Outreach

Church of the Redeemer is committed to helping the local, national, and global community through its outreach programs. The parish offers support through financial contributions, volunteer projects, and donations of needed items. Last year, the parish donated over $500,000 to nonprofits in Sarasota and around the world, and Redeemer is on track to do the same in 2024.

Through the generosity of parishioners who give generously of their time and resources, Redeemer actively supports a variety of organizations, including Resurrection House, Caritas, Isaiah 117 House, Bridge a Life, Night to Shine, Beauty Bridge, Second Heart Homes, Azinger Family Compassion Center, Hope Seeds, Day 4 Hope, Alta Vista Elementary School, The Salvation Army, nonprofits in the Dominican Republic, and many more.

In May 2024, Redeemer awarded grants totaling $60,300 to nonprofits in Sarasota and around the world.

Amazing Grace AIDS Ministry (AGAM)
$2,000
This organization provides care for the people of Malawi who suffer the effects of HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence to fulfill God’s promise of abundant life. The funds are intended to address two mission activities of AGAM in 2024, which are: 1) provision of food to the beneficiaries who have been badly impacted by hunger caused by drought and bad harvests last year and this year and 2) to build two houses for two elderly women who support orphaned children of their late daughters.

Better Together
$6,000
This organization’s mission is to provide comprehensive support and resources to families facing crisis with a focus on safeguarding child well-being, empowering parents, and fostering healthy relationships within the community. The specific purpose of the funds is to support the Better Families program in Sarasota and Manatee counties. The program plays a vital role in providing temporary housing for children whose families are experiencing crisis situations, such as homelessness or job loss. With these funds, Better Together will be able to expand its reach and provide essential support services to additional families in need, helping to keep them together and navigate through difficult times with compassion and dignity.

Community Health and Education for Rural Africa (CHERA)
$2,000
The purpose of CHERA is to improve the lives of those in some of Sub-Saharan Africa’s most impoverished communities via improved access to education and healthcare. Funds will be used to continue the Safe Motherhood in Busongora Outreach, which is a program focused on improving the reproductive health of women, safety of pregnant women and their unborn babies, and boosting the health of children who live in places where access to healthcare services is poor.

Cornerstone Kids
$1,000
The mission of Cornerstone Kids is to reach at-risk inner-city children and assist in their educational, spiritual, and emotional development in a safe, secure, and nurturing environment.

FLE Santiago
$5,000
These funds will be used by FLE Santiago to help to cover programming costs for its nutrition program, girls’ empowerment program, and curriculum development and support.

Foundation That Love Built
$2,000
These funds will be used by the Foundation That Love Built to enable the foundation to assist qualified students with tuition costs for higher education institutions, transportation, books, uniforms, and school supplies.

Foster Youth Initiative (FYI)
$5,000
The Foster Youth Initiative is an outreach ministry of Church of the Redeemer. Its mission is to connect churches with the most vulnerable children and families in our community by meeting needs in real time. In 2021, FYI partnered with Bridge-a-Life to become a responding church with CarePortal. CarePortal is an online platform that allows local caseworkers to send out real-time requests to local churches for families struggling to safely keep their children at home.

Ghanian Mothers’ Hope
$1,000
Ghanaian Mothers’ Hope shares love the love of Jesus by sharing resources to empower future leaders of the U.S. and West Africa, providing education and health programs for women and children, and opportunities for volunteers in the U.S. and in West Africa. The children who participate in the organization’s Reading Camps hail from impoverished villages on the outskirts of the Greater Accra and Eastern regions. The funds will be allocated toward purchasing food and school supplies.

Habitat for Humanity
$5,000
Habitat for Humanity partners with God and community to provide decent, affordable housing for people in need so they may build better lives for their families. Habitat Sarasota will partially fund construction costs for a new three-bedroom, two-bathroom single-family home for a low-income family.

Hope Seeds
$5,100
Bradenton-based Hope Seeds shares the love of Christ and reduces hunger through worldwide partnerships, empowering people with sustainable food production skills, seeds, and resources. The funds will be utilized to fund The Haiti Project, Hope Seeds’ outreach conducted in Northwest Haiti. The grant will be used to purchase Hope Garden Seed Family Packs for thousands of vulnerable families and cover the costs associated with conducting agricultural training throughout the region.

Meals on Wheels of Sarasota
$8,000
Meals on Wheels of Sarasota delivers nutritious meals to people in need in the Sarasota community who are unable to provide or prepare a meal for themselves in their home. Our services are essential in helping meal recipients remain healthy and independent at home, resulting in lower healthcare spending in an already-stressed healthcare system.

Positive Motivation
$2,500
The mission of Refined Branches, a program of Positive Motivation, is to bring glory to God while giving hope to ex-offenders, their families, friends, and the community by providing a positive atmosphere that is conducive to restoring and rebuilding their lives. The vision of Refined Branches is to exemplify the love of Jesus Christ and assist ex-offenders in transitioning from prison back into society, equipping them to be future leaders and reducing the recidivism rate. The residents receive clean, safe, sober housing; counseling; goal setting and life skill classes; weekly Bible study; weekly church services; participation in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) classes; and participation in parenting classes.

Resurrection House
$5,000
Resurrection House was founded by a group of churches 34 years ago that shared in a collective mission to serve those who were suffering on the streets regardless of their circumstances so they would know they are not forgotten. The organization wants to build upon that tradition by continuing to collaborate with area churches, such as Church of the Redeemer, where it can engage parishioners with various servant leadership opportunities at Resurrection House that will express God’s love and grace to the local homeless population. The funds will be used for the Homeless Client Meal Program.

The Salvation Army, Sarasota County
$2,500
The Salvation Army’s mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in HIs name without discrimination. Shelter Diversion is a strategy that prevents homelessness at the front door of the homelessness crisis response system by helping those seeking shelter to identify immediate alternate housing arrangements and, if necessary, connecting them with services and financial assistance to help them return to permanent housing.

Sarasota Medical Pregnancy Center
$5,500
Sarasota Medical Pregnancy Center provides medical services and reproductive health education at no cost, empowering community members to make healthy life choices — physically, emotionally and spiritually — in a confidential and caring environment. Cost-free services provided include medical, behavioral health, and educational services and material support to under-served and at-risk women and their partners who find themselves in unplanned or unprepared pregnancies. This funding is specifically for the programming expenses for Men’s & Couples’ Coaching. Over 530 clients are projected to participate in 22 courses.

Selah Freedom
$2,700
Selah Freedom is a national faith-based organization with the mission to end sex trafficking and bring freedom to the exploited through five programs: Awareness, Prevention, Outreach, Residential, and Consulting. The funding will be used to support the position of a Spiritual Mentor who provides spiritual guidance to victims of sexual exploitation and human trafficking living in Selah Freedom’s residential safe houses.

In December 2023, Redeemer awarded grants totaling $70,000 to nonprofits in Sarasota and around the world.

The grants included $2,500 for Beauty Bridge, which provides no-cost beauty services to women in need; $20,000 for Help with Compassion, which plans to build a dormitory room for 35 high school girls in South Sudan; $15,000 for Second Heart Homes, which helps people who are homeless by providing housing and support; $5,000 for Sanctuary Hub, which supports the Church in Uganda; $7,500 for Redeemer’s St. Scholastica Grants, which offers grants to public school teachers in Sarasota and Manatee counties; $15,000 to Isaiah 117 House, which provides a comforting place for children to wait for foster care placement; and $5,000 for Women of Redeemer, which will be used to translate a book about freedom and faith by Katrina Wilson into Latvian.

Redeemer’s Mission & Outreach Committee meets throughout the year to review grant applications. To apply for a grant from Redeemer, click here to access the online application.

For more information about the grants awarded in December 2023, please see below:

Beauty Bridge
$2,500 Grant
Beauty Bridge offers free personal care services to women who are struggling. Its purpose is to provide no-cost beauty services performed by volunteer, skilled, licensed cosmetologists. Beauty Bridge is a safe, caring space. Its vision is to open the door to beauty and personal care, removing the traditional obstacles of cost and access. The organization believes that providing individual services to meet each woman’s personal beauty need will in turn build self-esteem and confidence. Beauty Bridge Salons are community partners, working with other human service organizations in each urban location to provide resources to women as they rebuild their lives. The grant will be used to fund rent for the salon for 2023-2024.

Help With Compassion
$20,000 Grant
Help with Compassion helps the poor through acts of compassion and sharing the love of Jesus Christ. The grant will be used to build a dormitory room for 35 high school girls at St. Andrews High School in Bor, South Sudan. Some of the girls walk from 3 or more miles to attend school. During the rainy season, water stands on the roads, and it is difficult for them to attend school. After school, girls will be able to stay in this large room and study.

Second Heart Homes
$15,000 Grant
The mission of Second Heart Homes is to revive the dignity of the homeless population through housing, support, and love. The organization has eight homes (and counting) with 11 air conditioning units and handlers. Second Heart Homes would like to replace one or two units because at least five units are close to their last breath. The grant will help the organization provide a comfortable sense of safety for its residents. Last year, around $2,000 was spent on emergency repairs. By replacing two units, the organization will be able to reduce the cost of major emergency repairs.

Sanctuary Hub
$5,000 Grant
Sanctuary Hub’s mission is to support the Church in Uganda in its endeavor to spread the Gospel of Christ by discipling believers, building strong biblical family units, and providing faith-based affordable education for every child. This will be accomplished by establishing a duplicatable, self-sustaining community hub that glorifies Jesus and equips His people to impact the world. The grant will be used to build a fence around the property.

St. Scholastica Grants
$7,500 Grant
Redeemer’s St. Scholastica Grants assist full-time public school teachers in meeting their students’ needs. Redeemer believes it is its responsibility as a faith community to support local schools and educators. The St. Scholastica Grants program helps teachers provide educational enhancements to their classrooms, including science equipment, books, sheet music, art supplies, globes, and more. Grants are awarded to public school teachers at all grade levels throughout Sarasota and Manatee counties. The grant will fund 30 grants of $250.

Isaiah 117 House
$15,000 Grant
Isaiah 117 House works to reduce trauma for children entering the foster system, lighten the load for child welfare services, and ease the transition for foster families. When children are removed from their homes out of concern for their safety, they are usually brought to a child welfare services office to await placement. The wait can last a few hours to several days. These children often have nothing with them and are scared, lonely, hungry, and in dirty clothing. Isaiah 117 House provides a comforting home where children can be brought to wait – a place that is safe with friendly and loving volunteers who provide clean clothes, smiles, toys, and snuggly blankets. This space allows children to receive the comfort and care they need while child welfare staff do necessary paperwork and identify a good placement. The grant will be used to build a kitchen in Isaiah 117 House’s home that serves the Sarasota area.

Women of Redeemer
$5,000 Grant
In October, Women of Redeemer hosted author Katrina Wilson, who spoke to Redeemer women and guests about her life and memoir. Wilson’s memoir, War, Love & Redemption, tells the story of how she escaped from Latvia with her mother and sister, with no hope of seeing her family or homeland again. The grant will fund the translation of the book into Latvian, allowing Wilson to share this important history with the Latvian people.