Assumption Parish is dedicated to helping the poor and needy – whether they are close to home or far away. This commitment is evident in our many ministries and programs designed to help the poor. Here is a partial listing of our ongoing outreach commitments:
Each year we host several fundraisers for Africa Surgery Inc, a non-profit charity started by lifelong parishioner, Tom Johnson, who works to provide much-needed medical care and surgery for citizens in Sierra Leone. Contact Tom at 973-292-3320.
The Village Angels of Tanzania: Youth Caring for the Elderly Poor with LoveThe Village Angels Program is one of the numerous missions supported and operated by The Franciscan Sisters of St. Bernadette (FSSB) in the East African country of Tanzania. The program serves two acutely underserved groups: forsaken elders and at-risk unemployed young people. The program recruits local, unemployed young people who are then trained by FSSB Sisters in appropriate skills for elderly care. The Village Angels of Tanzania, Inc. is a 501-C-3 not-for-profit New Jersey corporation whose mission is to raise charitable funds for the sole purpose of supporting The Village Angels Program. Fundraisers are held throughout the year. For more information please contact Johanna Burani at (973) 610-4856 https://thevillageangels-tanzania.org
In the weeks leading to Thanksgiving, designated “Turkey” envelopes are placed in the pews. Parishioners are encouraged to donate $15 for those in need. The funds collected in these envelopes are used to fund non-perishable food items for approximately 15 food baskets given to local families each Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. This collection also funds our year-round food voucher program, in which we are able to give Shop Rite food vouchers to countless local residents who come to us in need of fresh food.
Assumption also has an Endowment for the Poor set aside to help those in need, and overseen by a Board of Directors who decides how and when to distribute the interest from the fund. Contact Claudia Nardi at 973-539-2141.
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The Food Pantry at Assumption has a long history in the Morristown community. Assumption has answered the call to feed the hungry for many years. Those who come to us in need are helped by your generosity. The numbers became so great throughout Morristown, that a meeting of the churches was held in 1994. The result was the creation of the Interfaith Food Pantry. Since it’s inception, the Interfaith Food Pantry has received Assumption’s wholehearted support with food and funds. Concerts, fund-raisers, volunteers and food have helped meet the ever-growing needs of our community. The Interfaith Food Pantry has now moved to a donated facility on West Hanover Avenue.
At Thanksgiving our on-premises Food Pantry supplies families in Morristown and Paterson with dinners and food coupons. Funds donated at Thanksgiving are used for coupons, which help us to continue this work throughout the year. At Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, volunteers assemble food baskets which are picked up or delivered to families in Morristown. Every weekend Assumption parishioners volunteer to shelve the food that is so generously donated.
Assumption’s school and Faith Formation program remember our Food Pantry and have drives during the school year to support this work. As a community, we strongly support our on-premises food pantry and the Interfaith Food Pantry.
To learn more call Claudia Nardi at 973-539-2141 extension 19.
Throughout the year, parishioners are invited to bring an empty food pan home and return them the following weekend – filled with a nutrition frozen meal for working poor families. The food pans are delivered to the Father English Center in Paterson. Most of the recipients are not on welfare because they work 2-3 minimum wage jobs, but high rents and lack of health insurance limit their ability to provide good nutritious meals for their family.
For more information please call the parish office at 973-539-2141.
Assumption Parish adopts 11 organizations and provides gifts to approximately 800 needy children and adults at Christmastime. In August, organizations are contacted and asked to supply the names and needs of people within their organization. Tags are distributed at church in mid-November and parishioners buy gifts for their designated person. Gifts are then collected after masses during advent, and organizations receive their presents in mid-December. Volunteers are used after all masses during advent, to collect and check-in gifts, bag gifts for organizations, and buy any gifts which are still needed.
For more information, contact Brian Morgan at at 973-462-6972.
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For more than ten years, volunteers from Assumption Church and other local congregations have been participating with Family Promise in operating a network of emergency shelters for homeless families.
Each year, on four occasions, Assumption parish volunteers assist in hosting a week-long emergency shelter, along with volunteers from the Unitarian Fellowship and the Church of the Redeemer. As a result of this program over the past ten years, 254 homeless families have received shelter, and 40,000 shelter beds have been provided to 729 homeless family members, more than half of which were children.
Learn more by calling Brian Doherty at 973-714-7674.
nourish.NJ, formeraly The Community Soup Kitchen of Morristown, Inc., is a concerted effort on the part of 34 congregations throughout Morris County to follow one of the mandates of the Lord, and that is to “Feed the Hungry”. Volunteers from Assumption contribute toward that end by serving complete meals for 80 to 160 hungry men, women and children who visit the Church of the Redeemer daily at 1 p.m. for a hearty meal. Our volunteers staff the kitchen on the 3rd and 4th Mondays of each month.
Please call Annaliese Rush at 973 455-0391 for more information.
The Knights of Columbus is a fraternity of Catholic men, founded on the principles of
Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet and become involved with individuals who are dedicated to the same Catholic ideals as you are. Our activities are centered on support of the Church, Family, Youth, Community and our Council. We are especially attentive to the struggles of the poor, providing food and clothing. We support these endeavors through a number of events we sponsor and through financial contributions. We also maintain a life insurance program. If you would like to grow in your faith, meet like-minded Catholic men and their families and give something back to society, give us a call. All we ask of each member is that he contribute at least five hours a year.
For more information, please call William C. Duggan, Jr. at 973-960-6417.
C.Y.O. (Catholic Youth Organization) Basketball addresses the essential aspect of exercising not only our Spiritual side, but also our physical bodies. CYO Basketball consists of boys and girls in grades 4 through 8. There are approximately 110 children in the program, forming nine teams, four Junior Varsity and five Varsity. This organization is open to all children of Assumption parish, and also to the neighboring parishes that don’t have C.Y.O. Basketball. Our ministry has 36 volunteers which include coaches, score keepers, time keepers, and team mothers. Registration is at the end of September. The season opener is Thanksgiving weekend and comes to an end in the middle of March. All games are played on Sunday afternoon, with practice twice a week.
For further information, contact Kevin Bopp at 917-861-2876.
Assumption Parish is proud to host Boy Scout Troop and Cub Scout Pack #34, who meet in our parish center and provide opportunities for service to the young boys and men of our community. The scouts host several fundraisers (i.e. Christmas wreaths and Mother’s Day plant sales) each year and are always available and willing to contribute to any need that arises within the parish and lend a helping hand to many of our service projects.
For more information contact Kevin Kelly (boy scouts) at 973-727-7082
or Cassandra Nielsen (cub scouts) at 973-452-3857