serve the community
Serve Your Community
Our prayer is that United Christian Parish will be an integral partner in helping those in need in our community to truly see and experience the love of Christ. Will you join us?
Love your neighbor
How can you make a difference in your local community? Below are ideas to get you started:
Reach out to the elderly. Pay them a visit, call them. Ask how you can pray for them. Offer to pick up groceries for them.
Donate blood. There is a severe shortage of blood in many parts of the country. Check your local hospitals for upcoming blood drive events.
Mentor a child in your neighborhood. Help them learn to read. Play a sport with them. You never know what kind of life-changing influence you may have on them.
Clean up trash around your neighborhood.
Keep snacks in your car to give to people standing at intersections.
Support local business.
Offer to mow the lawn of someone who has physical limitations.
Send a card to first responder.
Love like Jesus.
Ongoing and Annual Serve Opportunities
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Back to School Drive
Our Back to School Drive provides kids and teens across Northern Virginia with backpacks and new school supplies that their grade and county require.
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Food Donations
Each week, we collect food for the Cornerstones’ Food Pantry, which distributes much needed food to low income families in the Reston area.
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Helping Hungry Kids
Each month we collect food for Helping Hungry Kids, which makes sure low income kids in our neighborhood have enough food to eat over the weekend.
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Meals for the Hypothermia Prevention Shelter Residents
From December-March, United Christian Parish volunteers cook a weekly meal for the residents at the North County Hypothermia Prevention Shelter. Meals we serve to the residents are hot and nutritious.
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Toy Drive
During the holiday season, we collect toys and gift cards for families connected with Friendly Instant Sympathetic Help (FISH). FISH offers holiday assistance to households with very low incomes.
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Book Drive for Lake Anne Elementary School
Annually, we collect books for students at our neighboring elementary school, Lake Anne. This supports the students summer reading program.
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Embry Rucker Fall Festival
Bring joy to children at Reston’s Embry Rucker Community Shelter by serving at our Fall Festival at the Shelter. We play games with the kids, share snacks with them and lead fall festival activities such as pumpkin decorating and face paintings.
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Pastor's Crisis Fund
Our Pastor’s Crisis Fund supports Herndon-Reston residents who are facing a crisis, like a flood or fire to their home. Support this outreach by donating financially. Use the button below to donate and select “Pastor Crisis Fund” in the “Give to” drop-down menu.
Community Partners
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The United Christian Parish is in partnership with the Afghanistan Refugee Rescue Organization (ARRO). Together, we are dedicated to supporting Afghan refugees in the United States, helping them build better lives in their new communities. Through educational, legal, and social services, we assist refugees in integrating smoothly and finding opportunities to start afresh.
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The CLRC seeks to provide local immigrants with the resources to be financially independent. CLRC works with employees and employers to promote fair wages and labor practices. CLRC also provides skills training and educational opportunities to immigrants in our community. To volunteer with Centreville Labor Resource Center, visit CLRC’s volunteer page.
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We work with Cornerstones to assist local residents facing financial hardship. Cornerstones partners with Fairfax County to operate the North County Hypothermia Prevention Program.
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We partner with FISH to support low-income families and individuals by providing rental assistance and help with paying for utilities, medical needs, household items and other short-term emergency needs. To volunteer, go to their volunteer page.
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United Christian Parish supports Hope Made Real’s Urukundo Foundation in Rwanda. The Urukundo Foundation is dedicated to excellent education for Rwandan children and technical training for adults. UCP partners with Hope Made Real to send mission teams and to send donations to the Urukundo Foundation when needed.
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We are committed to maintaining a strong relationship with the students and faculty at Lake Anne Elementary School. Throughout the year, United Christian Parish will host drives in support of the students and we continuously donate food for lower income students to have on the weekends.
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The Closet is a nonprofit thrift shop in downtown Herndon. It assists low-income families by selling used clothing at nominal prices. Use their volunteer sign-up to serve.
Contact us
Questions about serving near? Contact our outreach team!