Special projects:
In April, St. Mary’s furnished the kitchen for Recovery Way Home, a new facility that provides an addiction recovery group home. This Good Samaritan Services, Inc. program offers a 6-18 month residential treatment program for pregnant and parenting women, as well as their children.
St. Mary’s assisted two families, newly arrived in Lompoc from Iraq, in their efforts to find and furnish their apartments, as well as other assistance needs.
A favorite project each summer is the backpack project. In 2008 St. Mary’s provided backpacks to needy elementary through high school age students. With designated funds and school supplies contributed by parishioners, 63 filled backpacks were supplied to local agencies, for distribution as the school year began.
The annual Senior Saints Luncheon brings shut-ins residing in local care facilities to St. Mary’s for a delicious array of salads and homemade pie, along with entertainment and conversation with members of the parish. This event is traditionally held at the end of October and serves over 100 guests.
Outreach Ministries close each year with the Angel Tree project. Needy children affiliated with Domestic Violence Solutions (
http://www.dvsolutions.org) and Marks House are matched with parishioners who select children’s names from paper angel cut outs in the parish hall. Gifts selected for newborns through teens are presented to the agencies for distribution to the “angels” just before Christmas.
