Trinity Lutheran Church

Missional Service

ACTS
www.actsva.org

Area Congregations Together in Service (ACTS) is a Greater Richmond interfaith ministry that provides support and resources to low- and moderate-income individuals and families experiencing a financial crisis which, if not addressed, would result in homelessness.  The Board of Social Ministry refers individuals and households to ACTS and financially supports this ministry.  However, because of the great demand for services, many times ACTS has to suspend taking referrals during a month. Opportunities of service include giving monetary gifts designated for ACTS so it can continue its mission of preventing homelessness in our community.

CROSSOVER WEST
www.crossoverministry.org

Located across from the Regency Square Mall, CrossOver West is a volunteer medical facility which provides comprehensive healthcare services to Henrico County residents who are uninsured and their household income is 200% below the federal poverty level.  CrossOver West’s aim is to provide a comprehensive “medical home” for its patients.  Therefore, it provides additional services such as dental, vision and mental health services to its primary care patients. Opportunities for service include participating in the CrossOver Challenge (a 15K, 5K, 1 mile walk and 1 mile Kids Run), or being part of a volunteer team of medical and dental professionals, including front office workers and Spanish speakers, to work at the clinic. 

Congregation contact: Kathy Dageforde at 741-5088.

ELDERHOMES CORPORATION
www.elderhomes.org

ElderHomes is a local non-profit community development corporation whose mission is to improve the housing and living conditions of local elderly, persons with disabilities and low-income residents. Love to swing a hammer? Consider signing up for the Social Ministry Board’s next mission project with ElderHomes. ElderHomes supplies the materials and organizes the job and the Board of Social Ministry provides the volunteers for simple housing rehabilitation jobs, usually wheelchair ramps. Projects typically run 2 to 3 days, one day in Elder Homes’ shop fabricating components and the remaining time on-site installing the wheelchair ramp. When volunteering for this mission, you can sign up for the entire project or for a shorter period of time. Volunteers must be at least 14 years of age.

Congregation contact: John O’Dell at 897-2368.

LAMB’S BASKET
www.lambsbasket.org

Located in the Lakeside area, LAMB’S Basket (LAMB is an acronym for Lakeside Area Ministries Board) is an emergency food pantry supported by over 40 congregations in Henrico County and operated solely by volunteers. Opportunities for service include donating canned and boxed food items as part of the monthly food drive.  Collection boxes are located at the entrances by the elevator and Room 100 and in the coat closet in the narthex. A portion of what is contributed will be kept at Trinity for the occasional emergency food needs. You can also volunteer at the food pantry to do tasks like assist clients, sort and stock food, and warehouse cleaning.

Congregation contact:  Betty Schumaker at 565-8007.

MEALS ON WHEELS
www.mowaa.org

Meals on Wheels provides balanced, nutritious and appealing meals to seniors, people with disabilities and disadvantages populations in the central Virginia area. At the same time, it provides a daily “check-in” to ensure the health and safety of its clients.

For many of Meals on Wheels’ homebound clients, pets provide much needed love and companionship and improves the quality of life for their owners by reducing a sense of isolation and loneliness.This is why Meals on Wheels also delivers monthly cat and dog food to its clients who need assistance with meals for their pets.

Trinity is one of about three organizations that have supported Meals on Wheels since its beginning in Richmond! Substitute volunteers are always needed to help deliver meals on the second Tuesday of each month from 10:30 am to about 12:00 pm when a permanent volunteer can’t make their route.

Congregation contact:  Paula Buckley

MICAH INITIATIVE:  Overby Shepard School
http://web.richmond.k12.va.us/oses/Home.aspx

The Micah Initiative is a partnership program between communities of faith in metropolitan Richmond and the Richmond Public Schools Trinity for the purpose of supporting the education and the nurture of the children of Richmond. Trinity is one of more than 70 faith communities and 24 of Richmond’s elementary schools involved in the program. Trinity has formed a partnership with Overby-Sheppard Elementary School, an inner-city elementary school in Highland Park. 

There are numerous ways you can support the children at Overby-Sheppard. If God has given you the gift of storytelling, consider becoming a volunteer reader for an afternoon or on a more frequent schedule. Each reading session takes about 15 to 20 minutes of your time but the impact upon the children’s lives is immeasurable. Contact Lynne Harker if you are interested in reading. Other volunteer opportunities include participating in the SOAR career fair or serving as tutors, mentors, lunch buddies, and classroom assistants on a one-time or more frequent basis. A school supply drive is also conducted before the start of each school year.

Congregation contact:  Ann Norris or Carol Sperry.

THE RED KETTLE DRIVE
www.uss.salvationarmy.org/richmond

The Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign provides Christmas assistance to thousands of children and families in Central Virginia and supports over 40 social service programs through the first quarter of each year. Love to spread the holiday cheer? Trinity adults and youth can volunteer for two-person teams, serving 1½-hour shifts, on separate Saturdays each December. 

Congregation contact:  James Nolde at 740-2489.

RICHMOND HILL’S SUMMER CAMP ON THE HILL
www.richmondhillva.org

Richmond Hills holds an annual “Summer Camp on the Hill” in August. It is a mission project which unites churches in Metropolitan Richmond with third and fourth graders from four Church Hill elementary schools to give all an opportunity to experience a week of joyful fellowship and learning. Trinity joins two other churches, one a predominantly black church and the other one a predominantly white church, in providing 20 camp counselors. During the Monday through Saturday week session, the camp counselors learn from one another as they work and pray to help the children grow during the camp by providing fellowship, encouragement, and cooperation. This is an exciting opportunity to reach across racial, socio-economic and jurisdictional boundaries in our extended community while serving as Jesus serves. 

Congregation contact: Jacquie White.

ST. JOSEPH’S VILLA FOR CHILDREN
www.neverstopbelieving.org

Another group the Board of Social Ministry supports is the Flagler Services for Homeless Families, which is operated by St. Joseph’s Villa for Children, the oldest and largest continuously operating children’s nonprofit organization in metropolitan Richmond. All of the Flagler Services are designed to provide education and developmental and psychological support to enable homeless families with children to become self-sufficient.  Services include transitional houses for homeless children and their mothers, job and career counseling, skills training, parenting skills training, budgeting and financial planning training and medical assistance. 

During the fall, you can support the Flagler Services by donating gently-used and clean clothing and goods, including linens, towels, sports equipment, pots and pans, and children’s pajamas, shoes and coats. During the 2009 Holiday and 2010 Easter seasons, Trinity provided over 100 food “baskets” for distribution by St. Joseph’s Villa.

Congregation contact: Linda Roscoe at lroscoe@trinityrichmond.net or 270-4626 x 2155

VIRGINIA HEALTH CENTER
http://challengediscoveryprojects.org

The Virginia Health Center is part of the Challenge Discovery Projects, a non-project corporation which provides community and school-based services for at-risk children, adolescents and families in Richmond’s east end. The center is an outpatient community clinic provides outpatient, intensive outpatient and student assistance services to children, adolescents and young adults who are at risk or involved in substance abuse. During the 2009 Holiday and 2010 Easter seasons, Trinity provided the Center with about 75 food “baskets” for distribution.

Congregation contact: James Nolde or Ann Norris

HOLIDAY FOOD BASKETS

Working with St. Joseph’s Villa and the Virginia Health Center, food “baskets” are distributed to families and individuals in the Richmond community at Thanksgiving, Christmas and/or Easter time.  Opportunities of service include giving monetary gifts designated for food baskets so we can increase the amount of food we can provide or donating non-perishable food.  Items needed include canned vegetables, canned soup, canned fruit, applesauce, peanut butter, grape jelly, baked beans, tuna fish, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti and sauce, and Jell-O.  Plastic jars are preferred over glass ones.  Volunteers can also help pack the “baskets” with food items before they are picked up by receiving agencies.

Congregation contact: James Nolde or Ann Norris

TRINITY'S COLLECTION BINS

Located in the lower level hallway near the old Fellowship Hall are a series of bins. Here you can donate a variety of items that can make a world of difference to various groups.  Donated used eyeglasses and cases are brought to Lenscrafters.They are sent to opticians to be fitted for third world populations. Devotionals are collected for distribution at Hilltop Promises, which provides faith-focused services including life-skills development and homeless outreach. Campbell’s Soup labels and other educational labels which are placed in the bins go to the preschool or to a local public school with a Special Needs class. Travel-sized toiletries are distributed to several causes: Hilltop Promises, our Guatemala mission effort and CARITAS. Over-the-counter medicines can be donated for CrossOver during special collection drives.