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The following is a list and brief descriptions of the Outreach programs supported with contributions from the First Parish Church in Weston. The budget which funds these programs is raised each year through contributions to the Church through the Stewardship drive.
Parishioners are invited to volunteer their time with any of the organizations listed. If you would like to volunteer your time, we encourage you to review the list and descriptions below and contact the liaison named under the organization listed.
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee -UUSC (Jim Dana)
Stand High-Stand United (Elise Rockart and Cristy Ballou)
Kasiisi (Cristy Ballou)
Bristol Lodge (Jack Sins)
Community Day Center of Waltham (Leila Hooper)
Newton-Weston Wellesley Committee for Community Living (NWW) (Jim Dana)
Shelter Legal Services Foundation, Inc.
Waltham Alliance To Create Housing (WATCH) (Sean Cotton)
METCO Scholarship Fund
Disaster Relief (Tsunami, Transylvania Floods)
Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG)
Weston Town Katrina Relief
Artists for Humanity
All-Parish Project – Neighbors Helping Neighbors (Chet Cekala and Leila Hooper)
Under the leadership of its Director, Rev. Susan Chorley, Renewal House is almost 30 years old. It is the second oldest shelter in Boston for victims of domestic violence and their children (victims themselves as well). It is a small, intimate shelter whose residents are from disadvantaged areas of Boston and beyond. Five families at a time live there. The primary goal of the shelter is to provide an atmosphere of healing so that the residents, who live there up to four months, will be able to leave the shelter at least partially healed from the trauma of domestic violence and abuse, prepared and eager to create independent, self-sufficient lives for themselves and their children.
In addition to the fundamental service to its current residents, there are additional programs. One consists of a group for former residents entitled "Beyond Shelter," a self-esteem and wellness group. In addition, the spirituality group has been extended to include children in programs on Sunday afternoons. Another program is an Outreach and Education Coordinator who has created an interactive educational curriculum for middle school children on healthy relationships and good communication, leading workshops in the immediate area. For further information and volunteer opportunities, please contact Rev. Kate Wilkinson.
Partakers strives (for) reconciliation between prisoners and society. It breaks down the walls that separate prisoners from others by bringing them together, and fostering accountability and responsibility towards one another.
First Parish has taken the first step in sponsoring a prisoner who is enrolled in the College Behind Bars Program. Two members of First Parish have volunteered to mentor a prisoner as he studies for a BA degree that will lead him to a productive and lawful life after he returns to society. Partakers presently has 88 prisoners enrolled in the program with 43 sponsoring groups. It has 23 prisoners on its waiting list.
The College Behind Bars program has earned tributes from all who participate in it its activities. One person has put it this way:
“. . . Partakers empowers the College Behind Bars scholars to be all they can be. The spirit of compassion with which the Partakers sponsoring groups support their prison scholars breaks down the traditional misconceptions and leads to transformation of all who are involved. That’s what is so brilliant in the program model---it captures the power of relationship as a force for transformation and change. “
For more information, please contact the Outreach Committee, Leila Hooper or Partakers.
Through a combination of advocacy, education, and partnerships, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) protects and promotes programs and policies that empower women, defend the rights of children, and support the struggles of oppressed racial, ethnic, and indigenous groups. Their programs are based on Unitarian Universalist principles affirming the worth, dignity, and human rights of every person and the interdependence of all life. UUSC works for long-term solutions through partnerships in the U.S., South and Southeast Asia, Central Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
First Parish Church provides financial support to UUSC. Additional support is provided when parishioners become individual members, by the sale of holiday cards, and by participation in programs such as “guest at your table” and the “Coffee Project.”
Currently, UUSC is sponsoring Reverse Trick-or-Treating, providing kits for children to use when trick-or-treating. They include Fair Trade chocolate to give to homes the children visit. The purpose of the program is to raise awareness of child labor abuses in the cocoa industry and to promote protection of the environment. Over 250,000 kits were handed out.
Guest At Your Table (GAYT) and Holiday cards will be available the beginning of November. It is suggested that GAYT boxes be included in your Thanksgiving celebration. They are available for everyone, whether children are involved or not.
The Coffee Project involves the sale of Fair Trade coffee, tea, cocoa, and chocolate bars. Parishioners and visitors to First Parish can usually purchase or order these products on Sundays in the breezeway or Parish Hall or by contacting Lee Engler.
Finally, UUSC has established the Gaza Humanitarian Crisis Fund, the proceeds from which go to help fund youths working in Gaza to repair homes and to conduct community trauma workshops to increase young people's resiliency during the on-going stress of daily life under the blockade.
For more information go the web site: http://www.uusc.org.
Stand High/Stand United (SHSU) is the middle school youth enrichment program of the Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry, located at The First Church in Roxbury. It is run in conjunction with the Explorers Club, in which some of its members also participate.
Volunteers are continuously recruited to work as chaperones or mentors for elementary school-aged youth in the Explorer's Club program. The Explorer's Club provides fun educational workshops on the second or third Saturday morning of the month and this is linked to periodic monthly field trips as well. Volunteers can assist occasionally or more regularly and those who make a commitment to mentoring are trained and supported in a team mentoring program. Volunteers can also assist through donations of in-kind food or supplies or tickets for field trips or through fundraising activities/events.
SHSU also runs a Coming of Age program for urban middle schoolers on other Saturdays of the month and a full-time summer program of field trips and summer camps.
Roxbury Youth programs – SHSU is integrated with a middle and high school after school program which takes place during the week. It includes tutoring and homework help, enrichment programs and mcas tutoring as well as a college support program. The young people come in the afternoon and the older ones remain after the middle schoolers are driven home. The highschoolers stay for dinner and additional activities until 8:00pm when they are taken home in the van. All this takes place at the First Church in Roxbury.
Tutors, one-time enrichment programs and other volunteer or financial support are needed by these programs. For information on activities or how to join the SHSU Yahoo listing, please email Rev. Kate Wilkinson.
First Parish Church began supporting the Kasiisi Project in western Uganda in 1999. Through the efforts of Elizabeth Ross and her husband, Richard Wrangham, parishioners of First Parish, and with the help of generous support from the Outreach Committee and the First Parish congregation, the project funds classroom construction, scholarships for students and teachers and academic support at two rural primary schools in Western Uganda. Recent projects include supplying sanitary pads and special latrines for girls, clean water, and a lunch program.
In 2010, The Kasiisi Project is working on the renovation of eight nearly-derelict classrooms at the Rwetera School. The Rwetera classrooms were built in the 1950s by a British tea planter named Price. His grandson now owns a nearby safari lodge and he is collaborating with the Kasiisi Project on the renovation. The school, with 11 teachers, services almost 700 children in Grades K-6. The entire project is expected to cost about $20K and a $7K matching grant was promised by a generous donor. The First Parish Outreach Committee voted to make an extra $600 donation towards that matching grant.
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Rewetera School Before |
Rewetera School After |
Rewetera students perform chimp conservation play with student-made masks and models |
For more information, visit their website (www.kasiisiproject.org) or contact Elizabeth Ross (wrangham@comcast.net).
The mission of Bristol Lodge is to provide shelter, food, advice and counseling to homeless people in the Waltham area.
Specific facilities include a family shelter accommodating 6 families, a women’s shelter with 15 beds, a men’s shelter with 45 beds, and a Soup Kitchen. The Bristol Lodge Soup Kitchen provides a hot, nutritious dinner, prepared and served by volunteers to 60 to 110 people daily. In addition, the kitchen prepares sandwiches and take-out lunches.
Besides the living accommodations and the Soup Kitchen, Bristol Lodge provides case management, counseling groups for women, housing advocacy, AA meetings, employment counseling, crisis intervention, therapeutic group meetings, family life advice, and referrals to other social agencies.
Bristol Lodge is part of the Middlesex Human Services Agency, Inc, a nonprofit organization. It is funded by donations from individuals, groups, and churches such as First Parish Church in Weston. Funding also comes from the State Department of Human Services.
Many parishioners have contributed many hours cooking as well as serving our monthly dinner at The Bristol Lodge Soup Kitchen. In addition, food prepared and served by our parishioners is paid for by parishioners. Money is also contributed to Kitchen shortfalls.
Food providers and soup kitchen volunteers are needed on the fourth Wednesday every month. Contact Mary Menino if you would like to participate in this much-needed ministry.
After opening its doors in 2003, the Community Day Center (CDC) of Waltham has become a "life-line" that provides many practical resources to help people in need find assistance in making the necessary next steps to improve their life situation. CDC serves the homeless and low-income members of the greater-Waltham/Metro-West area, and provide a safe place for people to come each weekday afternoon.
A primary service of the CDC is to provide a welcoming and nurturing shelter during the weekday afternoon hours when there is no alternative place to go for many in the community. In this manner CDC serves as a community "drop in" center where anyone can come in to get warm, find fellowship, be nourished and find specific assistance.
CDC has telephones with free-long distance, a high-speed Internet café with 6 terminals and printers, anonymous answering machines, and an anonymous P.O. box (especially vital for the homeless). CDC provides critical information on available social services in Waltham and beyond to its guests. The staff and interns from a local counseling center offer crisis counseling and traditional counseling to those in need. Through helping guests write resumes, locate resources on the Internet, find available jobs and housing, CDC offers its guests direct next steps out of homelessness or other challenging situations.
The Community Day Center is strategically located directly between the Salvation Army (serves breakfast and lunch each day) and the Bristol Lodge Soup Kitchen (serves daily dinners). The Center is open Monday through Friday, 1:30-4:30 pm in the community hall of First Presbyterian Church, 34 Alder Street , Waltham , MA 02454. First Parish has supported CDC since 2005. For more information contact CDC’s Director, Eben Forbes at (617) 960 7793 or visit their web site.
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Newton, Weston, Wellesley Committee for Community Living, Inc. (NWW) was incorporated in 1972 as a private, nonprofit agency serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. NWW was founded to create alternatives to institutional settings. Today it offers a full spectrum of housing options, supportive services, educational resources, and recreational services to over 300 persons of all ages with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Residences operated by NWW are located in neighborhoods in Newton and Wellesley with easy access to stores, libraries, and transportation. NWW's clients and their families are assisted in establishing themselves in other appropriate living situations, and NWW provides support services as needed. In addition, NWW provides many opportunities for mentoring, companionship, counseling and life skill training. NWW is a training site for graduate students from Simmons School of Social Work and Boston College. NWW is also affiliated with the Best Buddies organization at Boston College and Wellesley College. For over two decades, First Parish Church in Weston and NWW have had a long and beneficial relationship. First Parish is a major supporter of NWW’s annual autumn auction held each October at the First Parish Church in Weston. Parishioners make financial contributions as sponsors, contribute items for the silent and live auction and also attend the auction. Members of the Outreach Committee prepare and serve hors d’oeuvres to the auction guests. First Parish Church also supports NWW’s bi-weekly Wednesday Night Drop-In Program and its Faith in Action Program for individuals in the community with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Drop-In Program provides social and recreational activities such as the Harvest Dinner, Bingo, the Halloween Dance. The Faith in Action Program provides Shabbat services and ecumenical services for NWW residents and their families. Rev. Judith Hoehler and Mary Parker are long-time members of NWW’s Board of Directors. Lee Engler has volunteered his time and expertise as a business consultant for NWW. Persons interested in learning more about NWW or volunteering their time may contact First Parishioner Jim Dana or Tina Jameson, NWW’s Volunteer Coordinator. |
Waltham Alliance to Create Housing (WATCH) is a non-profit community development corporation in Waltham, MA. Their mission is to build, preserve, and promote affordable housing and to enhance economic opportunities, civic participation and leadership of low- and moderate-income families in the Waltham area. They also help low-income families change society, find a better place to live, learn English, and find better employment.
WATCH is a unique developer in its consistent efforts to involve community residents in every phase of their program. They expect to keep the jobs local, to involve tenants and neighbors in planning and policy, and to involve community residents in improving their neighborhood through sweat equity. For more information, visit http://www.watchcdc.org/
Shelter Legal Services Foundation (SLSF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing access to pro bono legal services by the poor of the Greater Boston Area. SLSF combines the strength of the private bar with the eagerness of future attorneys in a volunteer effort to address the legal needs of our community's homeless and poor people. In 2004, over 60 local attorneys and 80 law student advocates participated in the program through SLSF's weekly clinics at Rosie's Pace, The Multi-Service Center for the Homeless and three other Boston/Cambridge locations. SLSF provides civil services in a wide array of fields, e.g., family law, housing, Social Security, unemployment, welfare, etc. The First Parish Church in Weston provides financial support for Shelter Legal Services, and has done so for several years.
For more information contact the Outreach Committee or go to SLSF's web site.
The Metco Scholarship Fund, Inc. was formed in 1976 for the purpose of raising funds to provide financial aid to students who attend the Weston public schools through the METCO program. Over the years, it has provided financial aid to more than 200 students. For the academic year of 1999-2000, the Fund awarded scholarships totaling $25,400 to 12 students. It is expected that the number of students applying for financial aid will increase in the coming years as Weston’s public school enrollment increases. Fund raising efforts are made each year in Weston and Boston. Students seeking aid must demonstrate acceptance at an institution of higher learning and evidence of financial need. Over 40 colleges and universities throughout the United States have accepted Weston Metco students. Several members of First Parish were instrumental in organizing the Fund and several are serving as Trustees of the organization today. First Parish in Weston has been a proud contributor to the Fund for many years.
Currently, there are between 8,000-16,000 adults learners on waiting lists in Massachusetts; the majority are immigrants and refugees waiting for ESOL classes.
Roughly two billion people do not have access to basic services such as electricity, clean drinking water and sanitation. Development of this infrastructure is essential to breaking the cycle of poverty in developing countries. Founded by Weston residents Peter Haas and Benny and Grey Lee (of First Parish in Weston), the AIDG works to provide rural villages in developing countries with affordable and environmentally sound technologies that meet these needs. Trhough a combination of business incubation, education, training and outreach, the AIDG helps individuals and communities gain access to technology that will improve their lives. Their model provides a novel approach to sustainable development by empowering people with the physical tools and practical knowledge to solve infrastructure problems in their own communities.
Appropriate, or intermediate, technology is a broad-based term referring to tecnologies that can be produced and maintained by small communities. Most often it refers to technologies that attempt to keep in balance local natural resources while serving basic infrastructure needs such as water, electricity, cook fuel, heat, sanitation, and housing.
AIDG's Business Incubation Program locates engineering talent in developing countries and helps them to form businesses that provide village- and home-scale renewable energy and sanitation technologies to underserved communities, development agencies (B2B), and private individuals. The staff from previously incubated businesses train employees at the new workshops to ensure that learning is propagated throughout the network. For more information, visit www.aidg.org
Artists for Humanity"Artists For Humanity's mission is to bridge economic, racial and social divisions by providing underserved youth with the keys to self-sufficiency through paid employment in the arts." Teens go to AFH after school to create a wide range of products and services – including paintings, photography, screen printing, graphic design and furniture made from recycled materials - that are marketed throughout the greater Boston area. AFH operates as a micro-enterprise where the student artists work closely with mentors and are paid an hourly wage for their work. AFH is located in Fort Point Channel, in one of Boston's first "green" buildings known as the EpiCenter. Teenagers from Boston exhibited their paintings and furniture in The Gallery at First Parish from Mary 6-April 24, 2009, courtesy of a grant from the Outreach Committee. For more information, visit www.afhboston.com |
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First Parishioner Inge Engler serves hors d'oeuvres at the 2009 NWW Auction