Be part of the movement and help Grow it Forward,
by volunteering on the Micro Farm:

Grow It Forward Farm at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church
4851 S Apopka Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL 32819
Thursdays 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

 

• How will my gift help children and families?
  • Your Restoring Hope Offering will go to:
    • moving working families from motels, storage units, and over-crowded houses into their own apartments
    • closing meal gaps for children facing hunger and who don’t know where their next meal is coming from
    • connecting families with Jobs Partnership, Circles and other empowering programs.
• How many children and families will be served? 
  • With your gifts…
    • 60 families who are homeless at Maxey and Mollie Ray Elementary Schools (St. Luke’s Educational IMPACT partner schools) could gain stable housing.
    • 1,400+ food insecure youth at Olympia High School could focus on their studies instead of worrying about having enough to eat.
    • 50 young people in East Winter Garden will have consistent access to nutritious food options.

• How can I Restore Hope for children and families?

  • Mail your gift to: St. Luke’s United Methodist Church (c/o Finance Office) 4851 S. Apopka-Vineland Rd. Orlando, FL 32819
  • Tap “Give” on the home screen of the app
  • Click/tap the “give” button below or visit st.lukes.org/give and select “Restoring Hope” from the dropdown menu.

Stable Housing – St. Luke’s partners with families from Maxey and Mollie Ray Elementary Schools. These families are precariously housed – living in motels or doubled up in over-crowded houses. Since June 2019, we have 22 families we have helped move into their own rental units. We provide wrap around services for families so that they stabilize economically and begin to thrive.

If you are a Maxey or Mollie Ray family and need housing assistance, please fill in the intake form by clicking on the button below.

Maxey Elementary School Food Assistance – 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. You can be part of the Food Distribution Team!

Food Security – This initiative has two areas of focus: teen hunger and building a county-wide network to end hunger. In partnership with Olympia High School and Second Harvest, St. Luke’s is providing healthy snacks and fresh produce to students through a student-run Titan Market Place.  St. Luke’s is also one of 5 lead organizations which is bringing together organizations, advocates, government agencies, businesses and higher education institutions to build the Central Florida Alliance to End Hunger.

St. Luke’s has a Micro Farm on campus!

In 2018, our congregation voted to impact Family Homelessness and Childhood Hunger. This can only be achieved through long-term, sustainable programs allowing the community to step forward and own it! Our micro farm is a pilot program we hope will GROW throughout the community!

Welcome to our Training Information section where you can become familiar with our training held throughout the year and stay updated on the current training schedule.

 Cultural Intelligence (CQ)

CQ is the capability to function effectively in a variety of cultural contexts—including national, ethnic, organizational, generational, and many other cultures. Enhance the multicultural understanding and effectiveness of your ministry with this only evidence-based assessment of Cultural Intelligence (CQ). This is for anyone wanting to participate in a global ministry team or serving locally in a cross-cultural setting.

Upcoming Event Date: TBA

 

 

 Virtual Racial Wealth Gap Simulation

How does racism function at a policy level to create wealth gaps where poverty, hunger and homelessness can thrive?

The Racial Wealth Gap Learning Simulation is an interactive tool which helps participants learn how federal policies created structural inequalities, and how these policies increase hunger and poverty in communities of color.

Upcoming Event Date: TBA

 

 

Mission Effectiveness 101: Moving Beyond Benevolence

Explore ways to balance charity or relief work with initiatives that are relational and measure long-term impact.  Participants will discuss how to move beyond charity and benevolence toward a balance of missions that includes betterment and development. The workshop will discuss mission from a United Methodist and Wesleyan perspective, what the Bible says about poverty, and asset-based development. This course provides a safe environment in which to explore how to understand diversity, the personal filter one takes into the field when serving, and serving with people from very different backgrounds.

Upcoming Event Date: TBA

 

 

 

 

Poverty Solutions Group – the lead organization for Circles Central Florida – provides immersive training opportunities for individuals, groups, and organizations aimed at raising awareness, shifting mindsets, and creating community change.

Bridges out of Poverty – Learn about the dynamics that cause and maintain poverty from the individual to the systemic level. Based on Ruby Payne’s Understanding Poverty bestselling book, Bridges covers the “hidden rules” of class (poverty, middle, and wealthy) and helps people from all walks of life to better understand and communicate with people from a diversity of backgrounds.

Cost of Poverty Experience (C.O.P.E.) –COPE moves participants beyond stereotypes to a more holistic understanding of the drivers and results of poverty.

COPE is a 3-hour experiential in-person event designed to give a glimpse into the lives of low-income families.  This is because the experiential nature of this training helps organizations and communities more deeply understand the complexities of poverty, paving the way to address the issues more comprehensively. Participants take on the roles based on real family profiles gifted to this experience.

Upcoming Event Date: TBA

 

To learn more about Bridges out of Poverty or the Cost of Poverty Experience through Poverty Solutions Group, please click on the link below.