Outreach

Outreach

The Committee is composed of the following members: Paula Welling, Chair, Laurel Destry, Vestry liaison and clerk, Pat Robinson, Vestry liaison, Natalie Bayless, Vicky Gribble, and Peter Welling.

The Outreach Committee is funded by our parish budget to fulfill our charge, “To enable our hands to be God’s hands in caring, comforting, and advocating for God’s people beyond our doors.” In recent years we have assisted in several programs:

Meals on Wheels
Pathways Meals reimbursements
Backpack for Central High Students who take home Manna food.
Shoes for the homeless students at Tuscola and Waynesville Middle
Supplies for the Summer Program at the Pigeon Center
Open Door Emergency Housing Coalition for Homeless Women and Children
30th Judicial Alliance Hispanic Program
Mountain Projects New building refurbishing
Senior Center Christmas boxes
Providing hot lunches for the Alternative School on the second Tuesday of every month
Cooking and serving meals at Haywood Pathways on the second Sunday of each month and fifth Mondays.

Our source of funding beyond the budget is The Annual Parish Fair which raised $17,175.00 in 2019. Local non-profits were invited to submit grants and the following groups received funding based on those grant proposals:

Big Brothers/Big Sisters
Clothes to Kids
Community Kitchen
Fines Creek Community Association
Good Samaritan Clinic
Haywood Christian Ministries
Haywood Pathways Center
KARE
Mountain Mediation Center
Mountain Projects - Self Sufficiency Fund
Mountain Projects - Senior Resource Center

Parish-Wide Appeals

Grace parishioners have a heart for mission, and often this takes the form of wanting to have a Parish-Wide Appeal to help fulfill a need beyond our doors. The 2019 Outreach Committee developed an application process for Parish-Wide Appeals to prevent "extra giving burnout" and to help with scheduling.
In 2019, we had the following Parish-Wide Appeals:

May – Pigeon Community Multicultural Center - a drive for items needed for the summer children’s program
August – collected school items for homeless school children and the Alternative School children
October – “Undie Sunday” collected new underwear for the Clothes to Kids Organization
Spring & Fall – conducted the United Thank Offering gathering monies used for mission nationally and internationally
December –

“Angel Tree” that provided Christmas presents for children and youth in need
“Warming Tree” that collected warm clothing items to be distributed by Mountain Projects to those in need

Application for Parish-Wide Appeal

The Outreach Committee has developed an application process for Parish-Wide Appeals. This is to prevent "extra giving burnout" and to help with scheduling. In order to consider as many Appeals as possible, please submit applications by April 1. You may download this application or pick one up in the church office. If you have questions, please contact Paula Welling by email.

Local coverage of Grace’s outreach can be seen in these Mountaineer articles:

Consider this: Belonging is an inside job by Joslyn Schaefer
Grace Episcopal is ‘all-in’ when it comes to service by Vicki Hyatt