About Us
The Organization
The Gerald J. Ryan Outreach Center is a not-for-profit organization serving Wyandanch and its surrounding communities. Our dedicated staff, volunteers, and donors believe that we must follow God’s call to meet the needs of others, one individual at a time. It is our challenge and commitment to live out the words of Bishop Gerald Ryan for whom our center is named:
Bishop Ryan’s first assignment as a priest was to the tiny parish of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal on Straight Path in Wyandanch. To this day, Gerald Ryan Outreach remains a core member of the ministry of this parish while its mission of service to poor people draws interfaith support from other religious denominations.
“Concern for our brothers and sisters is at the heart of the Christian community.”
— Bishop Gerald Ryan
Our Home
The Gerald J. Ryan Outreach Center was founded in 1973 and grew out of the interest of parishioners and church leaders to help the community of Wyandanch. Initially, the focus was helping to feed the hungry via street outreach and setting up a food pantry in the church.
In 1992, the Gerald J. Ryan Outreach Center was officially incorporated to continue providing food to those in need, and to expand its services to those needing emergency assistance of various kinds.
The center is administered and run by three full-time staff members and relies on dozens of generous volunteers to help carry out its vital work on a continuing basis.
Our Name
Bishop Gerald J. Ryan was ordained as a priest on June 3, 1950, for the Diocese of Brooklyn. His first assignment was to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church, in Wyandanch. This was the first time that an associate priest was assigned to assist the pastor at OLMM.
Fr. Ryan, who had completed his degree in social work while in Wyandanch, began his 22 years of service to Catholic Charities. Due to his untimely death in June of 1985, the center was dedicated to his memory.
It is our challenge to live the words of Bishop Gerald J. Ryan, “Concern for our brothers and sisters is the very heart of the Christian community.”
At the Gerald J. Ryan Outreach Center, we strive to do this every day, reaching out to those who are hurting in our parish and its neighboring communities. The Gerald J. Ryan Outreach Center seeks to live out his words by helping those in need and is honored to be his namesake.
