St. Augustine Community Cupboard & Closet

A HUGE Thank You to the 7th graders at Gilmour Academy! A few weeks ago they came for the morning to help out stocking in the Cupboard and Closet! Along with their teachers, the students created a Mother's Day table, brought stock from the storage room into the Cupboard and sorted and stocked items in the Cupboard.
THANK YOU GILMOUR ACADEMY! YOU ROCK!

Earlier this month, Tails From The City - Cleveland donated much needed dog food for St. Augustine Community Cupboard and Closet. Pet food, you might say, huh?

Many of our guests have a companion pet cat or dog and sometimes these pets are their closest friends. If you have ever been loved by a pet, you know that it is part of your family. Many of our guests will feed their pet before they feed themselves.

Tails from the City was founded in late 2011 when a group of acquaintances responded to a call for help with a hoarding situation. Over 100 cats were rescued and brought to their hastily acquired shelter.

After being in such an awful environment, there was a lot of work to do to get the cats healthy and adoptable. Most of those original cats have found furever homes, but the number of cats in need continues to grow. To date, they have placed over 5,000 animals. In 2021, Muttley Crue Rescue CLE joined Tails.

Staff and volunteers from Tails From The City also volunteer for our annual Fall Fundraiser, and we are so grateful for this partnership!
Thank you, Tails From The City - Cleveland!

We send a big Thank You to the parishioners of St. Noel Church for donating bags of needed food and essential items last week for our Community Cupboard! It is so awesome to have this partnership with St. Noel Church! God is Good!

It's Spring Cleaning time! Please take a look in your closets! We are in need of new or gently used bedding (all sizes )and bath towels (still in good shape) for our Community Closet. We also need to replenish our supply of new or gently used luggage (the kind with 2 or 4 wheels) and duffel bags. These are used for our guests who are unhoused so they have a place to keep their belongings.
THANK YOU for your donations - every bit helps!!

A Big Thank You to the young men of St. Ignatius High School! Last month 7 students came with their teacher, Matt Walcutt, to learn about our ministry and to complete some service with us as part of their Retreat Days.
They were a big help, as we happened to have a large clothing donation from I'm In Ministry that afternoon (Shout out also to I'm In Ministry!)! The guys made short order of all the boxes and bags.
THANK YOU!

Thank you to Elizabeth N. and Anonymous for your generous donations to our Community Cupboard and Closet from our Amazon wishlist!

A big Thank You to Denison United Church of Christ! Last week, they donated a pick up truck filled with food donations for our Community Cupboard!
THANK YOU Denison UCC and the Haven at Denison!

Recently, our parish staff participated in Mental Health First Aid Training. Parish staff were joined by volunteers from the Community Cupboard and Closet, along with several other individuals from neighboring communities. In total, 28 people attended the training!
The training was offered by NAMI of Greater Cleveland, our local affiliate of The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). NAMI of Greater Cleveland serves as a vital resource in our area, helping reduce stigma, increasing understanding, and connecting people to needed services and support. During the Mental Health First Aid training, first aiders learned how to recognize the signs and symptoms of common mental health challenges, respond to someone who may be experiencing a mental health crisis, and offer initial support until appropriate professional help can be connected.
We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with an organization so deeply committed to compassionate care and mental health awareness. This experience strengthened our ability to walk alongside those in our community who may be facing mental health challenges.

Christine's Hope is an all-inclusive day program of InclusionWorks, a non-profit organization that provides differently-abled Citizens the resources needed to develop life and vocational skills through programs and activities. It is a living memorial to Christine, who was once a religious ed student at St. Augustine Church.
Recently, a group of Citizens from Christine's Hope visited the Community Cupboard and Closet to donate personal hygiene kits they had assembled themselves for our guests! Each kit included a handwritten note from one of the Citizens!
We are so grateful to Christine's Hope for this thoughtful and personal donation! THANK YOU!

Phi Sigma Rho National Sorority was founded in 1984 at Purdue University as the first social sorority for engineers. The vision of Phi Sigma Rho is to be the foremost sorority for women in engineering and engineering technology. It fulfills that vision by developing the highest standard of personal integrity and character, promoting academic excellence, supporting personal achievement, and maintaining the bond of sisterhood.

These blankets were assembled and donated by Phi Sigma Rho - Alpha Omega Chapter at The University of Akron. They each were made with love!
THANK YOU to PHI SIGMA RHO!