WHAT WE DO
Edmundite Missions has been serving the men, women and children living in poverty-stricken communities throughout the Deep South since 1937.
How we address systemic poverty
To reduce the overwhelming prevalence of homelessness, extreme poverty, and hunger within this Deep South region requires a broad, strategic, and long term approach. Our commitment, for most of a century, has been to provide the programs and essential services that address some of the most pressing issues affecting those living in some of the poorest counties in America. The needs of this region are great, even overwhelming, but we do the best we can, with what little we have, to serve those most in need.
Our outreach area includes the Alabama counties of Butler, Dallas, Lowndes, Monroe, Perry and Wilcox, and New Orleans, Louisiana. Our work is made possible through the compassionate generosity of donors from around the country alarmed by the critical nature of this ongoing, deeply-rooted poverty.
Community Development Programs
Edmundite Missions is committed to the health and wellbeing of the community in which we live and which we serve. Community Development means both health and wellbeing and the economic sustainability of our homes and families. Edmundite Missions advances community wellbeing both with programs and with outreach.
Nutrition Services
The Society of St. Edmund began the Missions with the simple act of handing out sandwiches from the back door of the mission house. In the City of Selma, Alabama, 44% of the population live below the poverty line, and nearly 30% suffer from food insecurity. So the need for our nutrition-based services is just as critical now as it was in 1937. We respond by ensuring that healthy food is available for all.
The Bosco Nutrition Center serves 1,300 meals each day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year in our dining hall located in the heart of the poorest neighborhoods in Selma. The Bosco Nutrition Center also acts as a hub for many outreach programs.
New Possibilities Youth Program
Being young in Selma and the surrounding rural areas of Alabama is not easy. Many of our youth begin life with the odds stacked against them, including:
- 60-80% of children live in poverty.
- The average Selma High School ACT score is 13 out of a possible 36. The average score needed for college admission is 20.8.
- Fewer than 5% of students are math proficient, and only 15%-19% of boys and 35%-39% of girls are reading proficient.
Yet, the robotics club is one of the fastest growing activities, students in the robotics program at R.B. Hudson Middle School were winners in a national competition, and student interest in the 5-year program between Selma High and Wallace Community College is at an all-time high. The potential to grow and thrive is clearly alive and well!
