When the Parish of St. Matthew holds it’s 27th annual Christmas Faire tomorrow night, the organizing committee hopes to raise more than $100,000 for the fourth straight year. All of the proceeds will help bolster outreach grants to 19 religious and non-religious organizations supported by the parishioners, students and families of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church and St. Matthew’s Parish School. Last year, July 2011 through June 2012, the St. Matthew’s Thrift Shop, Parish and School’s contributions totaled over $365,000 in grants given to those in need. Equally important, the parishioners and students get personally involved in various outreach programs, giving their time and their hard work at the local level. ’It would be easy for more affluent people to just write a check, and indeed it’s wonderful to see the major financial support we receive for outreach,’ said Rev. Howard Anderson. ‘But our people also give personally. They get down in the trenches and help these people.’ Said Head of School Stu Work, now in his second year at St. Matthew’s, ‘One of the things that attracted me to the school was how the students get involved with the Hunger Drive and other outreach programs, and how the parents also participate in a hands-on way.’ ’There’s a wonderful coordination between the parish and the school,’ Anderson noted. ‘The kids hear the message”Giving Beyond Yourself”at school, at church and at home. They learn that this is what you do; it’s part of your life when you become an adult.’ Jocelyn Cortese, the service learning coordinator at the school and outreach grants coordinator for the parish, joined with Rev. Kristin Neily Barberia, the school minister, to craft a background story for the Palisadian-Post. Here are highlights from their report. Outreach at St. Matthew’s is a wide-reaching and all-inclusive program requiring the participation of every child enrolled in the school and many, many parishioners. This long tradition of giving to others in need has evolved over many years, starting with the St. Matthew’s Thrift Shop in 1957. Last summer, the Thrift Shop made grants to eight local nonprofits totaling $40,500, and also provided funds toward the parish’s grant program. Every November, the parish and school co-host the Christmas Faire, which raises money for outreach grants by selling homemade crafts and food and having an auction. Students delight in getting together to bake cookies to sell in the Food Boutique, or serve appetizers at the event. A raffle also raises money for Common Ground, a local agency where parishioners serve monthly dinners for homeless teens in Santa Monica. The parish also sponsors homeless clients at St. Joseph Center every December by purchasing holiday gifts, and collects baby supplies for Angel Interfaith Network each spring.’ Starting about 10 years ago, the parish has designated all the money collected in the Sunday offering plate to outreach. Last year, this raised $45,000 and the parish added funds from the operating budget to enable the parish to make outreach grants totaling $283,400. These grants were made to local as well as global organizations with strong ties to the parish, including the Westside Food Bank, Chrysalis, Common Ground, Clare Foundation, Hollygrove, Neighborhood Youth Association, Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance, St. Joseph Center and OPCC. The parish and the school also come together every November for the Westside Food Bank food drive. Parishioners bring canned and boxed food to church every Sunday, and the fourth graders work to encourage all students to bring food to school. The students also load up the Food Bank’s truck with all the donated food that arrives, and participate in the annual WFB Hunger Walk in October. In addition, the seventh grade class visits Westside Food Bank’s warehouse to sort and organize food. Last year’s food drives collected over 16,000 pounds of food plus cash donations. By the end of the year, grants will come from the St. Matthew’s students’ and Parents’ Council fundraising efforts, as well as from the Parish Thrift Shop and Parish Outreach Commission. Each grade at St. Matthew’s School, including the preschool, has an outreach project. As the second graders learn about the ocean, they also participate in beach clean-ups for Heal the Bay. When the third graders study about Africa, they also conduct a read-a-thon to raise money to buy malaria nets. Last year, they were able to purchase 728 malaria nets for children in Malawi. Fifth graders hold bake sales for their One Voice family, a low-income family they sponsor and meet with during the year.’Seventh graders cook and serve meals for homeless people at OPCC shelters such as Samoshel and Turning Point.’ The motto of the school is Serve, Lead, Flourish and every student experiences the gift of service to others as they learn that good leadership occurs when everyone around us is flourishing, not just one’s own self.’ Students at every grade level learn both hands-on outreach work and how to raise money to give back to those in need. In June, the Parents Council allocated gifts totaling $25,000 which were hand-delivered by students to the following organizations:’St. Anne Catholic School in Santa Monica, One Voice, OPCC, Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance (GAIA), and St. Matthew’s Belize Ministries.” The students also raise funds through school spirit activities sponsored by their Student Action Leadership Team, and this year they were able to distribute $16,500 in checks to the Westside Food Bank, St. Anne’s School, OPCC, Neighborhood Youth Association, Wells of Life, and an Episcopal School in Caracol, Haiti.
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