On going Social Justice Events at St. John Vianney Parish

For information about any of these projects,

call Sandy at the parish office, 724-3129.

Blood Drives – St. John Vianney coordinates with two other area churches to offer Blood Drives every two months.  SJV offers their drives typically during Lent and in the summer.  Watch the bulletin for dates and times.

Hunger Walk (May) – Our parish participates annually in the GRACE Hunger Walk held the first Saturday of May in downtown Grand Rapids.  Walkers solicit pledges to raise funds to be used to fight hunger in our immediate community and abroad.  There is also a need for  volunteers at various positions on the walking route, if you would like to help but are unable to walk distances.

Christmas in Summer – this project has two separate collections: in June we ask for toys of any price range and for any age of child to be used in our Christmas Store in December.  In July and August we collect school supplies of all types for Catholic Social Services and an area school.

County Wide Food Drive (October) – volunteers from St. John Vianney participate in this ACCESS food drive each year.  We take a section of Wyoming and place grocery bags and flyers at the homes asking for donations of non-perishable foods to be placed on their porch the day of the drive.  Volunteers then go back to collect the food.  The drive is the second Saturday of October.

Fall Harvest Collection (October) - this food drive is held in the parish at the end of October for food to be used in our holiday baskets.  Parishioners are asked to bring their donations with them to Mass and to continue bringing donations throughout the holiday season.

Holiday Food Baskets – St. John Vianney provides holiday food baskets for needy parish families and other families in the community at both Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Names of non-parishioners are given to us through the ACCESS Holiday Giving Network.  Volunteers are needed to pack the baskets and deliver them.

Christmas Store – this ecumenical project is provided in conjunction with Wyoming Churches, Family Network of Wyoming, and the UCOM food pantry.  Clients are given the chance to shop for Christmas presents for their children at greatly reduced prices.  Items are all donated by the churches and clients are accepted and screened through the two agencies.  Volunteers check in clients, help families shop, wrap presents, etc. the day of the Store.

Advent Giving Tree – this is our annual Christmas giving project.  Gift tags are placed on the Christmas tree in the Gathering Area for parishioners to take, and the gifts are given to various agencies and families from CCWM and DA Blodgett as well as families from our parish and local schools.  We also ask for the remainder of the toys needed for the Christmas Store and gifts for Area Agency on Aging clients.  Volunteers sort and deliver gifts.

JustFaith – is an intensive 30 week social justice program focusing on justice education and spiritual formation that consists of weekly meetings, prayer, reading, discussion, retreats and hands on experiences.  The program day and time are subject to participants preferences.

JustMatters – these are new modules from JustFaith Ministries that allow participants to focus on a particular social Justice topic in six to eight weekly or bi-weekly sessions.  The format for these modules is prayer, readings, videos, speakers and dialogue.  Watch the bulletin for offerings.

Haiti Project – this ministry of the parish focuses on maintaining and strengthening our relationship with our sisters and brothers in St. Pierre, Haiti through prayer, mission trips and providing medical supplies, construction materials and other supplies.  Parishioners make the trip to Haiti at least once a year helping at the medical clinic, doing construction work and aiding them in their development of an inclusive educational program.  Volunteers are always needed and fund raising is a necessary part of the program.

Workcamp – this is a program open to any high school age youth and adult chaperones from the parish.  The group travels to a different state and helps the needy to paint, build ramps, do landscaping or whatever they need done.  It is a prayerful, Christian experience that profoundly affects their lives.

God’s Pantry – this is an ongoing collection of non-perishable foods that are sent to the pantry at United Community Outreach Ministries (UCOM), except during the holiday months.  This ACCESS pantry reaches thousands of families each year, and is always in need of donations.

Hall St. School Uniform Collection – Hall St. School is part of Grand Rapids Public Schools, but located quite close to Wyoming on Hall St. near Grandville Ave.  Most families are low income, and the students wear navy and white uniforms.  Since SJV School also wears navy and white, parents are asked to donate the uniforms that are still in good repair and no longer fit their children.  A collection box is in the Gathering Area.

Used Cell Phone Collection – used cell phones can be donated here at SJV and are given to Safe Haven Ministries to be handed out to at risk women.  There is a collection box in the Gathering Area.

Hotel/Motel Toiletries Collection – as you travel, watch for those wonderful small bottles of shampoo, conditioner, lotion and bath gel and bars of soap.  SJV collects these items and gives them to Heartside agencies for distribution to the residents and homeless in the area, or we use them for various service projects throughout the year.  Place them in a bag and bring them to the Gathering Area.