Volunteer Opportunities

There are many different opportunities to serve at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception and St. Mary Help of Christians parishes and we are always looking for people willing to share their time and talent. Please take a look at the lists below to see if there is an opportunity that you might want to take advantage of. If you feel called to volunteer in any of the following areas, please Contact Us.

*safe environment*

Our parish and school are committed to keeping our children safe by ensuring that the people who may have access to them through paid or voluntary service are safe. We require all adults working with children to register for Virtus training.
To register, please go to Virtus Online. 
Once you have completed this process, volunteers will be placed on our approved volunteer list for the School and Parish. Please contact the Parish Offices at 608-742-6998 (Portage) or 608-981-2282 (Briggsville) if you have any questions.

Welcome to St. Mary OTIC & Hoc Music Ministries!

• MUSICIAN SCHEDULE (PORTAGE & BRIGGSVILLE)
• REHEARSAL RECORDINGS

• MUSICIAN SCHEDULE (PORTAGE & BRIGGSVILLE)
• REHEARSAL RECORDINGS

The goal of Art and Liturgical Environment is the designing and implementing of liturgical themes for the Sanctuary for the liturgical “seasons” of the year: Advent, Ordinary Time, Christmas, Lent, the Triduum, Easter, and Pentecost. The environment contributes greatly to the overall experience of the congregation. We look for people who have an appreciation of religious art and know how to express it with good liturgical sense. There is always room for people who are creative and have talents in art. Don't worry if you're not a designer, we also need hands to help execute the decorating for each of our spaces.

 For information about how to volunteer, please contact Sam Clemmons (Portage) at 608-742-6689 ext. 227 or Sister Anita (Briggsville) at 608-981-2282.

Knights of Columbus
The Knights support Vocations, Evangelization, Catholic Education, and Right to Life and is the largest lay Catholic family service organization. The four principles of the Order are Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism.
Today, the Order is a grass roots organization where the local council develops the programs they believe will best serve the local community. The local council awards scholarships, provides breakfast fundraisers, provides aid to the St. Mary School for special needs and holds a basketball and soccer skills contest for Portage youth. They also people with special needs with money raised through the Tootsie Roll Program and cut wood for Mary House once a year.
The main funding for the local council come from the Knights of Columbus Fish Fry held on the first Friday of each month year round and every Friday during Lent.
Membership is open to any Catholic man 18 years of age or older.
For more information or to volunteer for this ministry please contact: Gary Anderson

 

All children deserve a safe, comfortable place to lay their heads. In Idaho and across the US, too many boys and girls go without a bed—or even a pillow—to sleep on. These children end up sleeping on couches, blankets, and even floors. This can affect their happiness and their health.

That’s where Sleep in Heavenly Peace comes in. We’re a group of volunteers dedicated to building, assembling and delivering top-notch bunk beds to children and families in need. Our organization has grown steadily over time, and we’re working on opening more chapters in different states to serve more people.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace had its start like many other charities, in a garage. It was Christmas time, a time of joy and happiness, a time of giving and love, but also a time of bitter, cold weather and snow storms. A project, that was started with the build of one bed for a single family developed into something a whole lot more. With wood left over from the first bunk, another idea was created. “Who else could benefit from this bunk”?

A simple post on Facebook sparked an unexpected response. What was thought would be a litter of requests from needy families, turned into a litany of local people eager to help and volunteer. The generosity of these volunteers was so surprising that it was no longer a search for one who needed a bed, but a question of how many beds we could provide. From there, the idea grew into reality. We can make a difference.

We are now a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Our federal ID is 46-4346568.

So many great charities provide clothing, meals, and toys to families in need. But as wonderful as this aid is, few organizations offer suitable beds and bedding to the kids in these families.

​Sleep in Heavenly Peace wants to help fill that gap. If a child needs a bed, we want to make sure they get one. No kid sleeps on the floor in our town.

​To learn more about SHP, check out these pages: [email protected] For more information follow their Facebook Page. 

Hope House's volunteer program is a rewarding opportunity for you to have a major impact on the lives of families and make our community a safer place for everyone. Hope House's volunteer program allows for a flexible and fulfilling experience. Whether you are interested in working directly with individuals here at the shelter or creating a fundraising event outside our facility, we welcome your desire to contribute to Hope House's mission.

If you are interested in volunteering, please call our Volunteer Coordinator at 608-356-9123 or send her an email.

Shelter Volunteerism
Hope House offers an array of volunteer opportunities to choose from daily. These opportunities can include reception work, administrative tasks, support group assistance, and other in shelter tasks.

Group Volunteerism
Coordinate a group volunteering day with your family, church group, civic group, etc. to work with Hope House to fill a need.

Maintenance Volunteerism
Hope House regularly has minor repairs and maintenance that needs to be done.

Volunteer Fundraising
Organize a small fundraiser with friends, family, your church group, or whomever you choose and raise funds for Hope House!

Community Education Volunteerism
Hope House receives many requests each year to staff community event booths throughout our five-county service area. Volunteers trained to engage with community members at these events are much appreciated.

If you would like to learn more about Hope House of South Central Wisconsin, visit their website at https://www.hopehousescw.org/

Habitat for Humanity is a global nonprofit housing organization working in local communities across all 50 states in the U.S. and in approximately 70 countries. Habitat’s vision is of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. 

Habitat works toward our vision by building strength, stability and self-reliance in partnership with families in need of decent and affordable housing. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage.

To find our more about Habitat for Humanity, you can visit their website at https://www.habitat.org/about.

River Haven Homeless Shelter was founded on the idea that housing should be available to those who are in need. The shelter offers up to 30 days of free housing to people who find that they have nowhere else to go. River Haven welcomes families with children and individual women and hosts a second location for individual men.

While in residence, people will be informed about the various social programs that exist within our community including:

• the food pantry and food share
• rental assistance programs
• medial and mental health assistance
• child care
• financial guidance
• job searching and training

In addition, there is a case manager available 24 hours every day and 7 days a week. Our goal is to help people transition into our community while providing them the necessary foundation on which to build their lives.

If you would like to donate to River Haven Shelter or volunteer, please contact 608-742-7687.

Summer vacation is a reward for a year of hard work in the classroom. However, for some who rely on free and reduced-price school meals based on low family income, the summer months can be difficult. In Portage, 1 in 3 school age children qualify for free or reduced-price meals. When school is out, these kids no longer have access to school meals and their families’ budgets are often stretched. Studies show that kids are at a higher risk for hunger during the summer months. 

The Portage Free Summer Lunch Program helps kids who rely on free and reduced-price school meals continue receiving healthy food during the summer. The Portage Free Summer Lunch Program is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and implemented by local partners.

The Portage Free Summer Lunch Program provides an important source of nutritious food for Portage’s youth during the critical summer months. The availability of free meals is an incentive for children to participate in summer enrichment programs, which means that children are not only well-fed, but in a safe environment engaged in educational and recreational activities that can help them return to school ready to learn.  

Our goal is to have no child go hungry.  Therefore, in the past two summers we have served over 5,000 meals each summer. 

What is it? (for kids & teens age 18 and under)

• Free lunch based on USDA nutrition guidelines
• No application or proof of income needed
• Lunch may be taken off site and eaten at home

• Splash Pad @ Goodyear Park – 11:10 a.m. – 11:35 a.m.
• Portage Public Library – 11:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
• Lincoln Park – 11:45 a.m. – 12:05 p.m.
• Sanborn park (W. Franklin St./Sanborn St.) – 12:20 p.m. – 12:40 p.m.

For more information contact:
Pastor Dave Hankins, Portage Presbyterian Church – 608.742.6006
Caitlin Richardson, UW-Extension Columbia County – 608.742.9680

The Mission of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul“A network of friends, inspired by Gospel values, growing in holiness and building a more just world through personal relationships with and service to people in need.”

Who We Are

Inspired by Gospel values, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic lay organization, leads women and men to join together to grow spiritually by offering person-to-person service to those who are needy and suffering in the tradition of its founder, Blessed Frédéric Ozanam, and patron, St. Vincent de Paul.

As a reflection of the whole family of God, members, who are known as Vincentians, are drawn from every ethnic and cultural background, age group, and economic level. Vincentians are united in an international society of charity by their spirit of poverty, humility and sharing, which is nourished by prayer and reflection, mutually supportive gatherings and adherence to a basic Rule.

Organized locally, Vincentians witness God's love by embracing all works of charity and justice. The Society collaborates with other people of good will in relieving need and addressing its causes, making no distinction in those served because, in them, Vincentians see the face of Christ.
How does the Society differ from other charities?
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is composed of women and men who seek their personal holiness through works of charity. In this essential way, the Society differs from charitable associations or agencies whose principal objective is not the spiritual advancement of their members but the doing of good for someone else.
President-General Adolpe Baudon, in his Circular Letter of January 1, 1877, writes:
"It is laid down in our Rule, and it has been always understood among us, that in uniting to serve our masters the poor, as St. Vincent de Paul expresses it, our object is not only to relieve material misery, a very laudable purpose in itself, but to aspire, especially, through the practice of that most sublime of virtues "charity" to render ourselves better and more fervent Christians, and to make our poor enter on the same path, if we have the happiness of succeeding."

In his Circular Letter of December 12, 1915, Vicomte Hendecourt, President-General writes:
"The Society has two aims: to do a great deal of spiritual good to its members through the exercise of charity, and to do a little spiritual and temporal good to a few poor families in the name of Jesus Christ. If it did not continually seek to combine these two aims, it would lose its raison d'etre. If it were to seek only the holiness of its members through pious exercises, there is no lack of Confraternities and Third Orders to meet that need. If on the other hand, it were to seek only the relief of the temporal miseries of the poor, it would only add one more to the list of public and private institutions founded for that purpose."

​The Mission Statement is clear: Vincentian ministry is a means for acquiring holiness. The ministry of a Vincentian to those and with those who stand in need is the powerful means that affects holiness of life for the individual Vincentian. Vatican II states that the principal means of holiness for bishops and priests is their ministry. This applies to the laity also, because, in attending to the needy and suffering, a Vincentian is ministering to Jesus Christ himself.

If you are interested in volunteering or donating, please contact 608-742-5513.

The Salvation Army has been serving our county for many years helping our neighbors who find themselves in emergency situations.
The Salvation Army depends solely on the generosity of individuals who are willing to volunteer their time and efforts.
​To look into setting up a time slot for your family or group, please contact Kathryn at 608-617-3237 or [email protected]

Christian/Clergy Relief is a local community outreach organization that is made up of several other churches and organizations in the city of Portage. The goal of the Christian/Clergy Relief is to help those who are in most need within our community. Each of these organizations works as a collective to ensure the stability of people from all over Portage by helping when they are facing financial hardships.
 The best way to get involved in Christian/Clergy Relief is by donating to the fund which helps to provide resources to people who need them most. St. Mary OTIC and HOC take up a monthly collection on every second weekend of the month. You can also send and donations to the Parish Center at 309 W. Cook St. Portage, WI 53901.

The Thanksgiving Meal has been a major part of St. Mary OTIC community outreach for quite some time. The premise is simple: provide a meal for those who are hungry and companionship for those who are lonely.
We work together as a Parish Family to provide a Thanksgiving meal to nearly 300 people in the greater Portage area. As Christians, we follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ by helping those who need it the most.
The meal is open to anybody in the Portage area, including those who are homebound. We seek to provide our community members with a hot meal so they don't have to go hungry. In addition, it provides an opportunity for those who live alone to spend a holiday with a compassionate and caring community.
The meal is completely free to all who wish to attend, however, a good-will offering is greatly appreciated. The dinner is supported completely on the donations that we receive.
If you would like to help with the Thanksgiving Meal, please contact the Parish Office at 608-742-6998.