Parish Outreach

Clarke Parish BELIEVES in Outreach!

The Backpack Food Ministry

The Backpack Ministry is an exciting, vibrant ministry of Clarke Parish to feed hungry children in the Clarke County community. Donated meals are sent home for children who have been identified by their school guidance counselors. Each weekend and holiday, the identified students take home bags packed with breakfast, lunch, and dinner items. They also receive juice, milk, and snacks.

The entire congregation has generously supported the Backpack Ministry. Along with a number of other local individuals, many parishioners are actively involved on a weekly or monthly basis. Volunteers from Clarke Parish purchase food, organize supplies, communicate with schools, pack bags, and deliver food to the schools every week during the school year. At Grace Church we pack for an average of 40 local children who receive food each week. During the 2017 – 2018 school year, more than 14,000 meals were packed at Grace Church for Clarke County children in need.

Other Clarke County churches work with us and with the local schools to pack for an additional 40 – 50 children. The Backpack Ministry is truly a wonderful way for us to serve God in our own community.

Food Distribution
for F.I.S.H.

Each February, parishioners from Clarke Parish volunteer to set up and staff the monthly food giveaway, as well as pay for the 2+ tons of food delivered from the local food bank! This is a worthwhile Outreach project that allows our volunteers an opportunity to interact with community neighbors who require a little extra assistance. It’s a good workout too – some heavy lifting and scurrying around filing all those food boxes.

Winchester Area Temporary Thermal Shelter (WATTS)

The Winchester area has an ever-increasing homeless population.  As a response to help during the winter months, the WATTS program was initiated.  Its good works has spread to Clarke County when the Clarke County Ruritan graciously donates its main building and it is transformed into a temporary thermal shelter for a week each January. Clarke Parish, other local churches, and service organizations each volunteer to sponsor the WATTS program for a day by hosting overnight guests from 6 pm until 6 am the following day.  We provide hot meals, a warm bed, social time, games, and over night supervision.  In addition to staffing the shelter, Clarke Parish holds a coat drive in the weeks leading up to WATTS.  We collect gently used coats, mittens, cold-weather gear, socks and toiletries for distribution to the ‘guests’.