.com
Blood Drives
The church holds two blood drives for Inova Blood Donor Services each year to help provide a safe and adequate blood supply for the community. The Inova mobile blood van comes to the church parking lot. Inova supplies blood to about 15 local hospitals and medical centers.
Episcopal Relief & Development
Outreach makes an annual contribution to ERD to aid the Episcopal response to world crises as well as the support of development in many countries.
Faith, Hope, and Joy Episcopal School, Honduras
Through the church sponsorship program, parishioners have sponsored 16 needy children in the Episcopal grade school at the Faith, Hope and Joy community in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
Fairfax FISH
Fairfax FISH (For Immediate Sympathetic Help) is an ecumenical outreach program comprised of 14 local area churches, including Good Shepherd. FISH works through the Fairfax County Office of Coordinated Services to assist persons who are in temporary need of food, medicine, or financial aid. This is an effort to help them remain self-sufficient. We also provide direct financial support to FISH.
Food4Thought
In support of food insecure students and families of Little Run Elementary School, Good Shepherd supplies approximately 39 bags of food for one weekend every other month school is in session. Various ministry groups in the church participate in this.
Feed a Family for Thanksgiving
Every Thanksgiving, we provide a turkey and food basket sufficient for a complete holiday meal to local families in need. In 2020, with pandemic restrictions, we updated this to provide a bag filled with a turkey, pie, and $50 grocery gift card. Our 2020 record breaking Feed a Family ministry served 333 families. This ministry involves parishioners of all ages, who do food shopping, assembly, loading and delivery.
School Supply Drive
Christmas Boxes
Christmas is a time when we share our many blessings with others, and Good Shepherd parishioners generously contribute 100 or more wrapped boxes full of Christmas gifts for needy children each year. Local service agencies Britepaths in Fairfax and Jubilee Housing in Washington, D.C. each provide us names and wish lists from their neediest children. Our families choose a name, then shop and prepare a wrapped Christmas box for that child. Our Preschool families provide homemade Christmas cookies to add to each box. The Knit & Purl ministry contributes knitted hats, gloves and scarves. This Outreach ministry involves our families and children in the joy of giving!
Food Collections
Good Shepherd typically carries out two “fill a bag” food drives each year to help supply local food banks. In 2020, our Summer and Fall contactless “Pack the Pickup” food drives yielded over 1463 pounds of groceries delivered to Food for Others. Our February 2020 drive was designated for the George Mason Patriot Pantry. We collected 776 pounds of food and toiletries to help GMU students who experience food and/or housing insecurities.
United Thank Offering (UTO)
UTO invites people to offer daily prayers of thanksgiving, then give tangible thanks for their blessings by donation. Our annual UTO gift is combined with those of other churches and used for grants to support the mission and ministry of the Episcopal Church throughout the world.
FACETS
FACETS reaches out to poor and homeless individuals and families with many services. Good Shepherd has five Hot Meals teams that cook and deliver meals 34 nights a year to about 100 FACETS clients per night. We conduct annual baby supplies and school supplies drives, and provide direct financial support to FACETS.
Grocery Gift Cards for Immediate Food Assistance
To address the immediate needs of people who come to the church asking for food, we provide $25 grocery cards on a one- time basis, along with information on food banks and Facets Hot Meals locations. Gift cards for gas purchases, an ongoing need, are also provided.