St. Michael’s Outreach Opportunities

Casa Marianella welcomes displaced immigrants, providing them with shelter and support services. In addition to financial contributions, St. Michael’s volunteers have made and delivered toiletry bags, donated household goods for immigrants moving into their own homes, and donated requested items so that families can give Christmas presents to their children.

Central Texas Interfaith (formerly Austin Interfaith) is a broad-based, non-partisan, multi-ethnic, multi-issue organization of 43 congregations, public school, and unions who work together to address public issue that affect the wellbeing of neighborhoods in the Austin community. St. Michael’s involvement has included hosting accountability sessions where voters can question candidates about election issues. CTI holds regular meetings to discuss issues and provide ways in which volunteers can take action.

Del Valle Book Drive Each May, St. Michael’s parishioners donate new and gently-used books (about 2,000 per year) to Del Valle Elementary, a school where 84% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Each student selects two books to take home. Last year, surplus books were put on a bookmobile to circulate in Del Valle neighborhoods during the summer.

El Buen Samaritano has been building healthy, resilient and vibrant communities by addressing the physical, social and emotional wellbeing of low-income Latino families. They offer coordinated medical, literacy, food stability and spiritual support services. Among other things, St. Michael’s provides financial support, especially for the Hands of Hope drive that raises money for families to have traditional Thanksgiving meals and supplements El Buen’s food pantry.

Episcopal Relief and Disaster (ERD) facilitates healthier, more fulfilling lives in communities struggling with hunger, poverty, disaster and disease. St. Michael’s partners with ERD during Lent to raise funds and donates from our outreach funds at other times, too, thanks to the generosity of parishioners.

Honduras Mission Project

Manos de Cristo hopes to empower low-income individuals from all backgrounds with a loving hand of assistance and a variety of programs so that they can participate fully in the life of their community. St. Michael’s delivers fresh produce from our garden each week as well as doing food drives and donating funds in aid of their programs.

Mobile Loaves and Fishes St. Michael’s volunteers help with Mobile Loaves and Fishes (MLF) on the first Friday of every month. MLF provides food and clothing, cultivates community and promotes dignity to the homeless in need. The volunteers meet at the MLF Commissary to help load the truck with sandwiches, food, and supplies. The food and supplies are distributed to homeless people in downtown Austin.

Neighbor 2 Neighbor This program is one offered by Welcome Table, Inc., which serves families in East Austin and is largely based at St. James’ Episcopal Church. St. Michael’s donates fresh produce from our garden.

Prison Letter Writing Ministry The purpose of this ministry is to provide relationships and outside connections for men who are incarcerated. The letter writers meet monthly to share correspondence and seek support from each other to prayerfully develop helpful, healthy relationships with the inmates.

Refugee Services of Texas & Episcopal Migration Ministries Volunteers from St. Michael’s provide basic furnishings for an apartment, stock the refrigerator and pantry, meet the family at the airport, provide a welcoming hot meal, help the family get social security cards, transport them to get physicals and vaccinations, help them enroll children in school and English classes, and generally introduce the family to the city and a new culture.  

St. Michael’s Garden The St Michael’s garden, located on the south side of the education building, is a vegetable garden tended and nurtured by St. Michael’s parishioners. Vegetables from the garden are taken weekly to the Neighbor 2 Neighbor food pantry at St. James’ Episcopal Church and to Manos de Cristo.

Sunday Ministry is currently on hiatus due to the COVID pandemic.

Trinity Center St. Michael’s parishioners volunteer six or seven times a year at Trinity Center, a faith-based organization conducting programs that serve the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of the poor and homeless in Austin. The volunteer team sets up the room, welcomes neighbors, provides music, serves as chalice bearers, cooks, serves, cleans, and visits with the neighbors.

Women’s Storybook Project of Texas helps incarcerated mothers maintain contact with and bring comfort to their children. There are many ways to volunteer, such as visiting the prisons to help mothers record stories and messages of love, donating books, or helping in the organization’s office with book sorting and mailing packages.