Tri-Area Ministry (TAM)

Contact Information:
Tri-Area Ministry (TAM)
Phone:      (919) 556-7144
Location:  153 East Holding Avenue, Wake Forest, North Carolina
Hours:       Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

St. John's TAM Ministry Leader:  Dot Hinton, (919) 761-1104
St. John's has a large donation basket located in the narthex (by the double doors just outside the sanctuary). Parishioners and guests are encouraged to place food donations in the basket on Sundays before worship or anytime during the week. The Jr. Girl Scout Troop #890 and St. John's TAM coordinators will deliver the food each week to TAM.

What is TAM?
Tri-Area Ministry (TAM):  TAM is a local non-profit agency that provides support, food, clothing, and other items of necessity to those in need in the local community (residents of Wake Forest, Youngsville, & Rolesville areas). The items are given to recipients at no cost.

Clothing, toys, and food are donated to TAM from local parishes and community members. Financial support, to pay the mortgage, is also provided by local parishes and community members. Financial donations to TAM are used to pay the mortgage, building maintenance costs, as well as to re-stock the pantry shelves when necessary. Volunteers staff the center and serve regular weekly hours.

How can I help?
St. John's provides assistance to TAM by collecting food each Sunday for their pantry shelves. All canned and dry good donations are accepted; however, to ensure that the shelves are not overstocked with any particular item, TAM has suggested that St. John's follow (as other parishes do) a monthly "food wheel" that suggests food donations. The food wheel is as follows:

Month:	Suggested Donation
January & July	Canned Vegetables, Pasta, & Macaroni & Cheese
February & August	Saltine Crackers and Cornmeal
March & September	Dried Beans, Rice, & Grits
April & October	Canned Meat
May & November	Peanut Butter & Jelly
June & December	Canned Milk & Canned Fruit

Food donations can be placed in the labeled basket located in St. John's narthex (just inside the large double doors to the sanctuary). The Jr. Girl Scout Troop #890 will drop off the items donated to TAM. People are also welcome to go by TAM and donate items directly during operating hours listed above.

All food donations, not just suggested donations, are gratefully accepted at TAM. They do have some limited freezer space available. If you are interested in donating items which require refrigeration we ask that you contact TAM prior to delivery and confirm their ability to store such items and the hours in which a staff member can assist you.

Other ways to support TAM:

•   Financial Assistance/Donations (TAM is a non profit, 501c3 organization).
•   Volunteer to work once a week or month at the facility.
•   Volunteer to help with building maintenance. TAM is currently in need of roof repair.
•   Consider donating outgrown clothes that are in good shape and laundered to TAM. Please remember to check the hours of operation before dropping off these donations at the TAM location. Because of space limitations, St. John's requests that all donations (other than food) be made directly to TAM.
•   Donate a gift card from a local grocery store or super store for TAM to use. The card can be used to purchase specific items that are needed for the pantry shelves or for a particular item a client may need.

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Migrant Ministry

Ministry Leader:  Laura Santos
St. John's continues a long-standing tradition of outreach to seasonal farmworkers through collaboration with local school systems. Migrant workers in Granville and Franklin counties receive much-needed supplies and personal items through this eight-month outreach project, which runs from March through October. Parishioners of St. John's participate by bringing in requested items for a particular month, and the items are sorted and delivered to local school staff (one of whom is a St. John's parishioner). This outreach provided a valuable service by putting needed supplies into the hands of people who need them. The workers come with only a duffel bag of clothes, so cleaning items, bedding and personal hygiene items are a real godsend.

Requested donation items, month by month:  All donations can be placed in the labeled, clear, plastic bin in the narthex, just outside the double doors to the sanctuary.

March	kitchen supplies (dish soap, towels, cleaning supplies, etc.)
April	bedding (including new pillows, gently used single sheets and light blankets)
May	toiletry items (shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shaving cream, soap, etc.)
June, July	sports drinks, sunscreen, insect repellent
August-September	school supplies
October	children's rain gear, umbrellas, hats, gloves

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Thanksgiving Meals On Wheels (MOW)

Held Annually at St. John's the day after Thanksgiving
For More Information the parish office welcomes you to call, (919) 556-3656, please ask for Jessica

What is Thanksgiving Meals on Wheels?
How can I help?

What is Thanksgiving MOW?
St. John's parishioners continue to follow tradition and spend the day after Thanksgiving preparing meals and bags of groceries for Wake Forest area Meals On Wheels recipients (MOW). A quiet outreach ministry that began in 1989 has evolved into a much anticipated and well supported event for the people of St. John's and community. The program is designed to deliver healthy meals to individuals in the local community who, because of health or physical limitations, would otherwise be without a daily nutritious meal.

The regular MOW volunteers and program, take a needed break from their daily volunteer work on weekends and holidays. Unfortunately this leaves the dependents of MOW without food for four days over the Thanksgiving holiday (Thursday-Sunday). With St. John's help, MOW volunteers are able to take the break they need without worry. They know that those who depend on them are still receiving a nutritious, home cooked meal.

Two 20 lb. turkeys, and two 17 lb. spiral cut hams, sweet potato casserole, muffins, rolls and veggies are always part of the menu. In addition to the ready-to-eat dinner that is delivered, many parishioners donate fresh fruit, individual snack items, desserts, and more.

How can I help?

•   Volunteers are needed each year to deliver the meals to the homes of the meal recipients.
•   Volunteers are also recruited to help prepare the food and divide it into take-home containers. (St. John's usually provides enough for several meals over the long holiday weekend.)
•   Donations of food are gratefully accepted several days prior to the event each year. Things that are often enjoyed by recipients are: fresh fruit, individual size snack items, desserts, or breads. Pint size cartons of milk are also delivered to each person. For a complete list of items needed, check back in October, as we prepare for MOW 2005. Interested persons are also encouraged to call the church office at the number above.

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Joy Of Christmas

Coordinator:  Carolyn Stoklas

When:

Mid October of each year and ends Christmas School Counselors and teachers are contacted in September of each year

What is Joy of Christmas (JOC)?
This outreach program is designed to bring "Christmas Joy" and provide assistance to the families in the Wake Forest/Rolesville area who are in need.

Each year, with the help of the local elementary school counselors, St. John's receives the names of approximately 25 families and 15 senior citizens that are in need. Through the Joy of Christmas program, members and guests of St. John's provide Christmas gifts for each child of the families. A holiday meal and food for their holiday season is also provided. St. John's ECW, Food Lion and Boy Scout Troop 5 from Wake Forest, have helped to provide food, extra gifts, and assistance with organizing the many packages for delivery.

How can I help?

• Shoppers: First names and ages of children and seniors names are put on a Christmas tree each year at St. John's by mid-October. The tree is located in St. John's parish hall. Members and visitors of St. John's are encouraged to select and name to shop for that child for Christmas.
• Team leaders, coordinators for each family/senior that will receive food and gifts, are also needed. The Team leaders talk to the family/senior and find out what each child's specific needs, wishes, and sizes are and relays that information to the appropriate "shopper." The team leader also delivers gifts and food to the family/senior.
• Donate Money that can be used to shop for a child or help defray food costs.
• Watch for ways you can help in the Epistle and bulletin beginning in October of each year, or contact the JOC Coordinator with ideas and ways you can help.

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Thompson Children's Home provides a continuum of care for more than 300 children and families annually. Their top priorities are to give young people and their parents tools to ensure success and when possible, to keep families together.

For more information, go to their website at www.thompsonchildrenshome.org.

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United Thank Offering (UTO)

What is the United Thank Offering? (UTO?) The United Thank Offering is a way of giving daily thanks to God. The discipline starts in the home by saying a prayer of thanksgiving as you drop coins into a special container, known as the Blue Box. This is one way an individual can express thanks to God for all of the blessings in his/her life. "We all have many things to be thankful for," says Susan Baird, diocesan UTO chair. "This tangible expression of our thanks helps people in need across the world, as the monetary gifts are used for grants for ministry. Be aware that every coin that is given is used to support mission and ministry."

UTO Coordinators for St. John's:  Carolyn Filo, (919) 556-3656.

St. John's has blue UTO boxes available for each person to begin their collection of coins in appreciation of God's daily blessings in their lives. The coins from the boxes are collected two times a year at a Sunday Worship Service. UTO participants are asked to place their offering in the collection plate. (Offerings can be delivered to the office at any time as well.) The time of collection is called "The Ingathering." The following is St. John's schedule for collection of UTO boxes.

Fall Ingathering:	Sunday Closest to All Saints Day (October 30, 2005)
Spring Ingathering:	Sunday following Ascension (May 8, 2005 - Mother's Day)

For more information visit the UTO website at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/uto.htm.

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Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Living Sober Group

Meets at St. John's Parish Hall
Mondays - Wednesdays - Fridays at 8:00 p.m.

New participants are welcome!

Tri County Intergroup Association website, www.nctriaa.org, has much more information, schedules, and group locations available. Those interested in attending an AA meeting are encouraged to visit their website.

You may also call St. John's parish office for more information (919) 556-3656.

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Jr. Girl Scout Troop #890

Leader:  Tracy Kelly
Meeting Times:  1st, 3rd, & 4th Tuesday of every month from 6-7:30 p.m.

As part of St. John's outreach, outside groups are allowed to use the facilities at no charge. Examples of such groups are Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, AA, and Wake Forest Garden Club. The group leaders must receive approval from St. John's Vestry or rector for use of the facility.

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Gallery of Outreach Help and Activities

Click image below to see larger view.

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