St. Mary's Youth Leading a GoochlandCARES Food Drive
Margaret Weinstein, a St. Mary's youth and freshman at St. Gertrude, recently reached out to the Outreach Committee about leading a food drive for GoochlandCARES. She shared with the committee at their most recent meeting, "This project holds significance to me because I am eager to help my community in every way that I can, especially during this time of hardship. I am excited to make a difference for those struggling, even if it is small."

By partnering with St. Mary's, Margaret hopes to make a wonderful impact. You can download this flyer for more information. The current most needed items at the GoochlandCARES Food Pantry are: soup, beans, canned fruits and vegetables, canned meat, bars of soap, dish soap, laundry detergent, feminine hygiene products, and more.

Drop off items by Monday, March 15 in the grocery cart in front of the Church Office. Or make a financial contribution by writing a check to "St. Mary's Episcopal Church" with "GoochlandCARES" in the memo line.
THANK YOU for an amazing response to the Goochland YMCA Snack Bags!
Thank you again for the INCREDIBLE response to the Goochland YMCA Snack Bags! And thank you to some of the children of St. Mary's who decorated the bags with sweet messages and stickers.

We easily received three times as much as needed! Due to that, St. Mary's was able to give the 30 snack bags to the Goochland YMCA After School kids before a long weekend at home due to snow and ice. And St. Mary's will be able to pack more snack bags in the coming months!
Updates from Outreach Partners
Introducing Gateway Homes - St. Mary's Outreach Partner
Gateway Homes helps individuals with serious mental illness (primarily schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) recover, maintain psychiatric stability, return to work or school, and move into housing in the community. Gateway is a model psycho-social rehabilitation program in that it assumes each person is capable of improving their own functioning, and provides the psychiatric care, counselling, skills training, educational services, and employment and/or volunteer service support to help them succeed. 90% of the residents continue their psychiatric stability and maintain their affordable housing.

Gateway is a unique organization in the state. They serve 120 individuals each year who have been discharged from Central State Hospital and have nowhere else to go other than home or the streets. Almost all are low income or impoverished. Most families are ill equipped to house and care for ill family members, so “home” is frequently not an option. New residents arrive with very few possessions, most having spent years in the state hospital.

Historically, St. Mary’s has annually granted money to Gateway based on their yearly grant request, and that will continue, contingent on the church’s financial condition.

In the last year, the Outreach Committee has found another, more relational, means by which we can support their mission. We have donated kitchenware for use in the apartments Gateway has for patients on their campus. This is an ongoing need as much of their equipment is woefully worn out and needs continual replacing. 

St. Mary’s looks forward to continuing its relationship with Gateway Homes and creatively and effectively supporting their ongoing needs as they arise. 
Education Equals Hope has a Podcast!
St. Mary's Outreach Partner in Ecuador, Education Equals Hope, is providing a behind the scenes look at their work as they bring HOPE to those living in desperate and difficult situations. Their new podcast, HopeCast, brings you stories of their mission and work in a way that you have never heard before.

It's a wonderful way to learn more about E=H and hopefully will inspire you to join the next mission team to Ecuador!

You can listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.