About Plymouth

Social Action

Plymouth members are drawn into passionate engagement with the social concerns of our times. With support of the Board of Outreach, you might connect with Plymouth’s wider community in two ways: through acts of compassion that address the immediate needs of those vulnerable in our society, and through advocacy for social change that furthers justice as a realization of the Kingdom of God.

Current outreach volunteer opportunities

Most recent Outreach eNewsletter

Working Groups
To find out more about any of the following committees or program areas, including the possibility of joining one of them, contact Connie Marty, outreach volunteer coordinator (conniem@plymouth.org, ext. 284).

Advocacy – Advocate for change through the legislative process. This working group provides education and promotes advocacy for Plymouth members on social justice issues of hunger, health care, children and education, immigration, environment, homelessness/affordable housing, anti-racism, GLBT rights, criminal justice and poverty. Plymouth members staff the “Take Five” advocacy table in Guild Hall following Sunday worship. This is a great way for the congregation to stay informed and advocate for change via the legislative process.

Caring for Creation – Engage the struggle for a vital planet. This is a working group on stewardship of the environment. Leaders sponsored a showing of the film, An Inconvenient Truth, in Oct. 2006. Discussion after the movie provided members the opportunity to connect their faith to action on global warming, energy consumption, sustainability, etc. Among their actions: challenge members to do an energy audit, build a rain garden, host a resource fair and connect members who are passionate about this issue. More on Caring for Creation.

Drop-In Center – Fellowship for neighbors with disabilities, mental illness or struggles with independent living. Plymouth created the Drop-In Center in 1971 as an expansion of the church’s visitation program to board-and-care homes. Social recreation and the positive benefits of friendship were intended to provide structure and foster well-being in participants’ lives, many of whom had previously been institutionalized. The program has continued with loving support from key church people and now includes an annual week at Camp Knutson. The Drop-In Center relies on volunteers to make the program a community experience – to spend time with participants at the church on Wednesdays 1-3 or Thursdays 6-8, to go together on fieldtrips and to nurture relationships.

Friends of the Plymouth Church Neighborhood Foundation – Creating homes for those in need and building a stronger community for us all. Created in 1999 by members of Plymouth, the Plymouth Church Neighborhood Foundation (PCNF) is a non-profit affordable housing developer. There are many ways to be involved in the Foundation: serving on the Board or a committee, volunteering on hands-on projects at a housing project or participating in “A Night on the Street” youth event. Starting in April 2005, the Foundation hosted the first annual interfaith event for youth groups to spend “A Night on the Street” learning about homelessness and raising funds for affordable housing. The teens experience what it might feel like to be homeless by spending the night outside, sleeping in cardboard boxes with only blankets to keep warm. They also stand in a soup line for dinner, learn about homelessness and gather pledges (like a walk-a-thon) to support the efforts of the Foundation to develop affordable housing. The Foundation currently owns eight properties, including Lydia Apartments for 40 previously homeless individuals, and North Haven Apartments for refugee families. For more information see the website: www.plymouthfoundation.org.

Gay-Straight Alliance – Promote inclusiveness at Plymouth and in our neighborhood. This informal group of members of Plymouth works to enhance inclusiveness both in the church and wider community. The Mission Statement is: “We walk together regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression to foster mutual understanding, celebration and respect within our group and in Plymouth as a whole. We seek opportunities for education and action within the broader community to promote an inclusive society.”

Groveland Emergency Food Shelf – Help distribute more than 25,000 pounds of food to people who need it each month. Groveland Emergency Food Shelf, located in Plymouth’s basement, is part of a five-church effort to feed food-insecure youth and adults. The Food Shelf sees about 850 people and hands out 25,000 pounds of food per month. It provides three to five days of food at a time, an emergency supply. Plymouth volunteers stock shelves, bag groceries, pick up and deliver food or raise funds. Adults are served Mondays-Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Groveland Food for Youth serves homeless and transitional youth on Tuesdays, 4 to 7 p.m., and Fridays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Food Shelf is continually addressing the need for an ongoing supply of fresh vegetables and fruits.

Habitat for Humanity – Help build someone a new home, work with old and new friends and learn new skills. This working group provides leadership for Plymouth member volunteers who contribute time and talents to local projects of Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry dedicated to eliminating substandard housing and homelessness worldwide. Plymouth currently participates in three work weeks each year on local projects and handles details of volunteers wishing to participate in international projects. Volunteers are needed for construction work and to provide food for on-site workers. Building experience is not necessary. This is a good opportunity to work with people who can teach you some new skills. Read more

Lydia Apartments Connections – Help neighbors help themselves. This working group includes Lydia Apartments residents, representatives from the Plymouth Church Neighborhood Foundation and members of Plymouth. Lydia Apartments is supportive housing located across the street from the church. It houses 40 tenants who live with persistent disabilities and who have been homeless but who are committed to a healthy lifestyle. It opened in 2003. The working group plans and carries out volunteer events in which residents and church members can work together to benefit Lydia and the broader community as well. For instance, each December a food drive is coordinated to benefit families at Simpson Transitional Housing.

Meals on Wheels – A hot meal for the homebound every Thursday. Deliver hot meals once each month on a Thursday to homebound people in the Loring-Nicollet area, 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Homebound people might include those with disabilities, the elderly or those otherwise isolated. For each delivery, six Plymouth volunteers set out on their own routes. All routes are in the downtown area with about 10 to 13 stops per route. Volunteers provide their own transportation and pick up meals from a central Meals on Wheels kitchen.

Plymouth School Volunteers – Help kids improve reading and math and share artistic talent. Plymouth members helped launch volunteering at Whittier International School and still support this unique arts-integrated elementary school in the Whittier neighborhood, offering quality education to children of many income levels and nationalities. In the 2006-07 school year, 32 Plymouth volunteers assisted as tutors and assisted teachers in helping children speak and read English. Some also helped with math lessons or played music during the day. Each fall, registration of old and new Plymouth tutors is held. Volunteers spend one to two hours per week at the school during the September-June school year. For more information, visit the school web site, http://whittier.mpls.k12.mn.us/

In the Fall of 2007, Stonebridge Community School, a public charter K-6 school, started renting space at Plymouth and a new program for engaging member’s talents began. For more information visit this school’s web site: www.stonebridgecommunityschool.org

Restorative Justice – Help bring just solutions to the causes and consequences of crime. Community members affected by crime meet face-to-face with court- or police-referred offenders to discuss the impacts of their crimes and to negotiate resolutions on how offenders can best give back to the neighborhood. Participants are needed to facilitate such conferences, typically held weeknights or weekends for two to three hours. Restorative Justice provides an alternative to our costly and ineffective corrections system. It provides an opportunity for offenders to provide restitution and healing to the community. Also see www.rjca-inc.org.

Simpson Partners – Hospitality for the homeless, on a first-name basis. The Simpson men’s homeless shelter was created in the winter of 1981 and is housed in the basement of Simpson United Methodist Church. A non-profit organization now, amidst growing need, Simpson Housing Services has expanded to include a women’s shelter, support services and transitional housing for adults and single-parent families. Volunteers from Plymouth can help make sandwiches or work an overnight supervision shift in the men’s shelter, which offers a safe place, clean bed, shower, warm meal and resource referrals. Training for volunteers is provided and sensitivity toward others’ situations and life stories comes with time. Other opportunities for involvement include organizing “Undie & Briefs Sunday” at Plymouth, housing advocacy, legal counsel, shelter fundraisers and holiday food baskets for Simpson families.

Stevens Square Connections – Work with neighbors to build a better neighborhood. Plymouth Church is located in the neighborhood known as Stevens Square-Loring Heights. The non-profit Stevens Square Community Organization (SSCO) is a partner organization with Plymouth. The Stevens Square Connections working group supports activities, including community gardens and Block Patrol. For more information, visit SSCO online at www.sscoweb.org

Third Sunday Meal – Help serve more than 200 meals to neighbors in need each month. Plymouth partners with three other downtown churches – Hennepin Ave. United Methodist, Westminster Presbyterian and St. Mark’s Episcopal – to serve dinner every Sunday to those in need. Plymouth hosts the 3rd Sunday meal, which strives to serve fresh, healthy food with dignity. Volunteers serve a free hot meal to more than 200 guests of all ages in Plymouth’s dining hall. Volunteers are needed from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The on-going need is for 18 volunteer servers per month.

Whittier Connections – Work with neighbors to build a better neighborhood. This group focuses on the World of Whittier Neighborhood Fair, held each May in Whittier Park at 26th St. and Grand Ave. This event is designed to celebrate the strengths of the community and its young people, and to cultivate ethnic, race and age diversity. It’s also to encourage neighbors’ community involvement. Plymouth has traditionally helped plan this event, thereby fostering relationships with many groups in the area such as other churches, non-profits, Whittier Neighbors and Whittier Alliance. To learn more about the officially funded neighborhood association, Whittier Alliance, visit their website at www.whittieralliance.org or to learn more about Whittier Neighbors, visit their website at www.whittierneighbors.org.

Working Groups

Service Projects	Neighborhood Relationships	Education & Advocacy
Groveland Food Shelf	Lydia Apartment Connections	Advocacy
Third Sunday Meal	Restorative Justice	Gay-Straight Alliance
Meals on Wheels	Drop-In Center	Caring for Creation
Simpson Partners	Stevens Square Connections
PCNF Housing Events	Whittier Connections
Plymouth School Volunteers
Habitat for Humanity

Drop In

Drop-In

Habitat

Habitat for Humanity

New Minnesotans

Food Shelf

Food Shelf

Advocacy

Advocacy

Outreach Sunday

Outreach Sunday

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