Thursday, January 26th, 2023 - FOCUS North America is excited to announce a new initiative to help engage parishes in ongoing service work.
Katrina Bitar, the Director of YES & Local Initiatives, will spearhead a new parish engagement initiative called “GO”. Building on the formative opportunities that YES has offered for 20 years, GO will allow FOCUS to walk with parishes as they take their next steps in being equipped to serve their communities.
GO will offer ways to further develop communities that have participated in YES initiatives and other national programs of FOCUS NA, such as the Back to School Backpack Program. GO will equip parishes to gain ownership of sustained, ongoing service initiatives.
"We hope to stand alongside young people and ministry leaders as we work together to engage their parishes in creating and sustaining service initiatives,” said Katrina Bitar, Director of YES. “GO is our opportunity to go deeper with not just individuals but entire communities who can serve together.”
FOCUS NA is looking forward to developing a process for parish engagement and servant leadership development that mobilizes and equips parish communities to love and serve their neighbors in need. This new effort will allow a parish’s first touchpoint with FOCUS NA to be the beginning of a journey that culminates in owning and sustaining fruitful service to their community.
"YES has done so much to develop a vision and ethos for service in the Church,” said Steven Christoforou, Director of Operations & Community Engagement. “I’m excited to see how this work can be the foundation for both more parish service and, God willing, new FOCUS Centers across the country.”
Steve can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
As an expression of Christ’s love, FOCUS exists to serve the poor by bringing together Orthodox Christian churches and community partners to provide Food, Occupation, Clothing, Understanding, and Shelter and other assistance to address the needs of local communities. To learn more, please visit www.focusna.org.
