There are so many wonderful programs that our parish and community members take part in, volunteering their time.
OUTREACH
Kathy Waite is the Director of St. Amelia Outreach. To contact the Outreach office, please call 716-832-2542 or you can email the office at outreach@stamelia.com
The Outreach office is open Monday through Thursday from 10:00am until 3:00pm, and is located at 200 St. Amelia Dr. (The Lighthouse) in the back entrance.
We help anyone in need at our door, no matter where they live. Here is a brief description of the services we are able to provide:
Medical supplies & lending program
Walkers, wheelchairs and transport chairs, canes, dressing aids, bath and bed rails, bath chairs, and even Hoyer lifts that are clean and in good working condition, are lent out with no charge to people who cannot afford these items. St. Amelia Outreach is now recommended to people leaving Kenmore Mercy Hospital, if their insurance does not cover needed equipment. Several physical and occupational therapists visit each week for their clients. We are the largest agency in the Northtowns to provide this service.
Donations
We accept donations of clothing, shoes, yarn, housewares, bedding & towels (when we are able), sort them and make them available to people in the community. All extras go to other agencies such as Buffalo City Mission, Cornerstone Manor, Habitat for Humanity, and St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy.
Homebound
Our home-bound and nursing home-bound parishioners are sent a card each month. Before Christmas and Easter we send care packages to them, filled with treats and small personal care items, and volunteers help to pack and deliver the care packages.
Ministry of Praise
This ministry includes people who are willing to pray for the parish in the convenience of their homes. A monthly letter goes out to them, to encourage and thank them.
Knitting Ministry
This ministry produces items like lap robes and prayer shawls for people facing family crisis or extended illness. Prayer shawls are also given out at the Healing Mass. The Knitting Ministry members pray for recipients while making prayer shawls, and they meet on the third Thursday of each month in Outreach to pray for those who have received shawls in the past.
Nurses
This ministry is dedicated to those that can be available for a call when a person or a family member is in need to have someone stay with them or for extra at-home care
Bereavement
Outreach keeps track of all funerals during the year and invites families of the deceased to the next All Souls Mass, where names of the recently deceased are read. It is a celebration of these lives.
Flag Day
Volunteers make patriotic containers for personal products, and take them to Veteran’s Hospital (when allowed) on Flag Day to distribute to residents, along with a quick visit.
Giving Tree
Our Christmas Giving Tree is for families within the parish community or school who are in need. Families sign up for assistance with gifts, tags explaining needs go onto the trees in the church, and parishioners buy, wrap, and return gifts to the trees for distribution to the families.
Answering Phones
We are always looking for volunteers to help answer phones to help those in need sign out medical equipment. General office duties are performed daily by volunteers.
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Conference of St. Amelia Parish is open and available to anyone in need of food or other types of assistance. Please call the rectory at 836-0011, ext. 109 and leave a message on the answering machine with your name and phone number along with a brief message. A member of the conference will contact you within a short period of time. When you receive a call, there will be no identifying phone number, as our volunteers will be calling from a private line.
During the past year, St. Vincent de Paul assisted 424 families consisting of a total of 1,360 people. They distributed 2,055 bags of groceries. At an average cost of $30 a bag, this represents a value of $61,650. Thanks to your generous food donations, St. Vincent de Paul’s cost to provide this care was $7,426 plus an additional $864 was spent to assist with extraordinary needs. This year they will provide Thanksgiving food boxes for 66 local families. Each of these boxes will be blessed before distribution by Fr. Sibby. Special distribution to clients also takes place at Christmas and Easter. The recipients are confidential and their privacy is respected. Many have sent letters, notes, or other communications expressing their gratitude for the assistance they received throughout the year.
The 21 St. Vincent de Paul members logged 1,300 hours of service to assist those in need and maintain our food pantry. Their greatest accomplishment was the fact that the Covid virus did not shut them down. These dedicated members of the St. Amelia St. Vincent de Paul Society kept the pantry open when other pantries in the area closed. Additionally, they provided food delivery to those who had no transportation or were confined to home during the quarantine. A number of clients who were previously homeless and placed in nearby motels by various agencies received food from our pantry along with clothing donated by parishioners to our Outreach Program
We sincerely express our deepest thanks to all the St. Amelia parishioners for their outstanding generosity and support (food goods, monetary donations, time, etc.) of the St. Vincent de Paul Ministry which allows this service to be provided to our community. We are proud and thankful for all that is accomplished through the hands and hearts of so many kind and loving people.