Social Concerns Committee

June Meeting

Our next Social Concerns Committee Meeting will be held on June 10 in the St. Joesph’s Room in the Church’s basement - all are welcome.

June Food Collection Drive: June 13 and 14

Please our neighbors need in bringing the  items listed below to the main gathering space in the back of the Church. You can also help by donating in $25 denominations food gift cards for ShopRite, Foodtown, Acme, and Stop & Shop. 

Project Outreach

Next weekend we will have a guest Speaker from The Center for Great Expectations at the 10:30am Mass who will provide us an overview of the work they do to help support young mothers and their babies.

Food Gift Cards

We continue to ask your support by providing food gift cards in $25 denominations for ShopRite, FoodTown, Acme, Stop and Shop to help our neighbors in need.

 
 

Our Mission

As followers of Jesus Christ, we strive to grow in our understanding of social concerns and to raise awareness within our parish community of the needs that exist around us. Guided by faith and compassion, we encourage our parishioners to join us in serving those who are less fortunate through meaningful acts of kindness and support.

The Social Concerns Committee serves as the community outreach arm of Holy Cross Parish, partnering with local charities and organizations to bring hope, dignity, and assistance to those in need. Through these efforts, we seek to put our faith into action and live out Christ’s call to love and serve our neighbors. 

Join Us!

Our Meetings are held every first Wednesday of the month at 6pm in the St. Joseph’s Room in the Church Basement - all are welcome! 

Please contact Michael Rossano at 732.687.7686 or Annmarie Woods at 732.275.2109 for additional information. 

Charitable Assistance

We are frequently asked to provide assistance to local organizations and aim to help while raising awareness. In order for us to better support these various organizations, we often invite them to come speak to our parish about their organization to help raise awareness. Please check the bulletin and website event list for upcoming speaker engagements at Holy Cross Parish.

Most recently, we have been working with: Mercy House - Asbury Park, Birthright Red Bank, Bridges at the Shore Keansburg, The Center for Great Expectations, Project Paul (Keansburg), and St. Anthony's Food Pantry (Red Bank). 

Our Service Projects

Project Out Reach
In order to promote awareness, we invite various organizations and charities to come speak to our parish during select Masses about the work they do for our communities.

A few of our outreach service projects are listed below, we could use your help! 

• Easter Gift Cards
  We collect $25/$50 denomination grocery gift cards from ShopRite, Foodtown, Target, Walmart, and Stop & Shop in March and April for Easter. You can drop off gift card donations to the parish office, in the offeratory or to committee representatives in the church vestibules before and after Masses during these months.
  
  
• Monthly Food Collection
  Our monthly parish food collection drive supports St. Anthony's Food Pantry in Red Bank and Project Paul in Keansburg, both of which help feed many local families and seniors in need. Collections take place during weekend Masses at church and dates are posted in the bulletin and online.
  
  
• Seasonal Collections
  • We partner with Holy Cross Academy for a Thanksgiving Food Collection and again in May for a Mother’s Day Diaper Drive.
  • We run a special Christmas Giving Collection to help St. Anthony's Food Pantry and Project Paul.
    
    
• Stars forJesus
  Our Stars for Jesus Christmas Gift Collection fulfills over 400 gift requests from six local charities alongside other agencies. We assist with material assistance, referrals, and provide food/gift cards to the needy in our parish and surrounding towns.
  
  
• Baby Bottle Fundraiser
  Last year we helped Holy Cross Academy students raise $2000 for The Center for Great Expectations. This organization helps young mothers battling addiction learn to care for and keep their babies while provide housing, daycare, and training so they may be able to succeed on their own. They house about 40 mothers and provide counseling for more than 1,000 women  and men on an outpatient basis. 

Donations

We are heavily reliant on charitable donations, anything helps!

Holy Cross Parish’s 5th Sunday 2nd Collection
To help with the increased demand for assistance, our Parish dedicates the 2nd collection on the last Sunday of the month where there are 5 Sunday’s in the month to the Social Concern’s Committee.