The Holmdel Community Church reaches out to help others locally, nationally and internationally with its many and very diverse programs.

"Bridges" (program for the homeless in NYC) – involves church members as well as many from the community in general. Other religious groups as well as scout groups and school groups provide food, clothing, blankets and friendship to the homeless in lower Manhattan. About one Friday a month, a caravan of several vans containing 20 - 30 adult and student volunteers travels from Holmdel to lower Manhattan. The caravan pulls up to the curb at Battery Park and Center Street, to hand out blankets, clothing, bag suppers, toiletries, shoes, pasta, hot soup and cocoa, and "special requests." At each location, these volunteers spend time to talk with the homeless and get to know them personally, without judgment or coercion. It is truly a person to person effort.

On the Wednesday before each trip, there is a "sorting" when many volunteers come to separate the clothing that was donated during the previous month. The men’s clothes are put in baskets to bring in the city, the women’s and children’s clothes are put aside for the Salvation Army or a local thrift shop. This is a community-wide effort, involving many local churches and synagogues, as well as local schools, scout troops, and student groups.

Donations of men’s casual clothing (appropriate for the season), jackets and blankets (or even better, sleeping bags) can be dropped off in the garage behind the church's parish house. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Kathy Logan through the church office: 732-946-8821.

Calico Cat Food Pantry and Cupboard - The Community Outreach Group Inc., is an ecumenical effort of 10 local churches which sponsors the Calico Cat Food Pantry /Cupboard, the Emergency Assistance Fund and The Calico Cat Thrift Shop. - This organization is comprised of all volunteers and provides for many volunteering opportunities. The Food Pantry and Cupboard serve over 4000 clients yearly. The Pantry & Cupboard is open every Wednesday to serve clients by referal and the 4th Tuesday evening for working low income clients. Services provided are: food, cleaning supplies, personal care, baby formula, diapers, clothing, small household items, baby equipment, and resource counseling. Phone - 732-671-0550 or 732-671-8775.

The Emergency Assistance Fund assists with financial help to people in financial crisis. Helping with rent and mortgage to prevent homelessness is the main focus, but money is also used to pay for medication, utilities, car repair and other extreme needs. Call 732-671-8775 for appointments.

This all-volunteer program operates the Calico Cat Thrift Shop and all proceeds are used to support the Emergency Assistance Fund, the Calico Cat Pantry & Cupboard and other non profit organizations within our local community who are helping people in need. Hours of operation for the Thrift Shop are Mon - Thurs 9:30 am - 2:30 pm and Fri - Sat. 9:30 am - 12 noon. Phone # 732-671-0550.

Questions: Janice Liebenow 732-946-8525 Calico1015@aol.com
Jane Pecscvaradi 732-796-0352 jane@pecsvaradi.net

Turkey Dinner – Every March we hold an enormous homemade turkey dinner with all the trimmings. There are four family style all-you-can-eat seatings. Over the years, we have had to add take-out dinners because we’ve acquired a loyal following with people coming from all over and the sit down dinners are quickly sold out. All the proceeds are donated to a local charity and with the help of several local merchants who donate produce, cider, and gift cards, to buy supplies. We are able to donate several thousand dollars to the charity. In recent years, the money has gone to Project Paul, Habitat for Humanity, Lunchbreak, the Parker Clinic, Interfaith Neighbors, Community Outreach Group and St. Mark’s Soup Kitchen.

Bike-a-thon – In the fall, we sponsor a Bikeathon to raise money for the Bridges program and another local charity. The Bike-a-thon usually follows a course through the scenic town of Colts Neck for the experienced (and energetic rider) but also offers a course mostly on a bike trail within the local park for the not-so-experienced rider and a short route for the children. A lunch is provided afterwards for all riders. This is available for anyone in the community and anyone interested or would like more information can contact the church.

Sabang Church of Christ Disciples – We partner with the Sabang Church of Christ Disciples, our sister church in the Philippines, in their mission outreach projects to impoverished families, both in their community and in rural regions of their country. We raise money for these projects through our Reiki ministry, the sale of Advent cards, and other fundraisers. We are currently helping Sabang with three projects. Through the Supplemental Feeding Project we are helping to return to health 30 children suffering from malnutrition. Through the Carabao Project, we have provided funds for two indigenous tribes each to buy a carabao (a type of domesticated water buffalo), used to help with plowing and other farming tasks. Through the Books for the Disciples Learning Academy Project, we collect and ship children’s books to Sabang’s elementary school, which is open to all children in the community, regardless of their religion.

Equal Exchange Project – All of the coffee and tea served in church events is provided through this project. By participating in this project, we are supporting the small farms in developing countries by making sure they are getting their “fair share” and we are helping the environment since this coffee is shade grown under the canopy of the rain forests which also provides housing for many of the animal species that share the earth with us. We promote buying fair share products to the congregation and have a supply of coffee, tea. chocolate bars and hot chocolate mix for anyone interested.

CROP Walk – Every October we participate in the Red Bank Area CROP Walk to raise funds for humanitarian projects sponsored by Church World Services. Our members help by raising pledges, walking, assisting in the running of the event, and donating food. For more information about the walk, visit http://www.geocities.com/redbankcropwalk/. For information about Church World Services, go to http://www.churchworldservices.org/.

Habitat for Humanity – Through the Long Branch Habitat for Humanity, our church has assisted in the building of homes for low-income families. We have helped build three houses in the Red Bank area by providing financial support as well building crews and lunches for the workers.

Blood Drive - Once a year we run a blood drive with the Central Jersey Blood Center or the Red Cross, usually the first week in January. Hosting Community Groups – Our church assists programs in the community by letting them use our buildings. We have opened our doors to various groups, who use our facilities for free, including AA, the National Association for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), girl scouts, and Mothers and More.

Fund Raising – Periodically we raise funds for other organizations, such as the Heifer Project International, Grace UCC - a new-church-start in the UCC, and more.