Homebuilding is essential to the operation of our ministry.
Did you know?
Homebuilding provides over 30% of our operating budget for our organization
Homebuilding supports our Orphanage's ability to house, raise and educate our boys
Homebuilding provides a safe and secure living for 20-25 families every summer for the past 32 years
Each home gives a family the means to live safely and thrive, educate their children and better their lives
In the event of the following circumstances here are a few options:
Delayed Season: Groups can shift to build weeks later in the summer at a date of your choosing and this includes flexible dates if our weeks on the schedule don’t work for your group
Border Closure: Alternate trips throughout the United States including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are available and we have published these on St. Innocent Service Works (www.sisw.managedmissions.com/OurTrips)
Travel: Deploy to a local site for your group to participate in a regional or local ministry closer to home in partnership with our partner orthodox ministries throughout the country
Physical Distancing: Our interns will establish local contacts in your area to assist with local homeless and homebound food delivery and outreach. (Yes, your group could work at a soup kitchen preparing boxed lunches or delivering meals to those in need, which can be done in social distancing, with contactless delivery as social services are exempted under most stay at home orders.)
Voucher: Volunteer homebuilding trip later in the summer, fall, winter, spring break, or summer 2021.
Summer 2021: Launches May 1, 2020 with priority to rescheduled groups (reapply your group’s fundraising towards summer 2021 deposits and trip payments)
Charitable Donation: Meet your fundraising goals and dedicate it to the orphanage’s sustained operations
Financial Hardship Refund: Case-by-case, please contact Fr. Demetrios
Finally, you are our most generous supporters! Each volunteer contributes as much as our average donor, despite their young age, because of all of the hard work of our group leaders in organizing and fundraising! We expect over 500 volunteers this summer. We humbly ask that even if you don’t plan to join us this summer, that you use your group’s fundraising links to continue supporting St. Innocent Orphanage’s continued operations.
If you and your group members can hold virtual fundraisers, and continue to send out requests for support for our Orphanage, our 500 volunteers can reach more than 5,000 or more people to help us support our ministry and continue our mission even during these trying times.
Since we can no longer meet in a parish setting you may use the crowdfunding links in your profiles that are dedicated to your group’s trip! You can ask your priest to mention your home building trip fundraiser after liturgy, or during virtual coffee hour, weekly bible study, or a specially scheduled digital presentation by your group to the parish!
We will stay in close communication with you as the summer schedule develops.
Through the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos and St. Haralambos, we pray that the Lord of the Harvest deliver us from this blight, for truly the harvest is plentiful,
Fr. Demetrios
Executive Director