We invite you to join the Matthew 25 Circle and become a benefactor of FOCUS Southern California.

A Fellowship of Orthodox Christians United to Serve.

 

Please join us at Antonello Ristorante on Saturday evening, October 19 to break bread and meet other benefactors, FOCUS leaders, and volunteers.

Come and learn more about FOCUS Southern California and our vision for the future.  Learn how every $1 you contribute unlocks $16 to help families in need across Southern California.

 

“…Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world… ~Matthew 25:34

“Serving the needy in southern California is serving Christ. They are worthy of our time, care, and greatest efforts. As Orthodox Christians, we are Christ’s hands and feet in the lives of those who desperately need a second chance.”  

~Margaret Conkle, Center Director, FOCUS Southern California

Our Impact

In Southern CaLIFORNIA Since 2020

Welcome back Matthew 25 Circle Benefactors! We thank you for your continued interest in and support of our Fellowship of Orthodox Christians United to Serve (FOCUS), an affiliated ministry of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America.

 

A warm welcome to Newcomers! We invite you to join the Matthew 25 Circle and become a benefactor of FOCUS Southern California. By giving to FOCUS Southern California, we are blessing ’the least of these’ and we ourselves are being blessed. As St. Maria of Paris said,“[t]he way to God lies through love of people. At the Last Judgement I shall not be asked whether I was successful in my ascetic exercises, nor how many bows and prostrations I made. Instead, I shall be asked, did I feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and the prisoners. That is all I shall be asked.” Let’s live the gospel of Matthew together!

To see Christ in everyone is to fulfil His great commandment: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).  As an expression of that love, FOCUS Southern California brings together Orthodox Christian churches and community partners to provide Food, Occupation, Clothing, Understanding, and Shelter and other assistance to our neighbors in need in Southern California.

“…for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me….”~Matthew 25:34-36

Your Impact

What You've made possible in 2024

  • Maintained without interruption operating capacity and service to impoverished individuals and families in Southern California, while functioning under a new, interim Center Director from January through June 2024. With the arrival of the new Center Director in July came a commitment to continue these outreach partnerships, maintain our good works, and begin to expand into more in-person service opportunities.

  • Continued regular distributions of food, including frozen meat, fresh produce, dairy products, and a variety of non-perishable foods, as well as diapers and feminine hygiene products, impacting thousands of at-risk individuals through four Southern California distribution hubs monthly, as a partner of The Emergency Food Assistance Program, a federal assistance program for low-income Americans (TEFAP). Our TEFAP impact in Orange County received recognition this August when the OC Food Bank featured us on all of their social media outlets as a model partner agency.

  • Distributed nearly 95,000 pounds of food to the hungry in Orange and Los Angeles counties.

  • Continued partner relationships with both for-profit and nonprofit organizations and community advocates to obtain at little or no cost, clothing, essential personal items, household goods, blessing bags, backpacks and school supplies, all of which are distributed with care and compassion to people living in poverty in Orange and Los Angeles counties. For every $1 donated, FOCUS Southern California is able to obtain $16 worth of supplies to support the impoverished in Southern California. Your gift of $2,500 will be leveraged into $40,000 worth of food, household goods and essential items to support those in need; $5,000 will be leveraged to provide $80,000 worth of support; and $10,000 will be leveraged to provide $160,000 worth of support. 

  • Grown and nurtured relationships with Orthodox Christian parishes across jurisdictions to recruit and retain volunteers, resulting in nearly 1,500 volunteer hours in service to the poor and needy in Southern California by over 500 active volunteers.

  • Established a regular service schedule at OC Food Bank, packing hundreds of food boxes monthly for distribution to low-income senior citizens.

  • Continued helping cook and deliver hot meals weekly to 120 homeless individuals and families in San Diego.
Going Forward

What you will make possible in 2025

  • Expanding to new areas of service, including serving hot meals to the homeless and addressing child poverty more intensely, by forming relationships with new community partners. This translates into more in-person service opportunities desired by FOCUS Southern California volunteers. This will take our Southern California Center back to our roots, to the work that brought us and kept us together as servants of Christ.

  • Increasing quantity and diversity, and expanding distribution of items acquired by FOCUS Southern California to combat systemic poverty and help people-in-need achieve stability, including: a) diapers and baby wipes, which are prohibitively expensive for mothers living below the poverty level; b) tents and sleeping bags for people living on the streets; and c) feminine products, dental and other hygiene products, backpacks, school supplies, and toys at Christmas.

  • Hiring a Program Manager for our Southern California Center. This position is essential to the growth and success of our work here in Southern California. The Program Manager will oversee the distributions, assist the Director as we build and maintain relationships with our community partners, recruit and retain volunteers, and complete government reporting requirements. As the Program Manager “holds down the fort” the Director will expand outreach and impact to new locations and populations in Southern California.

  • Expanding food distribution into south Orange County and boosting our food resources through partnerships with grocery stores, local eateries, and other organizations to increase the food we are able to obtain at low cost, for distribution to hungry and food insecure individuals and families. This will also afford increased local volunteer opportunities for south Orange County Orthodox Christians.

  • Establishing new distribution hubs and volunteer groups to address pockets of poverty where transportation is a challenge for impoverished families, disbursing food, clothing, diapers, and other basic necessities. Providing resources directly to people who need but can’t access them is a key service provided by FOCUS Southern California.

“Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” ~Matthew 25:40.

Join the Circle

WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN THE MATTHEW 25 CIRCLE AND BECOME A BENEFACTOR OF FOCUS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

With your help, FOCUS Southern California can continue to grow and significantly increase our impact on our neighbors in need by bringing Christ into the midst of our fallen world.

We are a Fellowship of Orthodox Christians United to Serve. Come and learn more about FOCUS Southern California and our vision for the future!

Please join us on Saturday evening, October 19 to break bread and meet other Benefactors, FOCUS leaders, and volunteers.