Local Outreach
Alexandria Involved Ecumenically (ALIVE!)
ALIVE! is a nonprofit organization of volunteers from nearly 40 religious congregations and the community, working together to help those in need in Alexandria. Founded in 1969, ALIVE! is the largest private safety net for the needy in the city, addressing both short- and long-term needs for those less fortunate in the community. ALIVE! serves over 12,000 Alexandrians annually with shelter; low-cost early childhood education and childcare; financial help for rent, utilities, medical care, and other critical needs; emergency food; and deliveries of donated furniture and housewares.
Alexandria Tutoring Consortium
The Alexandria Tutoring Consortium is a partnership between Alexandria churches and the Alexandria Public Elementary Schools. Volunteers tutor children one-on-one in reading. A St. Paul’s parishioner recruits tutors and coordinates our effort with the Alexandria schools’ coordinator. Tutoring materials are selected by the schools, and the schools also provide training for volunteer tutors. Scheduling is flexible.
Volunteer to tutor; the only qualifications for a volunteer tutor are a love of reading and love of children.
Angel Tree
St. Paul’s Angel Tree is a ministry in which parishioners donate toys, gift cards, and clothing for children and families designated by the City of Alexandria Department of Human Services Holiday Sharing Program as well as TC Williams students in need, and our Head Start families. A wonderful group of "Angels" from St. Paul's coordinates St. Paul's drive each year
Carpenter's Shelter
The Carpenter’s Shelter, Northern Virginia’s largest homeless shelter, provides free, comprehensive case management services that promote self-sufficiency in an environment of dignity and care to Alexandrians in need.
On the fourth Wednesday of each month, volunteers from St. Paul's provide dinner for Carpenter's Shelter guests at the shelter in Old Town Alexandria. Contact Heidi Schneble to provide a part of the meal or coordinate one of our dinners.
Christ House
Under the umbrella of Catholic Charities, Christ House serves the homeless by providing housing, employment counseling, meals, and both new and used clothing to those in need. Volunteers from St. Paul’s prepare and serve dinner to 60-80 people on the fifth Monday of each month. Christ House is located at 131 West Street, Alexandria (corner of West and Prince Streets).
Contact Hannah McCracken to help provide a part of the meal or coordinate one of our dinners.
Friends of Guest House
Friends of Guest House helps women successfully reenter the community from incarceration. Since its founding in 1974, Guest House has helped more than 3,000 women break the vicious cycle of incarceration, reunite with their families, and reintegrate into their communities. St. Paul’s holds occasional drives to collect supplies for the women of Guest House.
Contact Cathy Sachs for more information.
Hunger Free Alexandria
Hunger Free Alexandria is a cooperative effort on the part of local clergy, congregations, non-profit and community leaders to respond to the issue of hunger in Alexandria, VA. A recent report published for the Partnership for a Healthier Alexandria and the Childhood Obesity Action Network highlighted significant gaps in the services available to Alexandrians suffering from food hardship (irregular access to affordable and healthy meals). In response, these community leaders have pledged their support and leadership to fill those gaps through advocacy, financial resources and practical commitments of time, space and the volunteer labor necessary to progress toward a time when no one in our city goes hungry. For more information, visit www.hungerfreealexandria.com.
Contact Margaret Townsend for more information.
Meade Memorial Lunches
Every weekday, Meade Memorial Church in Alexandria serves bag lunches to those in need. St. Paul's volunteers make lunches several days each month.
Contact Dede Stanko for more information.
Meals-on-Wheels
Sponsored by the Alexandria Church Women, Meals-on-Wheels provides a hot and cold meal to over 90 people who are too sick or otherwise incapable of doing their own shopping and cooking. For many of those served it is their only contact with other people that day.
Virtual Food Pantry
The Virtual Food Pantry enables us to to provide food for those in need through our ministries to the needy such as Lazarus or Carpenter’s Shelter. A donation of $25 will feed a family of four for two days
Gleaning
Volunteers collect food from the Old Town farmers’ market on spring and summer Saturdays to redistribute to our various feeding ministries.
Contact Cindy Brack for more information.
