OUTREACH
Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill’s Outreach ministry is dedicated to demonstrating “faith in action” through programs enabling us to connect with and serve the needy in Alexandria, the region and abroad.
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At Immanuel, outreach is not just a budget line — it is a guiding philosophy and one of the keystones of our community. We don’t simply write checks to worthy causes; instead, we leverage our financial resources to support programs in which our parishioners engage actively. We view community involvement as integral to our worship and fellowship.

The Outreach program works through three primary mechanisms: 1) personal involvement by parishioners in organizations that improve others’ lives; 2) direct financial contributions by parishioners to charities or organizations; and 3) financial contributions from the Outreach budget to organizations supported by the parish.

The Outreach budget is funded principally by the proceeds of the Pumpkin Patch, the Immanuel signature event that energizes and engages the parish for the entire month of October.  (If they know we are Christians by our love, they know we are Immanuel by the Patch.)  The pumpkins are grown in New Mexico by the Navajo Indians with whom the profits are shared.  With community support for almost two decades, thousands of dollars are raised in support of charitable outreach. The Pumpkin Patch recently completed the transition to a team approach and is always looking for new team members.

The ministry is sustained and led through clergy and the Outreach Committee leaders: Rebecca Cooper, Jim Wise, and Jim Snow.  If you have any questions or would like to become involved, you may email the Outreach leaders at outreach@icoh.net.

Causes Supported by Outreach Ministry

Each year the committee prepares an Outreach budget using a set of guidelines to determine which organizations and projects to support in the coming year: 

• The organization must be tax-exempt,
• its goals must reflect the goals and values of the parish,
• it must have a plan to fulfill a clear need in an effective manner,
• it must provide evidence that funds will be used carefully and directly for the intended use, and
• Immanuel should not be the sole supporter of any program. 

Special consideration is given to organizations that offer opportunities for parish member involvement. 

​Among the more than 30 causes we annually support are the following significant Outreach programs and activities:

• ALIVE!, a coalition of Alexandria faith communities helping low-income families through food distribution, delivery of donated house wares, support of a pre-school daycare program and emergency shelter for women and families. 
  
•  Alexandria Tutoring Consortium which recruits and trains volunteers to tutor basic reading skills to kindergarten and first grade public school students who are struggling in reading.
• Alexandria Hospital Board of Lady Managers which works to build and strengthen the hospital and provide significant improvements in its medical technology and patient care.
• Alexandria Neighborhood Health Services providing access to high quality care regardless of ability to pay.
• The American Friends for the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem which is dedicated to building peace in the Holy Land by financially supporting education and healthcare. 
  
• Bishop Walker School in southeast Washington which provides a faith-based educational opportunity for at-risk young men.
• Carpenter’s Shelter - providing nutritious, home-cooked meals to Alexandria shelter residents and walk-ins.
• The Center Pole - promoting knowledge, justice and sovereignty in Native Communities.
• Community Lodgings - supporting the transitional housing program for Alexandria's formerly homeless and after-school enrichment programs for Alexandria kids.
•  The Child & Family Network Center, providing caring, high quality, free education and related services to at-risk children and families in order to prepare and empower them for success in school and life. 
• Christmas in August, in which parishioners donate school supplies for low-income Alexandria school children, and Christmas Families, in which parishioners donate gifts, books and toys to needy local families at Christmas. 
• Five Talents USA fights poverty, creates jobs and transforms lives by empowering the poor in developing countries through innovative savings and microcredit programs, business training and spiritual development.
• Haiti Micah Project, a nonprofit organization to house, feed and educate street children in Mirebalais, Haiti.  Twenty-seven children are provided loving care in the Project’s orphanage, and over 400 children are fed daily through its nutritional programs.   Immanuel Church is one of the affiliated congregations, and our parishioners are active on the Project’s board of directors.
• Heifer International helping fight hunger through sustainable agriculture.
• Hopkins House operates education enriched preschool academies for infants and children, summer discovery camps for adolescents, and a college and career development institute for teens and adults.
• Interfaith Power and Light - a religious response to climate change
• KRMA-US Partners helps under-resourced rural women in Uganda move toward economic sustainability and send their children to primary, secondary school and beyond. 
• Lazarus Ministry - a counseling and support service for low-income Alexandrians in which Immanuel partners with three other Episcopal parishes
• Offender Aid and Restoration - a community-based restorative justice organization, blends compassion and accountability to assist offenders in leading productive and responsible lives, to the benefit of all.
• Senior Services of Alexandria, an organization dedicated to programs for the elderly. 
• Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington, serving the needs of the homeless in the greater Washington, D.C. area
• Stand with Iraqi Christians, a faith-based charity which assists Christian farmers in war torn Iraq. 
• Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy.  Morally driven advocates working to advance public policies that better serve low-income, vulnerable, and underrepresented communities in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

OUTREACH POLICY