The Alleluia Fund distributes funds collected from individuals and parishes across the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, as well as funds allocated to outreach within the diocesan budget. These funds assist the most vulnerable of God’s people in our diocese by supporting programs that provide food, housing, education, and other services in our diocese and abroad. Calvary donates to the Alleluia fund annually.
The mission of the Apostles’ House is “to provide comprehensive social services to homeless and at-risk families and individuals in the Newark area in an environment that encourages and enables self-sufficiency.” In 2022 Calvary adopted a room at the new emergency shelter, providing new furniture and decorations as well as a written blessing in order to create a safe, welcoming space for all who stay in that space. Calvary will continue to update the room as needed.
Bridges is a Summit based organization that reaches out to the homeless in Newark, Irvington, and Summit, and New York City every week. Over 2,000 volunteers each year help deliver 65,000 meals, seasonal clothing, and necessities without question and with genuine respect. Calvary regularly donates to Bridges and involves youth in Bridges outreach including packing sustainable lunches and hygiene kits and distributing meals to those in need.
Church World Service’s Jersey City office resettles refugees in the area, providing comprehensive case management. Calvary has donated welcome baskets full of cleaning supplies and new mattresses to refugee families moving to New Jersey for the first time.
The Community FoodBank of NJ serves over 800 local soup kitchens and food pantries in 15 counties in order to fight hunger and poverty in NJ. They purchase and collect food for distribution, help people with SNAP applications, bring mobile pantries to communities with limited resources, run a 14-week culinary job-training program, and provide hygiene products on a monthly basis. Calvary regularly donates towards these efforts.
Family Promise is a nonprofit organization committed to helping low-income families achieve lasting independence. Prior to the pandemic, Calvary hosted families for 2 weeks every fall and spring, providing food, overnight shelter, support, and encouragement for these families as they strive for a better life. Since the pandemic began, families have been housed in separate temporary shelters to maintain safe distancing.
Calvary creates and distributes Welcome Baskets filled with cleaning supplies to ease the stress of moving and welcome the families graduating from the temporary shelter program into their own homes. During Advent, Calvary also collects toys and other gifts through our Giving Tree to ensure the families have a festive holiday season. And in 2021 Calvary provided financial support for necessary repairs to Family Promise’s offices after damage from Hurricane Ida.
GRACE (Giving and Receiving Assistance for our Community’s Essentials) meets community needs with community resources to enable good health and success of our vulnerable and underserved neighbors in the Summit area. GRACE distributes approximately 16,000 pounds of fresh food and supplies to an average of 430 households each week. GRACE also uses community networking to help families meet other needs, such as school supplies, medical checkups, immigration support, etc. Early in the pandemic, Calvary collected shelf stable food items for GRACE’s weekly distribution before they shifted back to fresh food. Calvary regularly donates funds to GRACE as well as in-kind donations such as school supplies and spices.
Hosted by St Teresa’s Catholic Church in Summit, Loaves & Fishes stocks nonperishable food items for weekly distribution to approximately 60 local families. Each week Calvary collects food items in baskets at the back entrance of the church and delivers them to Loaves & Fishes once the basket is full.
Morris Habitat for Humanity builds and rehabilitates houses in partnership with families in need. They are currently working on a new construction project which will result in 12 affordable condos on Morris Avenue in Summit for low- and moderate-income families. Calvary has contributed to this project financially, and sent a group of volunteers to paint multiple units in the summer of 2023.
Originally founded by the Diocese of Newark, North Porch currently serves 450 children per month, providing emergency aid in the form of baby supplies to mothers and infants in Northern New Jersey. During the formula shortage of 2022, Calvary donated funds to help North Porch keep their shelves stocked with formula so that families can continue to nourish their babies.
One World One Love welcomes refugees and asylum seekers resettling in New Jersey by setting up apartments filled with generous donations of furniture and basic necessities. With the help of a robust volunteer base, they have set up over 130 households and provided services to over 750 individuals. In 2022 Calvary’s middle school youth group raised funds with a pancake mix sale in order to fill 11 welcome baskets with a selection of spices and tea commonly used in Afghanistan. These baskets were distributed to incoming families resettling in New Jersey.
The Diocese of Newark’s Prison Ministry runs several programs benefitting incarcerated individuals and their families. These initiatives include a Bible study within Northern State Prison, a pen pal program, and PATCH (Parents and their Children), which supports children of incarcerated parents by accompanying them on visits to see their parents, hosting Saturday mentor programming, and collecting supplies for school and gifts for Christmas. Each year Calvary collects backpacks and schools supplies for children of incarcerated parents. In 2023 we were able to donate 184 filled backpacks!
The Summit Interfaith Clergy Fellowship formed a task force of clergy, public officials, and concerned citizens whose goal was to assist homeless and at-risk homeless not served by other programs. SHIP has served breakfast and provided a sack lunch every weekday using Calvary’s facilities since October 1991. SHIP provides over 16,000 meals annually.
Founded in 2020 by the Summit Interfaith Council, this fund is specifically designated for undocumented immigrants and families in need who were not able to benefit from government-issued stimulus checks. In 2021 Calvary financially contributed to this fund to make sure all eligible candidates were able to receive support.
Summit Warm Hearts invites our “neighbors without address” into local houses of worship to provide a safe and warm place to share a meal and spend the night. The program is currently run through the Summit Interfaith Council. The day program runs 7 days a week from mid-November until late-March, providing lunch, snacks, a shower, coordination for laundry, and connection to vital services like medical care and social services. Overnight shelter is provided at several local houses of worship. Throughout the winter season Calvary’s parishioners participate in this vital ministry by serving as onsite hosts and cooking or delivering fresh meals.
