Mission & Outreach
The glorious Son of Man tells the righteous, “I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.” When the righteous ask Him, “When did we do these things for you?” He responds, “To the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.”
Matthew 25: 35-36, 40
At St. David’s, our faith leads us to serve those in need outside the church walls, throughout the greater DC area, and in Honduras. Our efforts focus on education, homelessness and hunger through work with five primary partners: Bishop Walker School (BWS), Friendship Place (FP), Honduras Independence Bilingual School (HIBS), So Others Might Eat (SOME) and Loaves and Fishes (LF). In addition to working with our outreach partners, we plan ad hoc, strategic events such as clothing and supply drives for those in need, and connect parishioners to other organizations serving immigrants and refugees.
Information about our partner organizations appears below. For opportunities to participate in Outreach, please click here.
Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys
Bishop Walker School is a tuition-free Episcopal school for boys from traditionally underserved communities in the DC area. The school nurtures the spiritual, intellectual, social-emotional, artistic and physical development of its students in a Christian community of learners that welcomes boys of all faiths and beliefs. It currently serves grades K-5th and will ultimately serve grades JK-8th. For more information on the Bishop Walker School please visit www.bishopwalkerschool.org.
To learn about ways to support the Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys, click here.
The Honduras Independence Bilingual School
Honduras Independence Bilingual School (HIBS), founded in 2006, is a coed, K-11 school which helps students from poor families in Quimistan, Honduras, achieve a life of independence. Crucially, the students learn English, a vital skill for them to support themselves and build stable lives. In addition to its primary role in educating youth, HIBS offers adult education initiatives to the community which focus on issues such as nutrition, sanitation and parenting. As a parish we have made a commitment to provide a bilingual education at HIBS for four children who live in extreme poverty in one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere. In addition to these scholarships, the parish also has contributed funds to build bathrooms, classrooms and a computer lab, and parishioners have traveled to Honduras to volunteer as English language resources at the school. For more information please see www.artforhumanity.org.
To learn about St. David’s annual Mission Trip to HIBS and other ways to support HIBS, click here.
Friendship Place
Ending homelessness. Rebuilding lives. These are the goals of Friendship Place, a multi-location, multi-function organization, providing wrap around services across the DC area, founded by a coalition of faith-based organizations and concerned citizens. Friendship Place meets people where they are - whether it’s a bottle of water and a healthy meal, overnight shelter in their small group shelter system, or transition to independent living. Their innovative personalized programs target specific community needs. Their programs end or prevent homelessness for approximately 5000 people each year. The Welcome Center on Wisconsin Ave NW is a drop-in center that provides food, mail drop, snacks, water, hygiene kits, and a welcoming presence. Valley Place is a bridge facility in SE DC housing 110 men. The Brooks is a short-term housing facility for women and children in Ward 3, serving families as they transition into permanent supportive housing. The permanent supportive housing programs have a housing retention rate of 98%. Other programs target veterans, youth, and LGBTQ+ communities. www.friendshipplace.org
To learn about St. David’s Monthly Collection of Toiletries for Friendship Place and other ways to participate, click here.
Loaves & Fishes
Loaves and Fishes is a feeding ministry run out of St. Stephen and the Incarnation Episcopal Church. The mission and goals of Loaves & Fishes are to feed people who are hungry in our community and to educate volunteers and community members about hunger and homelessness. On weekends and holidays, volunteers serve a hot, healthy lunch to all who come to St. Stephen and the Incarnation Church in DC, without regard to their age, race, immigration status, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, or religious affiliation.
For people who are poor and homeless, finding their next meal is a seven-day-a-week challenge. The need for free meals is particularly acute on weekends, when most free meal programs in Washington are closed. Guests appreciate the high-quality, freshly prepared meals and the welcoming atmosphere offered at Loaves & Fishes.
To join us in volunteering for Loaves & Fishes or to support their mission, click here.
So Others Might Eat (SOME)
SOME was founded in 1970 by Father Horace McKenna, S.J., and an interfaith group of priests, ministers and volunteers to provide soup and sandwiches to our hungry neighbors. Ensuring that those experiencing homelessness and poverty can meet their daily needs remains a core service at SOME. Whether the need is a hot meal or shower, a solid pair of shoes or non-perishable items to help feed a family, SOME is here to help. Pre-pandemic, nearly one in five DC residents lived at or below the poverty line, struggling to meet even their basic needs. While the full scope of the economic fallout from coronavirus is still unknown, the Washington Post recently reported that 37 percent of households in the District and the Maryland and Virginia suburbs experienced food insecurity between May 2023 and May 2024. For more information on SOME please visit www.some.org/about/mission.
To learn about St. David’s Monthly Sandwich Drive for SOME and other ways to participate, click here.
Our Partner Organizations
Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys
Bishop Walker School is a tuition-free Episcopal school for boys from traditionally underserved communities in the DC area. The School nurtures the spiritual, intellectual, social-emotional, artistic and physical development of its students in a Christian community of learners that welcomes boys of all faiths and beliefs. It currently serves grades JK-6th and will ultimately serve grades JK-8th. For more information on the Bishop Walker School please visit www.bishopwalkerschool.org.
Friendship Place
As the premier housing service provider for people experiencing homelessness in the DC region Friendship Place’s mission is to empower people experiencing or at risk of homelessness to attain stable housing and rebuild their lives. Their goal is to end homelessness in Washington, DC, and to establish a sustainable model which can be replicated across the nation. Friendship Place’s innovative, personalized programs empower participants to rebuild their lives, find homes, get jobs and reconnect with friends, family and the community. In 2020, Friendship Place programs ended or prevented homelessness for 2,664 people through creative, customized housing solutions. Across all programs, Friendship Place served more than 3,432 individuals in 2020. For more information please see friendshipplace.org.
Loaves & Fishes
The mission and goals of Loaves & Fishes are two-fold: to feed people who are hungry in our community and to educate volunteers and community members about hunger and homelessness. They serve a hot, healthy lunch to all who come to us without regard to their age, race, immigration status, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, religious affiliation, or lack of it.
The need for free meals is particularly acute on weekends, when most free meal programs in Washington are closed. For people who are poor and homeless, finding their next meal is a seven-day-a-week challenge. Guest surveys have shown that most guests appreciate not only the food, which is generally rated as high-quality, but also the welcoming, calm surroundings, an opportunity to be off the streets for a while and perhaps have a game of spades or checkers while waiting for the meal.
So Others Might Eat (SOME)
SOME was founded in 1970 with a small act of kindness—providing sandwiches to our hungry neighbors. Ensuring that those experiencing homelessness and poverty can meet their daily needs remains a core service at SOME. Whether the need is a hot meal or shower, a solid pair of shoes or non-perishable items to help feed a family, SOME is here to help. Pre-pandemic, nearly one in five DC residents lives at or below the poverty line, struggling to meet even their basic needs. While the full scope of the economic fallout from coronavirus is still unknown, food insecurity in the District is expected to rise 45-60% and more than 2 million unemployment claims have been filed in DC. For more information on SOME please visit www.some.org/about/mission.
The Honduras Independence Bilingual School (HIBS)
HIBS helps students from poor families in Quimistan, Honduras achieve a life of independence. In addition to elementary education the school provides adult education in the areas of nutrition, sanitation and parenting. Our congregation pays the school tuitions for Kerin, Genesis, Meyssi and Veronica. Crucially, the students learn English, a vital skill for them to support themselves and a subject unavailable in the public school. As a parish we have made a commitment to provide a bilingual education to these children who live in extreme poverty in the second poorest country in the western hemisphere, where life has become even more precarious due to the pandemic and natural disasters such as devastating hurricanes Eta and Iota last November. For more information please see www.artforhumanity.org.
IONA Senior Services
As we pass the 15-month mark of the start of the pandemic, Iona Senior Services’ Food Pantry Plus (FPP) continues to meet the needs of low-income, frail seniors in all eight wards of the city. Since March 2020, Iona and a team of wonderful volunteers have made well over 1,000 deliveries to nearly 300 individuals. Please see www.iona.org.