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Community Partners: Service & Outreach

Active Partners in our Community

With a core mission of building bridges and connecting with our neighbors, St. John’s actively supports many education, food, and housing programs in the Greater Hartford community.

For more information about St. John’s local community partnerships and how you can get involved, contact the Community Service chairperson, Lisa Mahoney, or the parish office.  Specific volunteer opportunities are publicized through the Sunday bulletin and weekly e-mail newsletter.

LOAVES & FISHES serves a hot meal five days a week at Immanuel Congregational Church (Farmington Avenue and Woodland Street). St. John’s volunteers shop for food, prepare and serve meals every second Wednesday of the month. Volunteers rotate responsibilities for preparing and serving. In addition, once a month after a Sunday service, St. John’s members make 200 sandwiches for Loaves & Fishes to distribute to their clients.

THE ST. JOHN’S BLESSING BOX  is a “little free food pantry” located on church grounds along Farmington Avenue. All are invited to leave what they can and take what they need. Many neighborhood residents have come to rely on the Blessing Box to get a few extra food items to supplement their household and food stamp budgets.

THE TOWN OF WEST HARTFORD FOOD PANTRY, located at Town Hall, provides food once a month to West Hartford residents in need. St. John’s regularly collects nonperishable food to donate to the food pantry.

GRACE ACADEMY is a school for girls from underserved communities in Hartford. St. John’s sponsors a student (covering her tuition, fees, uniform, etc.), and parish volunteers also participate in many activities with the students, including a Girl Scout troop, craft workshops, and community service activities.

COVENANT PREP is a school for boys from underserved communities in Hartford. St. John’s provides financial and other support.

TRINITY ACADEMY is a co-educational elementary school housed at Trinity Episcopal Church in Hartford. St. John’s provides financial and other support.

CHRISTMAS GIFT CARDS FOR KIDS are given to children participating in the Stronger Families, Stronger Futures program, which offers case management, developmental screening and parenting education for parents/caregivers of children ages birth to 5 years. Each Christmas, St. John’s parishioners donate gift cards to help families participating in this program to purchase gifts, food, and other items for their holiday celebrations.

ESOL AND CITIZENSHIP CLASSES, run by the Town of West Hartford, take place at St. John’s four days a week during the school year. New immigrants and refugees from all over the world come to St. John’s to learn English and study for their citizenship tests. Besides providing space for these programs in our building, St. John’s provides significant financial support.

JOURNEY HOME is the premier organization working to end homelessness in the Greater Hartford area. In addition to providing annual funding support to Journey Home, St. John’s provides volunteer assistance and in-kind donations to support Journey Home in furnishing apartments for people transitioning out of homelessness.