Having been around from the beginning, I know that Sharon and Rob's desire was to bless. Their heart's for a certain demographic and design for a nonprofit has been realized in a very special way! With Outreached Arms, by design, everyone who participates experiences the joy of real friendships and serving. As a Tuesday night volunteer, you start by serving life's basic needs, but as you give you can't help but end serving up yourself while you connect with every person there. By design, they get that what we all need is real friendship and that real friends love and serve each other. Think of it like this; picture a Thanksgiving dinner at your house and your entire family came. Imagine if everyone there was truly grateful, loving, and serving to each other. That is what the success of Outreached Arms is! That is "meeting needs" and "offering hope" in Pittsburgh. I can confidently say "volunteering with Outreached Arms is the healthiest thing I do all week!"
Outreached Arms is the perfect name for this amazing non-profit organization, for it truly wraps its arms around each person it serves. Guests are welcomed every Tuesday evening, served home cooked meals, offered bible studies, and provided toiletries, clothing, and needed resources. But mostly, OA builds relationships. Many guests have said that it's the first time in a long time that someone's listened to or shown them they care. OA really is a family, where everyone is treated with love, respect, understanding and kindness. It is an honor to work with Sharon and Rob, the two remarkable people who started OA, the dedicated volunteeers and the guests--all who are responsible for making Tuesday nights the very best night of the week!
Love your neighbor as yourself, (Mark 12:31). A special group of neighbor-loving people come together every Tuesday to prepare a meal, share a meal, build relationships and care for our less fortunate neighbors. Outreached Arms and First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh have created a welcoming, accepting, and caring enviroment that feeds the souls of both guests and volunteers.
When I first volunteered with Outreached Arms a couple of years ago, I was thinking I might be able to make myself available once a month. That once a month has turned into as many Tuesdays in a month I can be there. OA is about relationship building and transformation for volunteers and those we have been called to serve. OA has changed my life in a wonderful way. My friends are there; friends I have made since first becoming a volunteer. I spend most of my evenings in the kitchen preparing and cooking food with an awesome group of men and women. Volunteering thru OA has had a huge impact on my life. It is an experience I wish many more had the opportunity to experience. Our lives are changed for the better on a weekly basis through the relationships we are building as we volunteer alongside the under-served, homeless, college students, professionals who work in the city, children and youth, retirees and so many others who have chosen to make time to join us. The men's and women's bible studies and our OA choir are a big part of this ministry as well. Lives are changed from the inside out and your's will be as well. I would encourage anyone to join us just once and that once will become the beginning of a new journey for you.
Outreached Arms is a place where anyone who walks through that door(from executive to homeless person) feels welcome. It is a family- people notice when you aren’t there and they know your story. You are 100% not judged and you get to see the Gospel unfold before your eyes every Tuesday night.
I started volunteering with OA about a year and a half ago. My first time volunteering, I was there to help my niece with her senior project. That night, I met so many incredible people, both volunteers and guests. I think it was surprising to me that it was such a happy place. The volunteers interact with the guests and it feels like a big family dinner. Since that first day I have become a board member and serve weekly. I love our guests and I love our volunteers. OA has done amazing things for the people we serve...whether its sharing a meal, providing much needed clothing, connecting people with the services needed to improve their situations or just a simple hug and friendly smile. The volunteers at OA are changing lives and I can honestly say without hesitation, it has changed mine.
There are many amazing stories that I could tell about Outreached Arms. I have watched this nonprofit grow over the years into nothing but positivity. The amount of work that the volunteers put into helping the homeless is amazing. My older sister did her senior project for Outreaches Arms. Her project was to collect materials and make bags of things for the homeless. Not only was the nonprofit was so thankful for this, but the homeless were so grateful. It is amazing knowing that the homeless are just as loved as the homed. I am so grateful to have got to watch Outreach Arms successed and grow over the past years. It has been an amazing journey and I can not wait to see what the future holds for this beautiful nonprofit.
Every week of serving is an opportunity to receive much more than is given. The smiles and laughter and heartfelt conversations about life's challenges are shared by and between volunteers and guests in a warm, friendly, "family meal" setting. Outreached Arms is about connecting with the less-fortunate among us where they are -- physically, spiritually, and emotionally.
Outreached Arms is a wonderful group of God loving and God sharing volunteers. I have been blessed to be a small part of this group over the last few years and the Holy Spirit's presence is palpable. The light of Christ's love spills out , not only on the people who come to eat, but over all of us. Helping each other through this world and building our faith together is what Outreached Arms is all about, and I am so very thankful that Sharon Boone and Rob Rudy shared the blessing of their hearts and vision with all of us.
I’ve volunteered with Outreached Arms for several years. Yes, we prepare and serve dinner to over 100 guests every Tuesday night but the focus isn’t just on the food served; the real goal is to build and develop relationships with the guests in order to help them take the next step toward a better life. The dinner guests are homeless, in temporary shelters, or have a limited budget, and Tuesday night dinners are a weekly routine for them, as it is for many of the volunteers that come each Tuesday to serve. The environment on Tuesday night can best be described as a family atmosphere; birthdays are celebrated, good news is shared, deaths mourned, and shoulders are available for those who need someone to lean on. Many times someone just needs a sympathetic ear. It is a very special organization and I feel privileged to be able to serve every week. I encourage anyone to join us on a Tuesday night. You are guaranteed a life changing experience!
I met Sharon and Rob several years ago when we prepared food once a month and traveled to the city serving outside rain or shine their dedication to the homeless not just providing food but also friendship spiritual guidance help with job placement and housing was and is a beautiful thing to be a part of. Outreached Arms has grown to every Tuesday and works out of the comfort of 1st Presbyterian Church my friends family and I have prepared meals gathered clothing needs and served with these wonderful people and look forward to each and every experience .
Volunteering with Outreached Arms has been a tremendous experience for me because people who come for a meal leave there with full bellies & smiles on their faces. They feel cared for, loved, and part of a family. This is what Outreached Arms is about and to be a part of that has been a privilege for me.
Best way to describe Outreached Arms...Amazing! Often people think of them as an organization that provides food and clothing to those less fortunate. But it is so much more! The volunteers are there week after week to take care of those in need...sometimes it is just a hug or a kind word or saying a prayer with them or often just to listen to how they are and where they are at this time of their lives. Our guests know that they can count on volunteers with Outreached Arms to be there week after week. Outreached Arms is the one constant in the lives of those in need whose lives are often in turmoil. If you need us, we'll be there for you!
I started volunteering for this group 5 years ago have seen so many live changed. We started on the Blvd. Of Allies in downtown Pgh. We have moved in doors at 1st Presbyterian Church where we can now spend the time to really get know the people find out who they are and build relationships. We found they wanted a Bible study so now every Tues. at 5:30 there is a mens and womens . We celebrate birthdays and mourn deaths as a family, not just a group that come and feeds and leaves. I couldn't imagine a week without spending time with my Pgh Family.
Volunteering with Outreached Arms becomes addictive because you get immediate reward for your work. It’s is gratifying and invigorating to serve with Outreached Arms! The Tuesday Meals are fast-paced and there’s a spot for every skill set to successfully contribute. Volunteers cook, serve drinks and food, strike up conversation with guests- building relationships by seeing guests week after week, also cleaning up so everything is in place for the next week. Many guests and volunteers consider Tuesdays their favorite day of the week.