For May 2013, our Charity Collection will be used to assist Nikola Tarisu, a young man recently arrived from Albania who lost all his possessions in a recent fire in Waterbury.
Please be generous!
April 2013 Charity Tray
This month, our Charity Collection will be used to support the Mission Trip of Greg Buzi II to Guatemala this summer.
Please be generous!
March 2013 Charity Tray
This month, our Charity Collection will be used to directly support John Babich who will be participating in fund raising for the Saint Baldrick's Foundation which supports research to overcome childhood cancer.
Again this year, John will be participating in St. Baldrick's Head Shaving Event on March 7th. Below is a letter describing his cause:
Dear Friends and Family,
This will be my fourth year that I'll be shaving my head for St. Baldrick's in memory of my friend Teddy who lost his battle with cancer in 2010. With my bald head, I’ll stand in solidarity with kids being treated for cancer. But the real point of all this is to raise money for life-saving research. I’m doing it for infants, children, teens and young adults fighting cancer. While it’s especially hard to think of kids fighting cancer, I’m also glad to know that some of the research supported by this foundation ultimately helps to fight all cancers.
Please consider making a donation and supporting my efforts to raise money for this important research. I can assure you this gift will be used responsibly. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants. This is a volunteer-driven charity, which keeps fundraising costs low and grants high. In 2012 alone, St. Baldrick’s granted more than $23 million for research – almost all raised by more than 31,000 “shavees” like me, from people like you!
You can give online (search for me at www.StBaldricks.org) or by phone (888-899-BALD). Credit cards are the most efficient way to give, or you can write a check payable to “St. Baldrick’s Foundation.”
This is a fun way to do something very important. Thank you for your support!
Love, John
If you wish to directly support him through St Baldrick's , please go to the website to donate under his event. You can find his event listing Under Donate, type in John Babich under the "I'm donating under the fundraising goal of" . You should see: John B., Fairfield CT, March 7, 2013, Stratfield Elementary School, TeamBrent, Team Teddy.
Click Here to go to the site, or learn more about St. Baldrick's
February 2013 Charity Tray
The monthly Charity Tray for February 2013 will be to support the Trumbull Food Pantry.
This month, our Charity Collection will be donated to International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) to be used for relief from tropical storm Sandy in our area.
Click Here for more information on the IOCC efforts.
December 2012 Charity Tray
The December Charity Tray was changed during the month to support the families of the Newtown shooting tragedy.
November 2012 Charity Tray
In November, our Charity Collection will support Spooner House, an institution in Shelton that helps the poor and homeless.
Additionally, on October 30, 2012, Cheryl Themel, Joann Soter, Greg Buzi, Sr., Kim O’Brien, Greg Buzi, Jr. and Laura Chadwick helped to prepare and serve dinner at the Spooner House. We thank them for their efforts.
In October, our Charity Collection will be used to help
Bridgeport Police Sergeant Jessica Tillson, recently diagnosed with stage-4
breast cancer and mother of a 10-year old girl.
September 2012 Charity Tray
In September, our Charity Collection will benefit the Bridgeport Rescue Mission.
The Bridgeport Rescue Mission
is a non-profit, faith-based organization committed to providing food, shelter,
clothing, education, job training, and residential discipleship
for the urban poor and addicted.
In May,
we will be collecting to help a priest and parish in Nanticoke, PA, where
the rectory burned down in a Sunday morning fire.
April 2012 Charity Tray
During April,
our Charity Collection will support the mission trip to Kenya of Matushka
Suzanne Aleandro and her husband, Fr. Vladimir Aleandro.
March 2012 Charity Tray
During March,
our Charity Collection will be used to support International Orthodox Christian
Charities (IOCC) and the work they do in this country and around the world
helping people in need.
During
February, our Charity Collection will be used to sponsor John Babich’s
participation in the St. Baldrick’s Foundation “Head-Shaving” event to support
research to end childhood cancer.
If you
would like to support John individually, go to www.stbaldricks.org, click on “Find a Participant”
and enter his name in the fields to the left of the page. Then click on the
“Donate” button at the right to make your donation.
During
the month of January, our Charity Collections will help support Zoe for Life!,
an organization in Ohio that supports women in crisis pregnancies, assists
Orthodox Christians in adoption, and provides Orthodox Christian educational
resources for pure living.
December 2011 Charity Tray
During
the month of December, our Charity Collections will help support Fisher House,
an organization that provides a “Home away from Home” for wounded veterans and
their families at VA hospitals around the country.
Click Here to view additional information about Fisher House from their website
Oct & Nov 2011 Charity Tray
During
the months of October and November, our Charity Collections will help support the renovation
of our Archdiocesan Chancery Offices in Boston
September 2011 Charity Tray
During
the month of September, our Charity Collections will help support the
development of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at Ground Zero in
New York City.
August 2011 Charity Tray
In
August, we will be supporting the Wounded Warrior Project, which is dedicated
to helping injured military service members.
July 2011 Charity Tray
During
the month of July, our Charity Collections will help support Bread of Heaven
Ministry, Inc., an outreach to the homeless, needy and hurting in the city of
Bridgeport.
June 2011 Charity Tray
During
the month of June, our Charity Collections will go to the International
Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) for the support and assistance of those
suffering from the recent tornadoes in the Mid-west.
Click Here to view the IOCC web page discussing the tornado relief effort.
May 2011 Charity Tray
In May,
our collection will help to support the Monroe Food Pantry.
In
April, our collection will help to support a program of the Capitol Regional
Education Center in Hartford. They are making arrangements for 5 students of
the Jani Vreto School in Leskovik, Albania, to spend a week at the Metropolitan
Learning Center for International Studies, a magnet school in Hartford.
Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Victims
This Sunday and next, March 20th and 27th, at the request of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, our Charity Collections will go to the International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) to assist in its relief efforts in Japan.Please be generous!
Click on the link below to go to the IOCC website:
In
March, our Charity Collection will go to support the Monroe Food Pantry.
Please
be generous!
Click Here to view web page for the Monroe Food Pantry
February 2011 Charity Tray
In
February, our Charity Collection will go to the International Orthodox
Christian Charities (IOCC) to help the people of Haiti who are still suffering
a whole year after the earthquake that desolated their country. In the last 12 months, the IOCC has assisted over 200,000 people in Haiti, however continued support is required.
For
more information on the IOCC, and the IOCC relief efforts in Haiti, please click onto the
links below:
International
Orthodox Christian Charities website:www.iocc.org
In
January, our Charity Collections will be used to support Thomas Merton Center,
an agency in Bridgeport that helps people of every age group and nationality
who are in need.
November & December 2010 Charity Tray
During
November and December, our monthly Charity Collection will support Chancery
renovations for our Albanian Archdiocese.
October 2010 Charity Tray
We are hoping to conduct a “Walk for Water” to help the
Orthodox Christian people of the Turkana tribe in northern Kenya have access to
clean water. The money raised through this walk will help to construct bore
holes in a few villages in the region. Be on the lookout for details.
During the month of October, the Charity Collection has
been designated to support this effort.
August & September 2010 Charity
Michel
Baik and Steven Velazquez, two firefighters, lost their lives last week in the
line of duty. Our sympathies and prayers go out to their families.
Michel
was a parishioner of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church on Park Avenue in Bridgeport. He is survived by his wife,
Laurie, and children Andrew, Thomas, and Margaret.
This month’s charity
collection is for the children of Michel Baik.
June & July 2010 Charity
Our charity collections for the months of June and July will be for the Sisters of Mercy.
May 2010 Charity Tray
Diana Breaz is the six year old daughter of Simion and Violeta Breaz of St. Dimitrie’s Church. She is currently undergoing treatment for brain cancer. The traditional treatment is dangerous for her and not very promising, so her parents have been seeking alternative treatments. This is very expensive and not covered by medical insurance.
On February 14th, the St. Dimitrie’s community initiated a project to raise money for Diana. The St. George community wishes to assist them with their efforts by dedicating our May charity tray to Diana.
Please keep Diana and her family in your prayers.
April 2010 Charity Tray
All proceeds collected during April will go to the Bridgeport Rescue Mission which help the hungry, homeless, and addicted throughout Fairfield County.
Click Here to go to the Bridgeport Rescue Mission website.
March 2010 Charity Tray
The March Charity Tray is to assist Fr. Gregory Becker who recently lost all of his possessions when a fire broke out in his home on February 26th. Father Gregory is servicing St. Elia Orthodox Church in Jamestown, NY. St. Elia is a sister parish in the Albanian Archdiocese of the OCA. On behalf of the archdiocese, we are raising money to assist him in his loss.
Haiti Earthquake Victims
We will be collecting the last three Sundays of January to support Haiti.
By now we all have seen pictures of the incomprehensible destruction and loss of life in Haiti who are the poorest of the poor. Not everyone is in a position to donate to emergency relief, but if you are, please be encouraged to do so.
International Orthodox Christian Charities is always a great avenue for this. You can do so online at by clicking on the following link:
TO MAKE UP FOR OUR ADJUSTMENT OF CHARITY COLLECTIONS IN JANUARY FOR HAITI, WE WILL BE CONTINUE TO COLLECT THE FIRST TWO WEEKS OF FEBRUARY TO SUPPORT FR. VLADIMIR AND SUZANNE'S TRIP
Father Vladimir Aleandro from Christ the Savior Church in Southbury and his wife Suzanne will be returning to Africa in February 2010 to continue their missionary work. This time they will venture into the most remote, isolated and dangerous area in Africa.
We are dedicating the December and January Charity Tray to assist their effort to spread the Word of the Lord among people who have never been exposed to Christianity.
Their missionary trip is coordinated by the Orthodox Christian Missionary Center (OCMC). For more information about the work of the OCMC, click on the highlighted link: http://www.ocmc.org/
November 2009 Charity Tray
Bridgeport Rescue Mission
Some quick statistics:
21.6% of Bridgeport’s residents live below the federal poverty level; every day, men, women and children receive a hand up and out of their circumstances through the programs and services at Bridgeport Rescue Mission.
The volume of services provided by the Bridgeport Rescue Mission this year, from January through August 2009:
- Nights of shelter provided: 19,744
- Meals for guests and working poor: 265,733
- Mobile kitchen meals: 25,021
Beyond money, these food items are needed for distribution: cans of vegetables, fruits or soups; pasta, pasta sauces, macaroni & cheese, hot/cold cereal.
As part of an archdiocese wide appeal, monies from the October Monthly Charity Tray will be used to purchase and deliver Christmas stocking of toys and sweets to needy children in Albania.
The monthly collection for August and September will be to provide financial support to the Archdiocesan Seminarian Fund. The donations will be turned over to the Archdiocese at the Archdiocesan Assembly which will be held in Philadelphia on September 24th-26th.
June & July 2009 Charity Tray
The monthly Charity collection for both June and July is to provide financial support for the Church Planting Grant Appeal (formally known as the “Mission Appeal”) which supports qualifying OCA missions.
Click Here to view a letter from Metropolitan Jonah asking to support to the 2009 Church Planting Grant Appeal.
May 2009 Charity Tray
Metropolitan Jonah invites all OCA parishes to support FOCUS North America.
FOCUS North America is a network of Orthodox Christian social action ministries that express Christ's love in North America for those who are hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick or in prison [Matt. 25:35ff].
"While many of us live in relative comfort, the reality is that many in our country and even in some of our parishes are facing desperation," Metropolitan Jonah writes in his letter. "I know that you are already supporting your parish and other worthy causes, but I hope that, out of the abundance that the Lord has given you and according to your means, you will also support this important initiative."
The Church School is sponsoring a food collection as a Lenten Outreach program.
The specific program being supported is called the "Week-ender Backpack Program" which helps children in the Greater Bridgeport area who do not have enough food to last them through the weekend.
This is a very exciting time for many VA Connecticut veterans who have been homeless. Soon they will be moving into their own apartments.
Furniture in good (lightly used) condition and household items are needed to make these apartments a home.
If you have items to donate please call Jennifer DeGaetano at the Errera Community Care Center at (203) 500-5613.
March 2009 Charity Tray
Charity collections for March 2009 are to provide financial support for Orthodox missions through the Orthodox Christian Missionary Center (OCMC). The OCMC is the official international missions agency of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in America (SCOBA).
If you wish, you may alternately contribute by using the OCMC canisters which are available in the church vestibule.
For information on the OCMC, please click onto the link below: http://www.ocmc.org/
February 2009 Charity Tray
5th Grader’s Service Project: Project Warmth
As part of his Talented and Gifted (TAG) program, TJ Coughlin was to
create a Service Learning Project. As his topic, he chose one that
dealt with helping those less fortunate deal with heating their homes
in the winter. Following research and interviews, he developed a
“Power Point” presentation and an informational/educational brochure
for the parish and after a Liturgy presented his project to the
parishioners.
Following his presentation on February 1st, he invited everyone to a coffee hour that he sponsored – and even baked for!
The support of this project will be the February Charity Tray.
Click Here to go to the Photo Archive and view additional photos of TJ addressing the parish and explaining his project at the coffee hour he sponsored.
Photo - from Left to Right:First Selectman of Monroe Tom Buzi and TJ Coughlin.
Click Here to view a newspaper article from the Connecticut Post.
Support to local Food Banks
Hunger never takes a vacation!
The collection of non-perishable food stuffs is an on-going ministry in the parish. The proceeds are directed to area food banks (generally to the Trumbull Visiting Nurse Association and the Merton House of Bridgeport) for distribution to those who are in need.
St. George maintains collection boxes in the church for donating non-perishable food items all year. We appreciate everyone's continued support!
January 2009 Charity Tray
In the month of January 2009, we collected for the Thomas Merton House – a soup kitchen in the city of Bridgeport.
Click Here to view a recent article about the Merton House.
December 2008 Charity Tray
Below was the purpose of our December 2008 Charity Tray:
Real
Break is a pan-orthodox program of North American Orthodox Christian
Fellowship, Standing Conference of Orthodox Bishops in America (SCOBA).
We would like to support one of our “native sons.”
2009 Real Break Greece:
The project will take our parishioner to a place in Central Greece,
near the city of Karditsa. This is an area rarely visited by the
average tourist from abroad. However, the mountainous terrain attracts
the few, who seek hard enough, to find areas unspoiled by a deluge of
tourists.
The team will be based in the sixteenth century
monastery of the Twelve Apostles, known by the locals as “Red Church,”
just outside of Karditsa. The Twelve Apostles monastery works closely
with Saint George Monastery near Mavromati. St. George Monastery is
famous for housing one of the four icons of the Virgin Mary associated
with St. Luke the Evangelist. This monastery is one of two historic
monasteries in the local Diocese which have been recently reopened. The
other, near the village of Katafigi, is the sixteenth century
monastery, Moni Petras. Moni Petras is famous for its Wonder-working
icon of the Virgin Mary. Both sisterhoods of St. George and Twelve
Apostles, as well as the brotherhood of Moni Petras are international
in character consisting not only of Greeks but people from various
other countries such as the United States, Russia, Germany, Georgia,
England, South Africa and Israel, to name a few. Most members of both
monasteries speak English at least as a second language. The team will
be working with all three of the monasteries on any tasks that they
need our assistance.
Even though this mission will be taking
place during Great Lent, the hosts will do all in their means to offer
genuine Greek hospitality, as well as the opportunity to participate in
their daily lives of prayer and work.
The monastics at these
three monasteries are wonderful people. They are looking forward to the
team’s arrival. They have plenty of plans to keep the participant busy,
but will also make sure he/she learns and experiences Orthodoxy in a
truly unique manner, one which cannot be experienced anywhere else.
Photo - from Left to Right: Parish Council President Bill Kovachi presenting a check to Christopher Adams to help subsidize some of his travel expenses to Greece for his Real Break experience.
