Fifth Avenue Serves, our annual day of service, returns with opportunities to serve at the church, with some of our local mission partners, or at a new location in Washington, D.C., for our farflung members. The day is open to all members, friends, and family.

Fifth Avenue Serves will begin on Saturday, May 4, at 8:45 am, with breakfast and commissioning in the LaDane Williamson Christian Education Center. At 9:30 am, volunteers will head to their service sites, where they will work for anywhere from 90 minutes to three hours. The one exception is The Farminary, where volunteers are invited to work from 9 am until 5 pm. (Farminary volunteers will not attend the breakfast and commissioning at the church.)

Hybrid Church Opportunity
If you live outside of the New York area, or you cannot attend Fifth Avenue Serves in person, you can still participate in Fifth Avenue Serves! We invite individuals and families to send in care packages that we can distribute to our homeless guests and others in need. Packages can include travel-size items such as shampoo, lotion, soap, toothpaste, lip balm, tissue packets and a toothbrushes. Send your packages to the Ecumenical Outreach Partnership, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, 7 W. 55th St., New York, NY 10019.

Registration is open through Friday, April 26, at 12 pm. Volunteers can sign up individually, in pairs or as a group. All volunteers are asked to rank their top three site preferences. Assignments will be made on a first come/first served basis.

Register for Fifth Avenue Service in the Tristate Area

Register for Fifth Avenue Service in Washington D.C.

This year’s service sites include:

1. Meals on Heels | Register
Our Saturday morning ministry, which prepares and delivers home-cooked meals to homebound neighbors, will welcome up to six volunteers for preparation of meals in Bonnell Hall and delivery throughout our service area. This is a walking ministry!

• Prep Team:  8:30 am – 11 am: Assist in the meal preparation (cooking, packaging, cleaning)
• Delivery Team: 11 am – 1 pm: Deliver meals to guests who signed up for meal delivery.

2. Search and Care | Register
This mission partner on the Upper East Side supports older adults in managing their day-to-day activities and leading independent lives. The organization is looking for up to five volunteers for its Spring Call-a-Thon, a telephone outreach to elderly New Yorkers. The volunteer shift is: 11 am – 12:30 pm.

3. Urban Outreach Center NYC | Register
The Urban Outreach Center provides meals, clothing, services and support to neighbors in need in East Harlem and the Upper East Side. The center is looking for up to 12 volunteers to help with a spring cleaning project in their food pantry, part of an effort to distribute 2 million meals in 2024. Volunteer time is 10 am – 1 pm.

4. The Farminary | Register
This mission partner, located in Princeton, New Jersey, seeks up to 15 volunteers to help with clearing beds, planting, transplanting, weeding, tending the compost pile and other farm tasks. This is an all-day outdoor activity, rain or shine. This location is ideal for families to serve together! This is an all day activity from 9 am – 5 pm.

Please note the following considerations:

• The Farminary requires transportation via NJ Transit or car to and from. And, should be considered for planning purposes as an all day event. The church will not be providing transportation. However, we can suggest riding sharing options.
• We encourage families with children (8 y/o+) to consider the Farminary.
• This is a rain or shine event. In the event of severe weather, we may cancel the experience all together.

5. HANDS Along the Nile | Register
Fifth Avenue is hosting a Crafts of Cairo sale with goods provided through mission partner HANDS Along the Nile Development Services. Artisans from Egypt’s Association for the Protection of the Environment, a HANDS partner organization, turn scraps of cloth and paper into beautiful items while developing marketable skills (weaving, paper recycling, etc.) There are multiple volunteer opportunities to assist with the sale on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

6. Remote Location: Washington, D.C. | Register
Volunteers will gather at D.C. Central Kitchen (2121 First St. SW, Washington, D.C. 20024) for registration and prayer together at 8:45 am. Our group volunteer shift at D.C. Central Kitchen will be from 9 am – 12 pm, as we prepare food to be served to D.C. neighbors in need. We will gather for lunch and a time of fellowship from 12:30 pm – 2 pm nearby D.C. Central Kitchen (location TBD). Transportation will not be provided to and from either location. Please Contact Natalie Owens-Pike, Director of Ministry to the Online Campus at [email protected] with questions or concerns.

Please note the following considerations:

• Registration will close on Friday, April 26 at noon.
• This form must be completed in one sitting. It does not have the option to “save and return later for completion.”