The Outreach Committee focuses on providing opportunities for Trinity members to help address unmet basic needs both locally and globally. Please contact Director of Discipleship Sylvia Stouten for additional information about the work of this committee or to find out how to get involved with specific opportunities to be of help.
Trinity is one of many area congregations that provides shelter and meals for up to five homeless families on site at Trinity for a week at a time on a quarterly basis combining safe and comfortable surroundings and the hospitality of volunteer hosts. There are many volunteer opportunities during each host week including making meals, playing with the children, staying overnight, helping with set up and tear down, driving a truck and more! In the fall of 2019, Trinity held a Live Auction and was able to donate over $13,000 toward the Family Promise Partners in Housing program.
prior to the pandemic, Trinity had five separate volunteer teams of members who helped serve an evening meal once every other month. We look forward to rebuilding these volunteer teams when we can go back to Dégagé. Be sure to let us know if you would like to volunteer with other Trinity members as we resume this meaningful work.
Trinity has a long history of involvement with and support of the work of our local Habitat affiliate. We put together a team of volunteers from Trinity for a Saturday in the summer to work on a Build together.
members are encouraged to participate in adult tutoring through the Literacy Center of West Michigan and to participate in tutoring children via the program through First United Methodist Church and Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Academy. Over the years, we have had a variety of tutoring opportunities, most recently through the United Way Schools of Hope program before it was eliminated.
this is a relatively new group at Trinity and the members are eager to get back to their work related to environmental issues. Their efforts include education, advocacy and participation in projects like the annual Mayor's Grand River Cleanup.
this group enjoys meeting regularly to make simple yet beautiful multi-purpose quilts that are shipped around the world wherever the need is greatest. Volunteers do not need to know how to quilt in order to participate. If you can tie a knot, there will be plenty of work for you. In 2020, the group produced over 100 quilts. During the pandemic, the group made more than 400 masks for children and adults which were distributed locally.
in recent years, Trinity has helped settle families with the Congolese community and we have supported several Burmese families. We have been involved in Grand Rapids area refugee resettlement with Samaritas.
on a regular basis, members are invited to donate specific items that are distributed to area non-profits. Examples include cleaning products, personal hygiene products, diapers and underwear, coats and blankets, and bus tickets. We also collect school supplies for Congress Elementary School.
Trinity works closely with the Access caseworkers to help people financially who come to them with specific needs.
Trinity has been very blessed to be able to help financially support area non-profits. The generosity of our members enables us to budget for benevolence and make quarterly donations to help financially support 17 local non-profits. We also have a Mission Endowment Fund, the annual distributions of which are ear-marked for organizations in the community.