Perhaps the parish organization that best exemplifies these words of Jesus is Parish Outreach.  Today, the outreach program is a multi-faceted one that provides support and service to those in need.  Those involved with the program strive to minister compassionately, with sensitivity and confidentiality; hopefully treating each person with the dignity that is entitled to each of us by our Lord Jesus Christ.  The needs may be financial, sustenance, support, or advocacy.  By reaching out with compassion and prayer, recipients realize that Jesus loves them and is always watching over them, whatever, the need.

Parish Outreach was officially started in the early 1980s, but the spirit of Outreach has always been a quality of our parish.  Dedicated groups such as Our Daily Bread, the Legion of mary, the Rosary Altar Society, and the Catholic Daughters of the Americas laid the foundation of service that would become Parish Outreach.

In 1983, St. Patrick's pastor, Father John Mott, acted on what he had heard about Parish Outreach from the Diocese.  He asked Fran Blagar to coordinate some of the programs she had initiated in the parish as a volunteer (Meals on Wheels, holiday baskets, nursing home and shut-in visits, etc.) with the diocesan program.  Assessments were done and needs were determined through meetings with the Hospital Administrator, Town Supervisor, and Seniour Citizen Administrator.  Then Father Mott, Fran Blagar and John Gilmartin from Catholic Charities entered into a partnership contract.  After Fran completed a one-year internship with Catholic Charities, St. Patrcik Parish Outreach was formed.

The first office was a small room in the rectory with a coordinator, a part-time secretary and ten volunteers.  Today, Parish Outreach occupies the lower level of the rectory and is staffed by Fran Blagar (director), Dianne Williams (full-time secretary), Regina Aldahondo (part-time secretary), 18 core workers, and 293 auxiliary volunteers.  Parish Outreah hours are 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday, with emergency provisions in place when the office is closed.

Many have been helped through the work of this ministry.  Foreclosures, evictions, and LIPA shut-offs have been prevented, and food, jobs, and holiday gifts have been provided - all in an effort to help parishioners in need to re-establish their lives.

Parish Outreach provides assistance in three different ways - through Direct Service (distribution of food, shelter, clothes, furniture, financial assistance, and special services), through Convening (support groups such as Bereavement, Divorced and Separated, Parents Who have Lost a Child, Rainbows, LifeNet, Ministry of Consolation, and Ministry of Prayer), and through Advocacy (speaking out for the vulnerable in our society in an effort to move beyond charity to justice).

While it might seem that the work done by Parish Outreach involves only sacrifice and giving, those involved say the opposite is true.

"After retirement, I was looking for a way to give something back to our community which had been our support system for so many years.  I was approached by Fran (I guess the Lord was working through her) to become a Core Worker at Outreach," said parishioner Agatha Monteleone.  "Working at Outreach has given me back much more that I feel I give in many ways: A greater understanding of human suffering, an awe of how people cope with life's problems with courage and dignity, an appreciatino of the importance of being a good listener,  an awareness of how many people are in great need for human contact, opportunity to help in my small, simple way.  In addition, where else, thanks to Outreach's devoted and sensitive staff can one say that work with angels?"

Core Worker Florinda Minutoli has a similar perception.  "I find it to be a very humbling experience.  Assisting people in their needs and problems has made me more aware, more compassionate, and more loving.  I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve them," she said.

Parish Outreach seeks to help those in need by alleviating suffering so that the individual and family can grow in an affirming atmosphere.  Its mission is to build a truly compassinate Christian community as the Body of Christ.  Whether a parishioner desires to give or feels the need to recieve, Parish Outreach provides an opportunity to do the Will of the Father.