Grow it Forward is a network of micro-farms in Central Florida that started during the pandemic when it became very apparent how fragile and unsustainable our food systems are. The farms work to advance economic and food sovereignty through a self-sustaining micro-farm network, utilizing available land of faith and community partners.

To learn more about Grow it Forward, click on the link below.

Produce Gleaning with Society of St. Andrew:

 

 

 

St. Luker’s have been gleaning throughout these past years, which has helped to provide produce to our families who come weekly for food at St. Luke’s, during the pandemic.

The Society of St. Andrew brings people together to harvest vegetables and fruits which would otherwise go to waste to support communities. In this pandemic, this ministry has become a critical source of much needed fresh produce for people who are facing food insecurity.

For information for gleaning dates and to sign up, visit the Society of St. Andrew’s website at www.mobilize.us/endhunger/. Click on “Florida” to see local shifts.

 

 

 

Citrus Harvest Gleaning: Once a year, St. Luke’s gleans unharvested fruit off of local trees and donates it to the Society of St. Andrews to help hungry families in Central Florida.

The team will usually meet at 9:00 a.m. to receive information and directions.  Gleaning is usually done within a couple of hours. We provide picking tools, fruit bags, and water bottles. Make sure to wear a hat, gloves and sunscreen.

• Entry Level ministry opportunity
• Open to all ages
• No training required

 

If you have fruit trees in your yard or neighborhood that you can get permission to pick, please let us know by contacting serve@st.lukes.org.

St. Luke’s will help bridge the OCPS food chain supply gap by providing fresh produce and shelf stable products to our partner school, Maxey Elementary School.

 

 

 

Food distribution takes place monthly for the Maxey Elementary families who have signed up for the monthly distribution.

For more information and to learn about volunteer opportunities, please contact serve@st.lukes.org.

 

 

Did you know that 1 in 6 seniors may not know where their next meal will come from?  Volunteers are needed to deliver meals to seniors in the west Orlando area. Join a team that rotates a weekly delivery – you can serve once every 8 weeks OR every week.

 

 

There are many opportunities to serve through Seniors First-

1. Meals on Wheels, Food delivery is up to two hours, one day a week, Monday-Friday. Many routes take less time.
2. Project Connect is a program to engage seniors in using technology to connect with their community. “We provide our seniors with a Claris Companion, a tablet was designed for seniors and is an intuitive online dashboard (and mobile app)that ensures seniors are always connected, entertained, and safe.  Volunteers help train seniors using the Claris Companion and/or facilitate 25 minute online group meetings including lifestyle classes, etc.
3. Volunteering in Office Administration.
4. Telephone reassurance calls
5. Food Pantry

 

To learn more about how you can get involved, please contact Maureen Sullivan the Volunteer Program Supervisor. Anyone who is interested in serving at Meals on Wheels/ Seniors First should contact Maureen. Her number is 407-373-7752.

Deliver directly to: Senior’s First, 5395 LB McLeod Road, Orlando 32811

    

Click on the link below to read a recently featured article in
“Celebrate”, A Magazine by St. Luke’s United Methodist Church.

Meals on Wheels: Delivering Food and Friendships
(Volunteer Story, by Nan Slone)

Family Promise of Greater Orlando is one of our community partners who help to keep families together in the face of homelessness. If you would like more information about Family Promise opportunities, click on the link below.

(For more information about Family Promise organization, please visit their website at http://www.familypromiseorlando.org.)

Habitat for Humanity builds strength, security and self-reliance through homeownership. Join a team on the next St. Luke’s Build Day to help build and revitalize homes in East Winter Garden. To see upcoming build dates, click on the link below.

For information about West Orange Habitat for Humanity, visit westorangehabitat.org.

Innovative Ministries with Parents, Administrators, Children and Teachers (IMPACT) at St. Luke’s is a Partner in Education with three Title One elementary schools.  A trained corps of volunteers serve as teachers’ assistants in classrooms, math and reading coaches, and as support for special events at Mollie Ray and Maxey Elementary Schools.  Shadow a St. Luke’s IMPACT volunteer for a morning or volunteer for a Special Event to see if this is a ministry that resonates with you!  Spend some time in the classroom and see how you can help at one of St. Luke’s three Partner schools.  There are a variety of ways to be involved in this ministry such as classroom aides, special events, Robotics team, Math Bee, Chess Club, Carnival, National Honor Society and 5^th Grade Party helpers, and more.:

• The commitment for math and reading is at least a semester and preferably the whole school year to provide consistency for the students.
• Classroom volunteer – A minimum commitment of 9 months (a school calendar) for an hour per week.
• Substitute classroom volunteer – Substitute regular classroom volunteers (when they can’t serve).
• Special Events Volunteer – at least 2 hours
• Need to register with OCPS as an ADDITIONS Volunteer before serving.

To learn more about this ministry, contact Saniye Kazan at skazan@st.lukes.org or 407.876.4991 ext. 297.

The Circles® Campaign is a national, transformational approach to reduce poverty that partners volunteers and community leaders with individuals and families wanting to make the journey out of poverty.

Inside Out Jail Ministries (ISO) is a faith-based, non-profit, re-entry ministry helping those incarcerated in the Orange County Jail succeed in returning to the community.

Most of those incarcerated have non-violent charges. They’ve experienced broken homes, abuse, homelessness, human trafficking, and/or have mental challenges. When they’re released, they go right back to what they know because they don’t know what else to do.

ISO facilitates classes to prepare them for re-entry, provide resources for help on the outside as well as transition management for those wanting to go to substance abuse treatment. Volunteers are needed as spiritual mentors, pen pals, and at worship services.

St. Luke’s partners with Jobs Partnership, a faith based organization that provides a 12-week, biblically-based, employability program for the chronically under-employed in West Orange County.

Coaches are needed to help adult students in the upcoming LifeWorks session. Classes are on Tuesdays or Thursdays.

Because of our involvement with East Winter Garden, please consider serving as a LifeWorks coach at The Dream Center, but there are several other locations to serve on Tuesdays or Thursdays.

To learn more and to volunteer as a coach at The Dream Center or at one of the other locations, please click on the link below to register.

To learn more about Jobs Partnership, to see the LifeWorks Training Schedule and for information about becoming a Jobs Partnership student, please click on the link below and click on :

For more information, visit jobspartnership.org or contact serve@st.lukes.org.

Go Full STEAM is a non-profit community effort that supports four programs to inspire under-resourced youth through science, technology, engineering, mathematics, visual and performing arts – all guided by a single umbrella organization.

We use a unified approach through specific areas of interest to open new worlds of opportunity for students. Our goal is to influence children’s lives by developing literacy, competency and a positive sense of self.

Go Full STEAM is comprised of 4 programs, Robotics Challenge, Arts After 5, Artworks and Math Bee.

Our 4 programs are different in their focused content, but they all share a common philosophy – to utilize science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) as pathways for social change – for individual students and beyond. The programs provide active, hands-on activities that are responsively facilitated to promote self-expression, critical thinking, self-reflection, a sense of belonging, curiosity, motivation and individual autonomy.

Visit Go Full STEAM for more information.

 Poverty Solutions Group

Poverty Solutions Group (PSG) is a Central Florida collaborative organization committed to sustainable poverty reduction. Based on emerging best practices, PSG empowers individuals and households to achieve economic stability and engages the broader community to address systemic barriers that perpetuate community-wide poverty.

Visit Poverty Solutions Group for more information. Also visit Poverty Solutions Group Facebook.

 

    Shepherd’s Hope

Shepherd’s Hope is a faith-based health care assistance ministry for the uninsured in Central Florida. Patients eligible for services have income at or below 200% of the poverty level, are uninsured and not eligible for government assisted health care programs. Doctors and nurses are needed as well as other volunteers who serve as eligibility specialists and hosts.  Shepherd’s Hope needs volunteers from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. once a week on either Monday or Wednesday.

For more information, please contact serve@st.lukes.org.

To learn more about Shepherd’s Hope, Click Here.