Connect with a Wish Coordinator(s): Joy Rios | 757.337.2657|[email protected]| Suzanne Desimone - [email protected]

Goals & Purpose: To connect the wishes of children in foster care with the generosity of our community here in Virginia Beach.

Responsibilities: To work on item drives or events that support Connect with a Wish.

Helpful Attributes: A passion for children.

Commitment: One to two hours each month. Meetings periodically, as needed

Coordinator(s): Kristy Winfield | 757.496.7991 | [email protected]

Goals & Purpose: To better the lives of the homeless in our community through meals, toiletries and fellowship.

Responsibilities: To set up for meals, clean up, cook, serve or decorate. Any talent can be utilized.

Helpful Attributes: Friendliness and a willingness to serve the Lord.

Commitment: Varied -- from a few hours once a year to a quarterly breakfast.

Coordinators: Marianne Currier  912.222.4999   [email protected]
                         Rhonda Cherry    757.641.2244    [email protected]

Goals & Purpose: To provide Easter Baskets for foster children through Connect With a Wish.

Responsibilities: Help staff a table in the Commons after masses providing information to parishioners and collecting donations. Work with other volunteers in        organizing, filling and delivering the Easter Baskets.

Goals & Purpose: Twice each year parishioners are asked to donate food and money to restock shelves at the Star of the Sea Parish and St. Michael’s Lutheran Church. Food is then distributed to those families who might otherwise go hungry.

Responsibilities: On designated weekends, handing out food item lists. On the weekend following collections, sorting and distributing the donations needed to sustain our neighbors in need.

Helpful Attributes: Ability to stand on your feet for an hour or more; willingness to work with others and take directions.

Commitment: One to four hours as your schedule permits. No training required; any meetings announced in the bulletin.

Holiday Outreach Coordinator(s): Mary Ann Simmons and Amy Musselman | [email protected]

Goals & Purpose:  To collect and distribute food and gifts for needy families at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Commitment: Help at your regularly-attended Mass during November and December. Lots of opportunities to get involved for as little as an hour commitment. Meetings are scheduled as necessary.

Meals on Wheels Coordinator(s): Dennis Hartig | 757.404.7953 | [email protected]

Goals & Purpose: To provide meal services to people in need, such as shut-ins, handicapped or people with short term needs due to an injury or illness.

Responsibilities: A team of two people who donate one scheduled day per month, to deliver meals (using their own vehicle) to the assigned areas of General Booth and Pungo.

Helpful Attributes: A warm smile and caring heart. This visit may be the only social contact the recipient has that day. Awareness to contact the parish main office if an emergency were to occur with a client.

Commitment: Two to three hours on the designated delivery day. Minimal training involved; any meetings announced in bulletin.

Coordinator: Amy Musselman | 814.322.8737 |[email protected]

Goals & Purpose: To provide meal preparation and delivery to parishioners who are facing a short-term need due to illness, surgery, recent death in family, birth of a child, etc.

Responsibilities: To provide an intake interview with family who is requesting a meal train; set up the meal train; email volunteers about the meal train so that they can sign up to help recruit volunteer chefs.

Helpful Attributes: Enjoy cooking or ordering meals for parishioners in need.

Commitment: Volunteers can sign up to provide a meal as it suits their schedule; meetings will be held monthly with the coordinator reporting to the Outreach Committee.

Coordinator(s): Joy Catalano | 757.635.7679 | [email protected]

Goals & Purpose: To help the victims of domestic violence; to keep our parish aware of the needs of these persons; to direct anyone in our parish who might need this assistance.

Responsibilities: To participate in shelter make-over day; to staff tables in the Commons during our annual collection; help with SJA phone calls when parishioners want to donate to Samaritan House; sometimes to pick up and deliver donated items. To assist with Samaritan House ornaments for Christmas trees every year.

Helpful Attributes: A desire to help others and to collaborate with other volunteers at the shelter.

Commitment: One Saturday in the spring (8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.) for shelter make-over. Two weekends in October to staff tables in the Commons before and after Masses. Occasionally, take donations to Samaritan House. No training required; any meetings announced via email.

Coordinator(s): Megan Brassert | [email protected]

Goals & Purpose: To support, advocate and foster mental health awareness.  

Responsibilities: Along with our partners (Catholic Charities and NAMI-VB), this ministry provides resources for the 1-in-4 local residents and their families affected by mental illness.

Commitment: Opportunity to attend locally-held classes and seminars, and to volunteer at a table in the Commons to share area resources for those in need.

Coordinator(s): Christina Echevarria | 757.635.5731 | christinaech@yahoo. com

Goals & Purpose: To create quilts for the community; stitched with prayers and love.

Responsibilities: To share knowledge, have fun, and meet regularly.

Commitment: Meetings every Wednesday afternoon for three hours in the parish activity room.

Coordinator(s): Sarah Wohlers | 571.721.9771 | [email protected]

Goals & Purpose: To provide educational information to the community regarding the sacredness and dignity of all human life.

Responsibilities: Voluntary participation in the trip to Washington DC for the March for Life; support to our local Hope4Life organization through a baby bottle drive; participate in 40 Days for Life prayer vigils at local abortion clinics in the spring and fall. Voluntary participation in additional prolife events in our area and in Virginia.

Helpful Attributes: Dedication to prolife issues, a strong desire to share your faith, and a love of family.

Commitment: Be available (at any of four Masses) for event sign-ups in the Commons before and after Mass for two events yearly. Some training required provided by prolife ministry; attendance at quarterly meetings announced in the bulletin and via prolife email group

Coordinator(s): Tyne Iverson and Tamara Hagerman| 757.335.8575 | 757.705.4282 | [email protected] | [email protected] |

Goals & Purpose: Seton Youth Shelter provides a safe haven, counseling and outreach services, 24 hours per day, without charge, to assist youth in crisis throughout Hampton Roads, with the goal of uniting families.

Responsibilites: We at SJA, help support Seton Youth Shelter by hosting food drives twice a year and collecting gifts around Christmas.

Coordinator(s): Tim Davey | [email protected] | 740-360-1724

Goals & Purpose: To participate in an interdisciplinary approach to feeding the hungry in Virginia Beach.

Responsibilities: To shop for food items, prepare lunches, and deliver lunches to your team leader.

Helpful Attributes: Availability of three Saturday mornings per year for preparation and delivery.

Commitment: Approximately 1.25 hours on three assigned Saturdays per year. No training or meetings are involved.

Coordinator(s):  Lisa Rohrer: [email protected]  | Denise Rutledge: [email protected]; | Letty Marino: [email protected]                                   

Goals & Purpose: To bring joy and pleasure to the residents of Sullivan House through monthly birthday celebrations.

Responsibilities: As part of a team, you are asked to pick up the birthday cake, ice cream, and punch, to select music, or to organize games appropriate for the elderly.

Helpful Attributes: Be creative, friendly, outgoing, socially-skilled, and comfortable working with the elderly.

Commitment: Devote two to three hours per month at the Sullivan House location.

Meeting Schedule: As may be scheduled.

Coordinator(s): Rob Catalano | 757.635.4066 | Esther Sanchez | 757.288.3225 (c) | [email protected]

Goals & Purpose: To provide support, encouragement, and joy by sending packages to our troops overseas; to write notes of encouragement to troops who have been wounded or are transitioning back home. To collect donations for homeless veterans.

Responsibilities: To assist in assembling care packages for our deployed troops as well as working at a table once or twice a year to collect items for those packages.

Helpful Attributes: A willingness to support America’s troops by bagging, packing, wrapping and writing.

Commitment: Meet during our monthly packing events, typically in the spring/early summer, September, October, November, and December.