Feature Story and Photos By Larry H. Oskin
St. Matthias Episcopal Church was founded in 1947, with its first meetings and services held in a garage. The current church building, located at 574 West Montrose St, Clermont, was started in the early 1950’s and officially became a recognized parish in 1961. Today, the congregation of approximately 275 members, is led by Father Jim Dorn and though small in size, the parishioners have had a big impact on the community.
Its Outreach Committee works on a variety of projects each year. Norma Kelly heads up a special ‘Listener Program’ to help at a low-security prison for women. The St. Matthias team goes out there every week to talk, list, and share scriptures. St. Matthias has a Faith in Center project that offers free bus passes to help needy work release people to be able to get to job interviews and their jobs. They continually collect food and donations to support needy families. In addition,
In addition, the outreach committee has worked to support needy families and children for over ten years with a project designed to help local children enjoy summer camp fun with positive sports, team and education programs. This project was initiated and driven by Veronica Evans, a long-standing positive advocate for children. She and her husband Aston were inspired by a similar project up North, that helped to send their own son to summer camp. Even though Veronica Evans passed away this past year, the St. Matthias Church Outreach Committee decided to keep it going.
St. Matthias Episcopal Church has been continued its annual fundraiser to support South Lake Boys & Girls Club Summer Camp Scholarships.
Boys & Girls Club Summer Camp Scholarships were planned for this summer to help celebrate the end of the pandemic with safe experiences. While the original plans for this year were to help needy families with 18 full scholarships, they changed direction. With a large generous donation of over $5200., the South Lake Boys & Girls Club Director Cheryl O’Rourke determined that they could expand to help 52 children this year with half scholarships. Based upon the prerequisite of good grades and good behavior, every family who applied will soon be awarded partial camp scholarships this year.
South Lake Boys & Girls Clubs are headquartered at the Clermont Art & Recreation Center. The South Lake Boys & Girls Club initiatives and after school programs are headed by their Director, Cheryl O’Rourke. They currently serve 125 children. O’Rourke shares, “We work to teach our children five important core values. “1. Be Caring, 2. Be Safe, 3. Have fun, 4. Be a Team and 5. Be Great!” The South Lake Boys & Girls Club offers a variety of programs through the year. They have a SMARTS Program that instills character, leadership, education and sportsmanship in their children. Their Youth For Unity Program teaches the children to accept diversity in all forms of race, religion, sex and creed. As club teens expand their leadership skills through the Youth of the Year Program, the Boys & Girls Clubs’ Alumni & Friends Scholarship Fund provides scholarships to help participants further their advanced education and to pursue their true passions in life. Boys & Girls Clubs are dedicated to help impact the future for all of their children.
For more information about Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida, you can call Cheryl O’Rourke in Clermont at 352-394-9840 or 570-436-1236. They are located within the Clermont Arts & Recreation Center at 3700 S Hwy 27, Clermont, FL 34711. Visit: http://www.bgccf.org, https://www.facebook.com/bgclsc. For National Boys & Girls Clubs Scholarship Programs, visit: https://www.bgca.org/programs/youth-of-the-year/scholarships.
