Our parish contributes from our offertory collection to social outreach. On regular weekends when we do not have a special collection, 10% of the offertory is set aside to benefit outreach programs and organizations in our parish, local community, and beyond.
Love Thy Neighbor is one of the programs that will be supported through our Sunday offertory:
Love Thy Neighbor was founded in 2010 to address the needs of the homeless in our area. Although Love Thy Neighbor is not affiliated with any religious denomination, the organization was founded by a number of St. Philip’s parishioners, and members of our parish continue to volunteer there. Love Thy Neighbor will now receive funding through St. Philip’s parish Tithe.
95% of donations to Love Thy Neighbor go directly to purchase the supplies they use to serve the poor and homeless. They are an entirely volunteer-staffed organization, and perform their charitable works out of Salvation Army and other church facilities.
They manage four programs:
Kitchen Program Love Thy Neighbor serves lunch to the homeless and needy 5 days a week at Salvation Army. They provide most of the volunteers and food to serve between 80-100 people each day; meals are completely free and no eligibility standards are required.
CAP (Clothing Assistance Program) Love Thy Neighbor also coordinates a clothing program. LTN sorts and distributes clothing donations collected at Salvation Army and also purchases new items to ensure complete outfits are available. In 2018, LTN distributed over 49,000 items of clothing! You can help this effort by donating your gently-used clothing; drop off donations at Salvation Army of Lewisville during business hours.
Love Thy Baby Love Thy Neighbor volunteers make baby clothing and blankets to assemble “receiving kits” for families who have a new baby in a social or economic crisis situation. The kits are given to local county hospitals and Ped-Place to be available when a new mom needs them. In 2018, volunteers made and delivered 50,800 items!
Love Thy Pet Volunteers use the scraps of materials leftover from Love Thy Baby projects to also make pet beds, which are donated to local shelters, minimizing wasted material and making the most efficient use of donations.
Join Love Thy Neighbor’s mission by donating online or volunteering. Information at ltnlovethyneighbor.org