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 marchdalecar@gmail.com
  .
• 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 our 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. 

Refugee Community Sponsorship Team

Thank you for your generous donations made for next year's refugee resettlement initiative as a Community Support Team working to help Catherine McAuley Center with their 2023 effort to welcome over 100 refugees to the greater Cedar Rapids area.
If you signed up to donate a household item, watch your email over the next few weeks for details on where to deliver your items. For anyone still interested in helping, keep an eye out on the Signup Genius website for miscellaneous items that are needed along the way. 
If you'd like to be kept abreast of the arrival date of the refugee family, please contact Dale March & Kate O'Brien (marchdalecar@gmail.com).

As you settle in for a warm and relaxing holiday week with your family and friends, please keep all refugee families in your prayers as they huddle across the world in hopes of one day being able to set out on their own somewhere much safer than where they were born. Jesus, Mary and Joseph once experienced nearly the same thing! 

Other Volunteer or Support Opportunities

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/