partnerships

FOUR KEY AREAS OF OUTREACH
AT ST. STEPHEN’S

St. Stephen’s outreach efforts focus on four key issues and areas of involvement, through partnerships with local organizations (90%) and with global agencies (10%). We focus on providing a meaningful level of support for a few, long-term faith partners while being aware of and open to support for emerging community and global needs (such as those that have arisen during the pandemic). We also focus on supporting community partners who have a proven record of success, who are known to use donations for intended purposes, and for whom St. Stephen’s has an enthusiastic champion and broader parish support.

The key issues we seek to address through our outreach efforts and partnerships include:

1. Homelessness and housing insecurity

2. Hunger and food insecurity

3. Educational and developmental needs of children and youth, especially in the Durham area

4. Creation care (caring for and protecting the natural environment given to us by God)

The following summarizes our current efforts in these areas. Many parishioners play an active role in these ministries, and there is always a place for anyone who would like to be involved! If you would like to learn more or get involved, please contact outreach@ssecdurham.org.

Jump to:
Housing for New Hope | Urban Ministries of Durham | Meeting the Needs of Children
Creation Care | Durham Congregations in Action
Other Community Partnerships

Housing for New Hope

Housing for New Hope (HNH) is a long-time parish partner whose primary mission is addressing homelessness and regional housing insecurity issues. HNH serves those who are or are at risk of becoming homeless in Durham and Orange counties. They provide rapid rehousing for individuals and families as well as outreach and case management services for clients entering new housing. They also own and operate permanent supportive housing for disabled individuals. In addition to managing affordable housing units, HNH works with many private landlords to help people get into affordable housing. St. Stephen’s supports HNH by providing financial support, participating in its congregational engagement efforts, and providing Hearts to Home Welcome Kits for clients moving into new housing.

Ongoing Outreach Opportunities with Housing for New Hope

Providing Hearts to Homes Welcome Kits is year-round and focused Christmas giving endeavor. These kits provide vital household items that help make a house into a home. Currently, Housing for New Hope is modifying its process for stocking and delivering these kits.  Please look for updated information on their website if you are interested in contributing items. Their relationships with Amazon and Ikea make shopping and sending items simply. And if you want to skip the shopping, you can make an online donation through St. Stephen’s online donation page. Select “Other contributions” and note Housing for New Hope Home Kits in the memo line.  We hope to be able to offer more hands-on opportunities, such as assembling home kits, to contribute to HNH in the coming year as we emerge from pandemic times. 

Contributions can also be made to the HNH Emergency Assistance Fund. Donations to this fund are used to ensure needed support for clients and tenants during the pandemic. The fund helps clients with monthly rental and utility bills and provides gift cards for groceries, furniture, and other emerging needs. Donations can be made online or by check to St. Stephen’s (please specify HNH) or here.

Urban Ministries of Durham

Urban Ministries of Durham (UMD) is another of our long-time partners for addressing issues of food insecurity and homelessness in the region. UMD serves three meals daily in downtown Durham, operates a large shelter for homeless people, and provides a wide range of programs to help people transition from homelessness to independent living. These programs include the Food Pantry, the Clothing Closet, the Community Café, and a spiritual and pastoral care program called Bread for the Journey. In normal (non-pandemic) times, St. Stephen’s parishioners may participate in any of these programs. 

Ongoing Outreach Opportunities with UMD

The Community Café serves three meals a day, 365 days per year. Volunteers provide 90% of the labor to prepare all meals, and community partners donate 80-90% of the food. St. Stephen’s serves lunch at UMD’s Community Cafe on the Saturday of every month with a fifth weekend (the next date is Saturday, January 29). We would love to have some new folks join us for this! UMD has a very well-organized system for safe food and beverage distribution in “to go” containers, including wearing masks, handwashing, social distancing, and using clearly labeled walk patterns entering and leaving the kitchen. Volunteers may participate in food preparation, assembling to-go containers and/or distributing meals to clients, choosing the activities with which they are most comfortable. In addition to weekend service, UMD has a great need for individuals or groups to prepare and/or distribute carryout meals during the week, participate in outdoor food distribution, and bake casseroles for clients. If you are interested in participating in any of these activities, please contact  outreach@ssecdurham.org for more information.  

Though modified during pandemic times, UMD continues to provide food pantry and shelter services. Particular needs vary from month to month and can be found here, and they regularly update their Amazon Wishlist with new items. The UMD food pantry provides produce and shelf-stable foods to approximately 150 families each week. They have an ongoing need for donations of non-perishable food and personal care products, particularly in these pandemic times. In addition to our periodic, focused food drives, St. Stephens has collection bins set up in the courtyard (near the entrance to the reception area) where you can drop off clothing or food items at any time. St. Stephen’s volunteers regularly collect and deliver these donated items to UMD. 

Items that are always needed include:

• Canned fruits and vegetables (home and commercial sizes)

• Rice and pasta

• Bottled water and juices

• Coffee or cold drink mixes to be served in the Café

• Deodorant, shaving cream, razors

• Masks and hand sanitizer

• Personal care items, especially sanitary pads

• New socks and underwear for men, women, and children

Whether you purchase items from local stores and bring them to church, or purchase and have items delivered to UMD through their Amazon Wishlist, your donations are always appreciated!  UMD also welcomes donations to their general fund to assist with daily operations or through St. Stephen’s online giving (specify UMD in the comment field).

Additional ways to support the people served by UMD:

·      Donate season-appropriate clothing for the Clothing Closet.  More information about current needs can be found here.

·      Open your doors. UMD is always looking for a rental property or another space that can be made available for temporary or permanent housing, usually around $600 or less per person per month. Contact Clinical Director Valerie Haywood at UMD by calling or texting her at 919-459-7220 (preferred).

·      Contribute to Project ROOF (Removing Obstacles to Occupancy Funds). These funds are used to assist with rental deposits, first month’s rent, utility hook-ups, transportation to identified housing, and other needs directly tied to housing homeless neighbors as quickly as possible.  Make a gift  here and put “ROOF” in the dedication or send a check to UMD at PO Box 249, Durham, NC 27702 with the memo line “ROOF."

·      Participate in the Empty Bowls fundraiser held each spring, for which St. Stephen’s is a regular sponsor. 

 Meeting the Needs of Children

St. Stephen’s welcomes children with great affection, joy, and caring. We want every child to be comfortably housed and fed, and to have the best possible learning environment, whether through in-person or remote learning.

We address the needs of Durham children in many ways that vary over time to respond to current needs. For example, we have supported BackPack Buddies for many years, which provides Durham children with a backpack filled with food for weekends, when schools are not providing meals. We also support Crayons2Calculators, which provides school supplies to children across the Durham Public School system who might not otherwise have what they need for their classes and creative projects. St. Stephen’s also supported the Durham Public Schools Foundation (DPSF) 2020 digital equity campaign, a community-led effort to accelerate the transformation of Durham Public Schools for success and equity for every student. DPS Foundation is responding to many needs that arose during the pandemic, including computers and other electronics for virtual learning and food insecurity. They also provided buses to go out to the areas where students could access WiFi and volunteers to help them. This year, our back-to-school campaign helped to provide school supplies directly to students at Hope Valley Elementary and Forest View Elementary, as well as The UNC Hospital School.

There are many opportunities to help Durham’s children. To learn more about our children’s initiatives or to become involved, please contact outreach@ssecdurham.org.

Creation Care

 Creation Care is a broad term for caring for our God-given natural world. We embrace God’s creation as sacred, and we endeavor to protect and sustain it.  

The parish incorporates Creation Care into its daily activities in a variety of ways, such as using reusable or recyclable items in the Parish Hall and kitchen and recycling paper/boxes in the Narthex and administrative offices.  

St. Stephen’s is built on 14 acres of wooded land, which includes an outside chapel, meditation trails, Stations of the Cross, labyrinth, flower, vegetable, and fruit gardens, a playground, and a Memorial Garden. We view this property as a vehicle to extend our presence in the community and to invite others to join us.  We have a small group of interested individuals exploring how we might develop the property with pollinator gardens and how we might use some of our property for community gardens to feed hungry people

We desire to develop new programs in this area as we increase our awareness of how we can care for God’s creation and would welcome parishioners who have a passion for gardening or preserving our natural environment. If you would like to join our group looking to advance Creation Care, have ideas to share, or would like more information, please contact outreach@ssecdurham.org.

Durham Congregations in Action (DCIA)

St. Stephen’s is a full member of Durham Congregations in Action (DCIA). We are 1 of 58 congregations. St. Stephen’s parishioners attend the monthly assembly lunches that explore topics of common interest and participate in many. An example is the Durham CROP Hunger Walk, which our youth group leads, recruiting young and old who walk to raise money for organizations that help fight hunger here in Durham and worldwide. 

Current opportunities

Please join DCIA and Durham community leaders in raising awareness and resources to fight hunger in our community and abroad online this year. Donations can be given through St. Stephen’s or here.