Serve: Outreach Ministries

Ways to serve in outreach ministries

All people, whether newer to this community or a lifelong member of St. Stephen’s Church, are invited to share their gifts through service in ministry. This page focuses on the ways that we serve the community around us.

The service opportunities on this page include:

  • The Farmers Market @ St. Stephen’s
  • Food ministries
  • East End partnerships
  • Seasonal offerings

In the section below, click on a purple bar to read about each ministry.

The form for indicating your interest is here.

The Farmers Market @ St. Stephen’s is open year-round on Saturdays. The market features local farmers and producers who grow or create what they sell. It is a wonderful community gathering point and a place where people can get to know where their food comes from. The market accepts SNAP funds (formerly known as food stamps) and participates in Virginia Fresh Match, a program that doubles shoppers’ SNAP money for fresh produce. In addition, many of our farmers and other vendors donate fresh food to our food pantry for those experiencing food insecurity.

Volunteers greet and help with clean up at the market.
• Greeting (2 shifts, 8-10 a.m. and 10 a.m.-noon, May-September; 1 shift, 9 a.m.-noon, October-April)
• Greet customers, track attendance, help with SNAP benefits, take pictures, etc.
• Clean up (noon-1 p.m.)

Our flagship food ministry is the Monday afternoon food pantry, which uses a choice model in which shoppers choose the groceries they need and want, instead of receiving a pre-packed bag. Vendors from the farmers market generously supply the bulk of our fresh produce, and the rest of the groceries come from parishioner donations, Feed More, and purchases from the grocery store. We also pack bags of groceries for our partners at Virginia Supportive Housing, and deliver to a handful of shoppers who cannot make it to the pantry in person. Whenever possible, our food outreach efforts focus on fresh, nutritious foods and building relationships with those we serve.

There are two shifts for serving in the food pantry.

  • Monday morning shift, 9-10:30: put away donated groceries, display farmers market produce, tidy paper bags
  • Monday afternoon shift, 12:30-3:30: assist shoppers in the pantry, clean up afterwards (pantry hours 1-3 p.m.)

The fruit ministry is the oldest food outreach effort at St. Stephen’s. Parishioners package and deliver fresh fruit to seniors living in public housing each week. The group meets at 9:00 on Monday mornings to pack and deliver fresh apples, oranges, and bananas to four centers on a rotating basis: The Rosa Apartments, Shockoe Hill Senior Apartments, Baker Senior Apartments, and Highland Park Senior Apartments.

Each Wednesday, we pack 45-50 bags of groceries for our partners at Virginia Supportive Housing. VSH provides studio apartments to hundreds of people around Central Virginia who have come out of addiction or homelessness. Volunteers pack the bags on Wednesdays at 9 a.m. and deliver the groceries to VSH on Thursdays at 10:45 a.m.

Beginning in October, we will also deliver groceries to a handful of food pantry clients who lack transportation to make it to the pantry in person (this is currently done by DoorDash). We will pack the groceries on Wednesdays along with the VSH bags, and deliver them mid-day Wednesdays. Volunteers will take the deliveries in pairs to a preset route of 3-5 addresses. More details are coming soon.

Feed More pickup on Thursday mornings: Arrive at Feed More at 10:30, pick up pre-ordered groceries for the pantry, plus bread and any items in the Feed More “store.” Helpful to have plenty of space in your car and to be able to bend and lift 20 pounds repeatedly. (Currently Feed More is located near the SPCA. They’ll be moving to a new facility on Villa Park Drive in Henrico County, not far from St. Joseph’s Villa.)

Saturday shelf stocking in the pantry, 10:30-11:30 a.m. (timing is somewhat flexible):put away Feed More groceries and donations from the week.

Gleaning from the farmers market, 11:30-12:30: collect donations of fresh produce and other local foods from market vendors, store in refrigerators. Donations are used in Monday pantry. A lovely way to get to know our generous farmers market vendors.

Panera bread pickup, every other Sunday, 8:50 p.m.: arrive at Panera (Willow Lawn) just before they close to pick up donation of leftover bread. Bring it to the pantry on Monday morning by 9:00 a.m.

Turkey boxes: each Thanksgiving we send about 200 boxes of holiday meal ingredients to families identified by our East End partner schools. Many parishioners pack a box or two at home, and there will also be an opportunity to pack boxes together at church. You can indicate your interest here in communal packing.

St. Stephen’s has a long history of partnering with and building community organizations in the East End of the city. They focus primarily on education and community development. Parishioners have built life-long relationships with students and other residents of the neighborhood.

Fairfield Court Elementary School: Our parishioners serve as tutors/mentors or lunch buddies to students. A weekly commitment of 1-2 hours is suggested. Interested volunteers will complete a one-hour orientation class and undergo a background check by Communities in Schools. There is an orientation in September, and another in the winter for the spring semester.

Another way to volunteer at Fairfield is to deliver weekend food backpacks to the school on Thursdays. Each week, a volunteer picks up 40-50 prepacked bags of food from Feed More and delivers them to the school. Pick up is any time between 8:00 and 11:00 a.m. Volunteers generally deliver once a month.

Anna Julia Cooper School: St. Stephen’s was instrumental in the founding of this K-8 school in the East End. AJC is recruiting lunch buddies who will commit to joining a student for lunch at the school once a month from October and May.

ReWork Richmond: founded by a partnership including St. Stephen’s, St. Peter’s, the city’s Office of Community Wealth Building, and Challenge Discovery Projects, ReWork Richmond empowers underemployed adults in the East End to find living-wage, stable, thriving careers. They are seeking volunteers to serve as financial coaches and resume writers/coaches. You do not need professional training for these roles.

Peter Paul RVA supports the East End community through after-school programming, young adult programming, senior programming, and more. Volunteers are needed to serve as mentors for the after-school program to help with social skills, math, and English. Volunteers are also welcome for gardening and site beautification projects, both popular opportunities.

 

Outreach Golf Tournament: this fun afternoon at the Belmont Golf Course is a major fundraiser for our outreach ministries. The 2024 tournament takes place  Wednesday, October 2.

Rebuilding Together Richmond: RTR has an annual “Rebuild Day” on which churches, businesses, and other organizations work on home repairs in a particular neighborhood. The next build day is planned for April 2025, and our team will be assigned to a house. There are opportunities for anyone, but do let us know if you have skills in carpentry, painting, etc.

Christmas Store at Fairfield Court Elementary: each year, parishioners donate gifts and set up a “store” at Fairfield Court. Fairfield parents are able to select gifts for their children and either have them wrapped or wrap the gifts at home. This is in place of an “angel tree” and lets parents have an active role in choosing their children’s gifts. Volunteers are needed to transport, set up, and wrap gifts. The Christmas Store will be in mid-December.