OCA makes 2008 Charity Grant disbursements

The Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America recently announced the distribution of charity grants for 2008. The grants are administered by the OCA’s Charity Committee, chaired by Archpriest John Reeves.

The 2008 grant recipients are as follows.

  • Loaves and Fishes Ministry, Atlanta, GA, a Pan-Orthodox outreach to the needy of the city of Atlanta. Loaves and Fishes Ministry, which offers those in need two meals per day five days a week, will receive $5,000.00 to aid in its service to the homeless and the hungry.
  • Raphael House, San Francisco, CA, was the first shelter for homeless children and families in northern California. Currently, it serves approximately 100 families through the Residential Shelter Program and 1,100 children and parents through it’s AfterCare Program. Raphael House will receive $5,000.00 to defray costs related to maintaining its live-in volunteer program.
  • St. George Food Pantry, a ministry of St. George Orthodox Church, Pharr, TX, assists needy families in Hildago County, located in the Rio Grande Valley region of south Texas. Hidalgo County is statistically the second poorest county in the United States. The pantry received a grant of $8,000.00 to help purchase a new truck to aid in its food distribution ministry.

“We are very pleased to make these distributions and are very grateful to the Charity Committee for their work,” said OCA treasurer, Priest Michael Tassos. “It is so important for us to always remember that reaching out to those in need is an essential part of the Church’s life. It is a way to proclaim the Good News by deeds as well as words.”

More information on OCA charity disbursements may be found here.