Helping Others
We are active in LeRoy and our region, as well as engaged in projects globally.
The Joy Project
In 2024, St. Mark's embarked on a new project designed to bring "joy" to all ages and which culminated in a large display open to the public in late November for one month. The display will be open again in 2025 on Saturdays from 10-4 and on Sundays from 12-4. This Christmas display showcases a diorama featuring The Cinnamon Bear (from a 1937 radio show), a Christmas village and train display, a wall-size mural depicting a winter scene painted by local artist Lorie Longhany, and a series of "department store windows" reminiscent of the Christmas season from the 1940s through the 1960s. Both magical and nostalgic, it will have something to enjoy for all ages! Information is on Facebook at the LeRoy Joy Project.
LeRoy Food Pantry & Backpack Club
Each week, we collect non-perishable food items to support LeRoy's Food Pantry (located at the Town Hall on Main St.) and the Backpack Club. One young St. Mark's family is in charge of these collections, as they realize the importance of this service to the community! We accept donations of food items each week during our Sunday service, and these are then taken to the pantry.
The Backpack Club is hosted by four LeRoy churches--St. Mark's, First Baptist, Presbyterian, and Calvary Baptist. We sort out single-serve, easy-to-make food items for LeRoy School District families in need. Backpacks with these items are then packed at the First Baptist Church, and backpacks go home weekends during the school year. About 30 local families with 75 to 80 children receive the backpacks.
Garden of Love
The ECW (Episcopal Church Women at St. Mark's) make sandwiches once a month for the Lunch & Clothing ministry at the Episcopal Cathedral in Buffalo, which serves the homeless. Information on this outreach program is here.
All Babies Cherished
St. Mark's is happy to join in with Penuel Fellowship of LeRoy in their fundraising effort for All Babies Cherished in Batavia, NY. All Babies Cherished is a nonprofit Christian Pregnancy & Parenting Assistance Center, providing parents, grandparents, & guardians of all backgrounds and income levels with spiritual, educational, & material assistance. https://www.allbabiescherished.com/
St. James, Batavia - Social Respite Program
Each month, several members of St. Mark's assist with the Social Respite Program at St. James Church in Batavia that offers a specially designed program for adults with dementia in order to offer respite to thier caregivers. This is affiliated with the Alzheimer's Association.
Christmas Projects
Each December, we work on at least two special projects. Each year, we collect hats, gloves, mittens, scarves and socks for the ECW Mitten Tree which are then distributed to those in need, including any migrant workers who have remained in the area.
Summer Lunch Program
After providing meals since 2009, St. Mark's "retired" the summer lunch program in 2024, because the LeRoy Central School began providing a summer feeding program for the community. We have been blessed with wonderful community support for this project and are so grateful to our many volunteers and to the Vic Blood Foundation for several grants. In the final year, we served 80 lunches a day to LeRoy's children.