As part of this parish's continued commitment to serving those around us, a baby shower with a special turkey dinner, free of charge, was held on Sunday, May 17th following the Divine Liturgy.  All gifts donated to this worthy cause will be distributed by ChoiceOne to their clients.

"We are delighted to partner with ChoiceOne and to offer the little we can to support this vital ministry for local mothers and families," said Fr. John.

Jennifer Musser, ChoiceOne's Client Services Director, addressed the parish during our coffee hour sharing a little about the great work the organization does and thanking the parish for our generosity.  "Between our two locations, ChoiceOne serves about 1,200 clients per month, in addition to offering abstinence-based programming in the schools which affects around 10,000 youth every year.  ChoiceOne offers a wide array of services for mothers, their children (whether born or unborn), and fathers from counseling to referrals for housing, to offering tangible support like those things this parish has so graciously collected for the families we serve today."

ChoiceOne is a Christian non-profit dedicated to "acting as a positive change agent in the areas of human sexuality, family unity, and pregnancy."

After the presentation, Ms. Musser took questions from the parishioners.  In addition to questions about the types of programs and how their clients are served, there was interest from the parish in getting involved with helping in a variety of ways as volunteers as mentors and even helping with mailings and office work.  One such question was from Germain Ortiz, who asked "How can somebody like me, as a man and a father, best help your organization?"  

In our efforts to live the Gospel the parish of St. Vladimir sponsors monthly service projects to help those in need, with a special emphasis on caring for those in Trenton and the surrounding areas.

To learn more about ChoiceOne, and the good work they do or to see how you can help, please visit their website at:  http://choiceonesupport.org/