Advocacy and Christian Service

Capital Outreach

SMM provides funds twice per year in a grant program to support non-profit organizations that help people in need. The next grant deadline is March 5, 2026.

Click here for a St. Margaret Mary Capital Campaign Outreach Fund Grant Application: https://stmargaretmary.org/pdf/Grant-application.pdf Please print your copies from the fillable form, rather than handwriting the application. Please Note: If you are using Microsoft Edge as a browser you will be unable to type into the .pdf directly. You can either use a different browser such as Google Chrome or right click the link and select "Save Link as..." and then open it.

If you would like to schedule a tour of your facility or a demonstration of your project, committee members attend as their individual availability and schedules allow. All personal meetings must take place more than 30 days prior to the application deadline.

See a letter from previous grant recipient.

Chicken Soup

The parish provides assistance to people who need help while they remain living in their own homes as they age. Assistance is non-medical, and can include taking someone to a doctor’s appointment or to the store, visiting them for companionship and providing short term meal assistance during a recuperation. Volunteers do not need to commit to a regular schedule, but can respond to a request for assistance when their schedule allows. All volunteers need to complete diocesan Safe Environment training, including fingerprinting and a driver’s license background check. Clients do not need to be parishioners, but must live in the proximity of our parish boundaries. Click here to be linked to a volunteer interest form.
LEARN MORE

Family Promise

Family Promise of Greater Orlando supports vulnerable families using a "housing first" approach. They provide essential services to help families overcome homelessness, regain stability, and achieve long-term success.

To explore the range of programs offered, attend an upcoming Lunch n' Learn session. You can view the current schedule directly at  Family Promise Lunch n' Learn

Our Partnership at St. Margaret Mary

St. Margaret Mary partners with Family Promise to help families experiencing situational homelessness achieve self-sufficiency. As a host congregation, our parish supports their faith-based family shelter program by providing:

  • Short-term emergency shelter in our Family Life Center.
  • Family-friendly accommodations for one-week stays.
  • Rotational hosting four times each year.
  • Collaborative care while families work with caseworkers toward permanent housing.

We will host families:

 2027 Host Weeks:

  • January 10-17
  • May 9-16
  • September 5-12
  • November 14-21

Why *YOU* Should Volunteer For Family Promise

Food Pantry

Food donations are collected in the Parish Hall every weekend between Masses – Place donations on the black carts located inside the parish hall. Food is donated to Hope Community Center, Farmworker’s of Apopka and Together in Grace Food Pantry on Aloma Ave. Regular size cans and food packages AND single serve pop-top items are both needed. Please refer to the bulletin or weekly email for the current list of items needed.

Lazarus Ministry

Embracing our call to discipleship and service, the Lazarus Ministry seeks to serve with dignity and respect families vulnerable to housing instability, particularly those living in the Lee Road motels. We will support their basic needs through various events and by assisting families in their efforts to find stable housing. For more information on this ministry please go to: https://stmargaretmary.org/lazarus-ministry/

Lifeboat Project

The Lifeboat Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to combating human trafficking through awareness, education, and comprehensive survivor support. By offering long-term aftercare, residential programs, trauma-informed counseling, transitional housing, personal development, and educational resources, The Lifeboat Project empowers survivors to rebuild their lives with dignity and hope.

Central Florida ranks third in the nation for reported human trafficking cases; this crisis is happening in our own backyards. Through education and collective action, we can help prevent future exploitation and ensure survivors receive the care and support they deserve.
Please visit www.thelifeboatproject.org for additional information.

Mental Health Ministry

St. Margaret Mary is committed to responding to mental health challenges with the compassion of Jesus. We engage in this challenge by bringing the hope of the Gospel, the message that God is eternal love and mercy. We affirm the dignity of every person. Learn More

Peace & Justice

The mission of the Peace and Justice Ministry is to:

  • Provide educational opportunities for the parish to increase parishioners’ awareness of Catholic social teaching in the context of real-world issues.
  • Research real world peace & justice issues. Identify issues for possible action by the parish community.
  • Present potential actions or programs to the parish community.
  • Provide structure and opportunity for parishioners to become involved with Peace & Justice issues.
  • Provide on-going support to social action and outreach ministries.

For more information, please contact [email protected].

New members are always welcome. For current information about our Peace and Justice Ministry events, meeting dates, and resources about Catholic social teaching visit our ministry page HERE.

Purls & Prayers - A Crocheting & Knitting Ministry

The purpose of the ministry is to create prayer shawls, blankets, caps or other garments as an outward and visible sign of the mystical reality of prayer that knits our souls together in God and Christ. These garments may be given to those in transition in their lives, expectant mothers, children leaving home, the sick, homebound, or elderly to comfortably remind them that they are present to us and bound to us in community. Meetings are held every Tuesday at 10am until noon in the Courtyard closest to Park Avenue. Please call Deacon Bill Timmes at 407-647-3392.

Prison Ministry Volunteers Needed

“For I was imprisoned and you visited me…I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:36,40). St. Peter Claver Prison ministry is an Orlando Council St. Vincent DePaul Special Works mentorship program that encourages prisoners and newly released citizens on becoming self-sufficient. For more information READ MORE.

The Thanksgiving and Christmas Store

For the past 44 years St. Margaret Mary and All Saints Episcopal Churches have offered the Thanksgiving and Christmas Store to help our neighbors meet their holiday needs. We welcome new and returning volunteers to join in the fun and fellowship of serving others.
For more information regarding this ministry please contact us at [email protected].