Society of St. Stephen

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For additional information and late-breaking news visit our main
St. Stephen Ministry website at www.societyofststephen.org

The Society of St. Stephen is an outreach ministry initially established in 2003. It recognizes an early Christian disciple who spearheaded efforts of the struggling new church to take care of the temporal needs of its poorer members. Our motto, "A Helping Hand Up, Not a Hand Out," serves as a guide for this ministry.

The work of Society of St. Stephen is two-fold: First, there is the Food Pantry, from which food is distributed Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Second, Helping Hand Up enables clients to transition back to the work force and/or out of undesirable living conditions. Through various resources, we have helped clients find employment, pay necessary bills prior to receiving a first paycheck, or pay for transportation back home or to another support system.

Our organization provides individuals and families just enough assistance to facilitate "a helping hand" up from abysmal poverty. The clients, however, are not given carte blanche; rather, they receive "just enough," which most often consists of non-perishable groceries for three days and a referral for employment and/or other services. Back-to-work programs are a high priority for Society of St. Stephen. Restoring hope for individuals through gainful employment is essential for restoration of an improved quality of life. The ultimate goal at St. Stephen is to offer an interview process whereby individuals are given opportunities to explore possibilities and plot courses of action in order to reclaim their independence from public assistance.

The food pantry is open:

Mondays  10 am - 2 pm
Wednesdays  4 pm - 6 pm
Fridays  10 am - 2 pm

Click here to view St. Stephen Brochure pages

Logo courtesy of Eric Ko -- designbyericko.com

For location, see map at bottom of page

The Society of St. Stephen Ministry reaches out to the Las Vegas community

Society of St. Stephen Reaches Out to Community
by Mary Lovelady

Society of St. Stephen welcomes community partnerships. For-profit as well as non-profit partners have offered invaluable support this year. Assistance League of Las Vegas at 6446 W. Charleston Blvd. - Beautiful teddy bears for children of families requesting food at St. Stephen. Centennial High School (Navy) NJROTC - Holiday Food Drive and occasional projects. The Gideons International - Bibles for requesting families.

Income raised through fundraising is used to purchase food. Fundraiser(s) in 2009: Pies Unlimited $683, EcoPhones (cells recycling) $ 9; Macy's Shop for a Cause cards $425; Applebee's Flapjack Breakfast $441.

Trinity United Methodist Church members and groups generously contribute both funding and food to assist Society of St. Stephen. In addition to the generous contributions from individual church members/families, Trinity groups contributing financial support in 2009 include: Keenagers; Lydia Circle

Memorials in memory of loved ones have been donated to the St. Stephen ministry. A total of $1,045 has been received through memorial giving in 2009.

In-Kind Donations of Items and/or Services: Information Technology assistance - Jim Young, Nevada Technical Support; Office equipment/supplies - St. Stephen Team members.

FOOD PANTRY REPORT: St. Stephen provides groceries for 9 meals per client with cooking facilities. The total meals distributed is estimated by multiplying the number of clients by 9, then adding the number of individual homeless lunches.
25,120 non-perishable meals were provided in the first 10 months of 2009.

Homeless Ministry: Clients receive Lunches M/W/F and occasional Wednesday evening invitations to the Heart & Soul Potluck and/or church service. 128 Homeless persons have been served at St. Stephen in the past fifteen months. 928 Nutritional zip-bag lunches have been provided in 10 months this year. $ 2.89 is the cost of one homeless lunch.

Marginalized Poor Ministry: Clients with cooking facilities receive non-perishable groceries for 3 days and may be served 3 times per year. They also are invited to church services if interest in spirituality is expressed. Occasionally, clients are referred to the Helping Hand Up program. 30% Clients are children (under age 18); $19.63 is the cost of groceries for family of 3 for 3 days.

HELPING HAND UP REPORT: Qualifying clients receive information about area resources, job connections, and goal setting. When funding is available, support may be provided through the Pastor's Discretionary Fund. Church members have been encouraged to consider supporting this fund by dropping one dollar per week in a receptacle at the sanctuary exit.

Financial Assistance Provided: $5,319 Rent/mortgage, power bills, transportation, medical bills. Thus far this year, 16 clients have been assisted at an average of $532 per month.

ONGOING GOALS OF SOCIETY OF ST. STEPHEN: 1. Increase number of volunteers for all facets of the ministry. 2. Continue to provide training for Food Pantry and Helping Hand Up volunteers to ensure consistency of services. 3. Seek additional funding and supportive partnerships. 4. Heighten community awareness and support through improved publicity. 5. Increase marketing to attract private donor, business and foundation support.

Jesus said, "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in…" "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25, NIV.) As his disciples, we are committed to continuing his ministry.

 

This wonderful mission began in 2003, when Gary McCallister, Sherri French, the Loving Office Volunteers and a few others distributed some bags of food from the church office. Thanks to all of you, we are better equipped today to assist folks in need. While we had anticipated growth in client numbers throughout the past year, our numbers often appeared "stable." But in late summer 2009 it appears that more of our clients who have been seeking jobs are seeing an end to their unemployment income and not finding jobs. Therefore, even more people in our community are in need of basics such as food.

Some Monthly Statistics Sep
2008
Oct Nov Dec Jan
2009
Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct
Number of households served 105 99 110 120 108 96 110 79 102 105 104 122 113 123
Total number of people served 320 307 313 347 284 219 277 186 264 255 260 337 304 305
Number of senior citizens served 13 15 13 27 23 19 41 14 22 30 19 34 17 17
Number of children served 116 92 107 98 108 56 85 48 89 61 92 132 101 105
Number of meals served 2,768 2,612 2,646 2,969 2,654 2,047 2,572 1,755 2,441 2,365 2,435 3,152 2,856 2,843
Estimated percent of seniors (60 or over) 4% 5% 4% 8% 8% 8% 14% 7% 8% 10% 6% 9% 5% 5%
Estimated percent of children (under 18) 36% 30% 31% 28% 38% 26% 28% 23% 32% 21% 32% 36% 30% 32%

 


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Trinity United Methodist Church Las Vegas
6151 W. Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas, NV, 89146 
Phone 702-870-4747, Fax 702-870-8919

Christian Child Care Center/School
Phone 702-870-4749, Fax 702-822-1694