St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parishioners provide a meal for the homeless shelter clients every first Saturday of each month.

Cedar Valley Habitat offers a hand-up to area families in need of safe, decent and affordable housing. SEASP assists CVH monetarily and through home building volunteers.  

Non-perishable items are collected each week at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton just inside the church entrance. Parish volunteers takes the groceries to MCO every week where they are sorted, bagged and given out to anyone in need. Many St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parishioners volunteer at the food pantry, in the office of MCO, and for financial assistance appointments. In addition St. Elizabeth is responsible for helping to fund MCO through the agreement set up when 11 local Catholic parishes joined together in 2012 to open one place to serve the needy and hungry of our city. In 2016 MCO helped 17,409 people in 536 different families. Financial assistance of $97,112.00 was given to assist 1272 people with money for rent or utilities.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a Catholic lay organization that provides assistance to those in need. The aid comes in the form of rent/utility assistance, food assistance, furniture, and clothing. An essential part of the Society’s work is to provide help while maintaining the confidentiality and dignity of those we serve.

We contribute to the parish’s efforts to call people everywhere, and of every faith, to work toward the elimination of poverty, to speak out against injustices and to actively shape a more peaceful and just world. We strive to bring the Gospel to the world by developing social justice and service related opportunities for growth in faith and spirituality for all parishioners. The Social Justice .Commission works with local, regional and international organizations/agencies and our sister parish in Nicaragua to provide financial support and coordinate volunteer involvement.  Our efforts are faith-based and consistent with Catholic Social Teaching.
 

• Refugee Mentoring- this small team works closely with Catherine McAuley Center to assist an incoming refugee family in multiple ways for a six month period. Contact Dale March for more information at Dalecar@gmail.com
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• Advent Giving Tree (Nov-Dec) In 2017, the parish worked with the Hawkeye Area Community Action Program(HACAP) to provide forty plus families with specific gift requests along with a $25 Hy-Vee gift card given to each family. These are delivered to families in need the first weekend in December

• Panera Bread Delivery-The local Panera Bread restaurant donates bread, bagels and pastries left over from the day’s business to area food pantries assisting populations in need. Two days a week St. Elizabeth parishioners pick up the bags of bread in the evening and distribute them to selected organizations the following morning.

• Loose Coin Collection-Offertory basket collections of loose coins each week are used to support quarterly projects. Each project is typically and outreach ministry in the Greater Cedar Rapids community. The loose coin collection allows the Social Justice Committee to support outreach ministries beyond those already budgeted. This is a great way to get your children involved and develop a lifetime habit of giving. You’re welcome to use a plastic zip top bag if you are contributing more than a few coins. Every penny does count.

• Christmas in June-This is out summer parish food drive which provided food for over 225 people in 2017. We partner with Hy-Vee, HACAP, MCO, and Salvation Army this year.

• CRS Rice Bowl-Each Lent the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton community generously contributes to the CRS Rice Bowl project. Please coninue the tradition!

• St. Patrick/St. Joes Musical Parties at Hiawatha Care Center/Promise House. Music and singing is also provided once a month by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

 
To become involved in our Social Justice Committee please contact Maize Micek at seaspsjc@gmail.com. 
 

If you’re searching for good places to volunteer or donate please consider any of the organizations listed below.

Organizations with budget donations for FY19:
Birthright: http://birthright.org/cedarrapids/
Bridgehaven: http://bridgehavencr.org/
Catherine McCauley Center: https://cmc-cr.org/
Coalition for Life of Iowa: http://www.lifeiowa.org/About_Us.html
Discovery Living: http://discoveryliving.org/
Foundation 2: https://www.foundation2.org/donate/
Fresh Start Ministries: https://www.freshstartministriescr.com/
Habitat for Humanity (Cedar Valley): https://www.cvhabitat.org/
Horizons Meals on Wheels: http://www.horizonsfamily.org/
Knights of Columbus: https://www.facebook.com/kofc15921
Mercy Hospital: https://www.mercycare.org/volunteer-   opportunities/
Metro Catholic Outreach: http://metrocatholicoutreach.org/
Prairiewoods: http://prairiewoods.org/
St John of the Cross Catholic Worker House: http://www.catholicworkerhouse.org/
St. Vincent de Paul: http://www.crsvdp.org/
 

Diving into the pastoral letter against racism

With the racial unrest in our country in the past year, have you found yourself wanting to move beyond a political response and, instead, respond to the issue of race as a follower of Christ? What guidance does the Catholic Church offer us at this time? The Social Justice Committee is exploring just that. 

We are diving into the US Bishops' pastoral letter against racism, Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love, and creating a 6-week discussion group based on their document. Would you like to be part of the creation of this important course on the Christian response to racism? We know many parishioners at St. E’s care deeply about racial healing and Christ’s call to unity in the Body, and we welcome your input this summer. Please contact any member of the subcommittee below if you would like to be a part of this exciting endeavor.

Join us for Fall sessions beginning 10/4/22!  Registration coming soon.

Joe Kane - jkhearth@gmail.com
Sara Kane - sarakane11@gmail.com
DeeDee Saffidi - deedeescaffidi@gmail.com
Chris Saffidi - Cscaffidi@thepacificinstitute.com
Judy Feldkamp - jafeldkamp@gmail.com
Colleen Tobiason - tobiasonc@yahoo.com
Darcy Andres - andres.darcy@gmail.com
Maize Micek - maizemicek@gmail.com