Outreach

What most clearly distinguishes St. Andrew’s is our long-standing commitment to outreach.  This ministry is directed primarily to those who are homeless and hungry, and our activities involve virtually everyone in our parish in one way or another.  Our outreach programs help St. Andrew’s maintain a visible presence in our community, and demonstrate our deep commitment to helping those less fortunate than ourselves.

Overflow Shelter Program

Bergen County is one of the most affluent areas in the country, but it has more than 5,000 homeless people.  While there is a county shelter in Hackensack, located about ten miles from Harrington Park, that facility cannot provide enough beds for those who need shelter each night. In 1988, St. Andrew’s became one of the first churches to join the Interreligious Fellowship for the Homeless of Bergen County and to participate in its Overflow Shelter Program.  We provide overnight shelter on Saturday nights for six months each year for up to ten homeless adults.  We provide our guests a home-cooked dinner when they arrive Saturday evening, breakfast the next morning, and lunch for them to take when they leave. While volunteers from other churches also serve as hosts and provide food, it is St. Andrew's that provides the facility and is the most active in terms of providing hosts, food, and leadership of this program.  We have actively involved scout troops and youth from our parish and the local schools in preparing meals and serving our guests. We completed 20 years of hosting this program in May 2008.  Since we began, over 3,800 guests have stayed in our parish hall.

Annual Harrington Park Food Drive

For each of the past 15 years, we have conducted an annual community-wide food drive.  Adult and youth members of St. Andrew’s, as well as other volunteers, deliver empty grocery bags to the nearly 1,600 homes in Harrington Park, asking that they be filled with groceries and returned to the church.  Each year we collect about 300 bags of groceries (more than two tons of food).  Since we began, we have collected food worth $75,000, which we have distributed to nearby food pantries.

Walk-In Dinner Program

Twice each year our parish prepares dinner for 100 people, takes it to a crisis center in Hackensack, and then serves it as part of a program to feed those who would otherwise go hungry.  The preparation and serving of the food is accomplished by the active participation of many of our parishioners.

Weekly Food Basket Collection

Each Sunday our younger children pass a basket during the Offertory and collect canned goods and other non-perishables.  These are then taken to local food pantries.

Annual CROP Walk

Our parishioners participate each fall in this 10K walk to raise funds to combat hunger.  St. Andrew’s usually ranks in the top three participating congregations in our area in terms of money raised and participants who walk.  We also host a refreshment station for those who are participating in the CROP Walk.

Other Outreach

In addition to the love and labor we invest in outreach, St. Andrew’s gives direct financial support to our Diocese and other organizations.