Partners | St. Mary's Arlington

Partner Organizations

St. Mary's partners with over 40 organizations to through volunteer work, financial contributions, offering Outreach Committee Grants, and through regular prayer. See below for more details on some of our current and past partners.

Arl Community Foundation

The foundation uses the power of philanthropy and its role as community convener and catalyst to improve the quality of life in Arlington and beyond. It strengthens local nonprofits and addresses the most critical issues of our time to ensure that our community provides opportunity for everyone.

AFRECS

American Friends of the Episcopal Church of the Sudans - AFRECS. Focused on pastoral and peace building needs in the Sudan and on caring for the diaspora in the US. Includes care for orphans, healing from the severe trauma of war, and helping to promote successful
resettlement of Sudanese in the US.

Basma

Jerusalem Princess Basma Center. Operating under the umbrella of the Arab Anglican Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Centre is a Child Rehabilitation Centre for Palestinian children with disabilities and is a resource for clinical training and dissemination of best practices. Operates an inclusive school serving children with disabilities from Kindergarten to 12 th grade.

Culmore Clinic

Non-profit healthcare clinic serving low-income adults in Bailey’s Crossroads area at little to no cost. Offers compassionate medical care and counseling services.

Dream Project

Empowers Virginia students whose immigration status creates barriers to higher education through access to scholarships, resources, and mentors.

Doorways

Creates pathways out of homelessness, domestic violence and sexual assault leading to safe, stable and empowered lives.

Rebuilding Together

The vision of Rebuilding Together is for safe homes and communities for everyone. They make critical repairs, at no charge, for low-income homeowners and non-profit organizations. St. Mary’s parishioners raise funds for building supplies and do hands-on building project work to upgrade low-income housing. St. Mary’s has been working with Rebuilding Together since 2000. To volunteer with St. Mary’s crew, contact Jane Shafran at jane.shafran@stmarysarlington.org

Back on My Feet

Combats homelessness through the power of fitness, community support and essential employment and housing resources.

Together We Bake

A comprehensive workforce training and personal development program for underserved and underrepresented women that allows women to find employment and move toward self-sufficiency.

Iglesia Santa Maria

Santa Maria is St. Mary’s sister church in Falls Church, VA and serves a predominantly immigrant congregation many of whom require food or other social services assistance. We are pleased to celebrate feast days and worship together with Santa Maria on occasion.

St. Mary’s conducts a food drive and a food distribution twice a month to provide food security for Santa Maria’s community. This is done in two shifts on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of every month. During the first shift from 2pm - 4pm, volunteers repackage produce into smaller portions. During the second shift from 3:45pm - 6pm, volunteers load food into the trunks of cars that have lined up. Approximately 300 families are supported each distribution. To volunteer, contact Ridgely Benjamin at ridgelybenjamin@gmail.com

Path Forward

PathForward transforms lives by delivering housing solutions and pathways to stability. They envision an inclusive and equitable community where all neighbors live stable, secure, and independent lives free from the threat of homelessness. Services provided include bagged meals daily, operation of the Arlington County Homeless Services Center including its shelter program, and housing programs.

St. Mary’s prepares bagged meals for PathForward on the 2nd Monday of every month from 9:30 am to 11:00 am. To volunteer, contact Marjorie Barclay at mebarclay0@gmail.com

In addition, St. Mary’s provides a financial grant to PathForward to enable them to accomplish their mission. St. Mary’s has supported PathForward for over 21 years.

Arl Food Assistance Center

AFAC feeds our neighbors by providing dignified access to nutritional supplemental groceries. Food is obtained and distributed directly, free of charge, to people in Arlington who cannot afford to purchase enough food to meet their basic needs.

St. Mary’s distributes food for AFAC every Thursday from 11:30 am to 1:15 pm. To volunteer, please use the Sign Up Genius, (add Link) and feel free to contact George Covucci at covuccigeorge@gmail.com or Lynn Fuechsel lynnfuechsel@gmail.com for more information. St. Mary’s has supported AFAC since 2013.

VOICE

Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement. St. Mary’s is a founding member of VOICE which is a nonpartisan organization of over 40 faith communities that organize together to build power to improve the lives of our families, communities, region and nation.

Current initiatives include advocating for the formation of Crisis Receiving Centers as alternatives to jail or emergency rooms for people in mental health crises to stabilize and get referrals for treatment.; and initiatives to address the housing supply and affordability crises.

St. Mary’s parishioners are active in Voice’s initiatives. To get involved in Voice, contact Marjorie Green at vagreenfam@verizon.net

Other Local & Regional Grants

Arlington Friends of Urban Agriculture (2020)
Arlington Neighborhood Village (2020)
Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (2013)
Arlington Free Clinic (2009)
EcoAction Arlington Tree Canopy (2022)
Arlington Thrive (2019)
Aspire! (2022)
Culpepper Gardens (2018)
Friends of Guest House (2014)
L’Arche (2012)
Offender Aid and Restoration – OAR (2009)
Restoration Immigration Legal Assistance – RILA (2020)
Shirlington Employment and Education - SEEC (2013)
Virginia Hospital Center Pediatrics (2007)

International Partnerships

St. Mary’s provides financial grants to the following international partners to support their efforts.

The first year of the grant is indicated in ( ).

Tri-Parish Refugee Sponsorship Circle

St. Mary’s, with All Souls Episcopal Church and St. John’s Lafayette Square, provided housing, furnishings and legal/social services support to an Afghan refugee family. (2021)

Tanzania Food Security

A program in the Diocese of Central Tanganyika that provides educational materials to Tanzanian farmers on techniques to enable them to increase crop yields in the face of climate change. (2022)

Carpenter’s Kids

An orphan support program in the Diocese of Central Tanganyika that provides an education to children who have been adversely affected by the loss of one or both parents due to HIV/AIDS or other serious illness. (2013)

Episcopal Relief and Development

The compassionate response of The Episcopal Church to human suffering in the world. Priorities include improving food and nutrition, protecting health and preventing disease, economic stability, providing access to clean water, hygiene and sanitation, and ending violence against women. (2020)

The Dream Project

Empowers Virginia students whose immigration status creates barriers to higher education through access to scholarships, resources, and mentors. (2018)

Continued - Partnerships Page which is reached via a tab on the Outreach main page

Jerusalem Princess Basma Center

Operating under the umbrella of the Arab Anglican Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Centre is a Child Rehabilitation Centre for Palestinian children with disabilities and is a resource for clinical training and dissemination of best practices. Operates an inclusive school serving children with disabilities from Kindergarten to 12th grade. (2022)

American Friends of the Episcopal Church of the Sudanese - AFRECS. Focused on pastoral and peace building needs in the Sudan and on caring for the diaspora in the US. Includes care for orphans, healing from the severe trauma of war, and helping to promote successful resettlement of Sudanese in the US.

Amistad Mission - Bolivia

Since 1990, Villa Amistad has provided a loving Christian community to children who have been abused, abandoned or orphaned. Amistad has a Child Abandonment Prevention program for families to address the root causes of violence and abuse that lead to family disintegration. (2019)