Summer of Service

Welcome to our Summer of Service for 2024! For the past few years, we have used summer as a time to engage in the work of some of our partner organizations. This summer we will be partnering with three local organizations — Kinship Community Food Center, The Gathering, and Milwaukee Diaper Mission. 

We’ve planned a variety of weekday and Saturday volunteer sessions, and we have options for children and adults. Please take a look at the opportunities below and decide how you’ll be participating. There are links to sign up to volunteer below. 

If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact Sara Bitner, parish administrator, who will be happy to assist you.

Kinship Community Food Center is an organization committed to improving lives and growing community well-being in the city of Milwaukee. It engages volunteers and community residents to end hunger, isolation, and poverty. On average, almost 300,000 pounds of food is served here to more than 19,000 community members every year.

We have two ways we’ll be supporting the Kinship Community Food Center this summer. We will be volunteering at their site and we will be growing vegetables for them.

We have three dates to volunteer to distribute food on-site at the Kinship Community Food Center site at St. Casimir’s Catholic Church at 924 E. Clarke St.

• Saturday, June 15, from 7:30 to 11 a.m. CANCELED
• Tuesday, July 23, from 2:30 or 3:30 to 6 p.m.
• Saturday, Aug 17, from 7:30 to 11 a.m.

You can sign up to volunteer for these two dates here.

We’ve already got vegetables growing for Kinship in the three raised beds on the south side of the church. We will harvest the produce from the raised beds and bring it to Kinship on Friday mornings. If you’d like to help in the giving garden, contact the church office.

The Gathering is a Milwaukee organization that feeds those who would otherwise go hungry or without. St. Mark’s has had a long relationship with The Gathering as it began as a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee. The Gathering serves between 80,000-90,000 meals annually. 

There are three options for volunteering at The Gathering, but we’re reserving one of the sessions for our 20s/30s & Campus Ministry members. We will be serving meals at the Running Rebels location at 1300 W. Fond du Lac Ave. 

• Monday, June 10, from 7 to 10 a.m. (serving breakfast)
• Saturday, July 27, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (reserved for 20s & 30s/Campus Ministry volunteers; serving lunch)
• Wednesday, August 14, from 7 to 10 a.m. (serving breakfast)

You can sign up here. Nate Irvine will recruit volunteers for July 27. 

In addition, we’ll be making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for The Gathering after church on two Sundays this summer: June 2 and July 28.

The Milwaukee Diaper Mission (MDM) is a nonprofit organization that partners with local social service agencies to distribute disposable and reusable diapering and period supplies to the families that they serve. 

There are two options for volunteering at the Milwaukee Diaper Mission warehouse in Oak Creek. Volunteers are needed on Saturday, June 29, from 9 to 11 am, and Wednesday, July 10, from 1 to 3 p.m. The Saturday volunteer session is particularly good for families with younger children. 

You can sign up to volunteer here.