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Making a Difference
by Frances Blizard
See: Who are These Interfaith People We Help?
 It's
Time to Become a Sponsor
Last month we received information sheets on poor children whose
parents cannot afford to buy them what they will need to start school
on the right foot. This is a project
created by Inter-Faith
Community Services, and our church has supported it for 14 years.
Information sheets are provided for each child and sponsors can choose
one or more. Perhaps you can choose to sponsor a child the same as as
your own. Parents often take their own children shopping for the
sponsored child so they can learn that others are not as
fortunate
as they are.
A sponsor is asked to buy a new outfit, including
shoes, plus a backpack and all the school supplies. It is difficult to
keep the cost under $100, and often two or more people go in together
to sponsor a child. Because it is so important to the children to feel
that they fit in, the children need to start school on a positive
note. It is better the children do not worry about what they don't
have. A successful school year can make all the difference in how a
child's education will turn out.
In the past, our church has
sponsored about 25 children per year. Because there is so much
unemployment now, the need is greater than ever. If you can't be a
sponsor, a donation of any amount will be welcomed; school supplies of
any
kind will also be valued. Please help this important project if
you can. See me for any questions or contact me at bobblizard@msn.com.How You Can Become a Sponsor: Simply contact
me (303-795-8221) and tell me about a child you would like to sponsor
– age, sex, grade) and Inter-Faith will match you up. You'll receive
an information sheet describing the child which will make it easier to
shop for him/her. It's fun to do this with a friend.
Many people
ask for a child about the same age and sex as one of theirs so that
their child can help with the shopping and learn about doing things
for the less fortunate.
So many people in this church have taken part in Ready! Set!
School! You can ask almost anyone about it.
Food & Clothing
School has not
started quite yet, which means that children who had been eating
breakfast and lunch at school are still grazing at home and putting a
lot of pressure on the family food budget and the Inter-Faith Food
Bank. If you can, please bring to the Community Basket canned fruit
juice, jelly, muffin or cake mix, any canned vegetable but corn and
beans. It is no fun to be hungry.
For the Clothing Bank, any good
used clothing, especially summer, that nobody is wearing would be
welcomed.
If you don't have the time for any of this, why not just write a
check to Inter-Faith Community Services.
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Where does all the food and clothing come from? The two Community
Baskets (one looks like a red wagon) are full nearly every week. The
food goes right on the shelves of the Food Bank and the clothing is
neatly hung up. Please remember that heat is expensive, and bring
whatever warm clothing or blankets you can spare.
Who Are These
Inter-Faith People We Help?
Today I was at Inter-Faith
Community Services to sign up families for the Ready, Set,
School program that CUUC participates in each year. Children
between kindergarten and eighth grade receive backpacks with school
supplies and a new outfit to wear when classes start. I’d like to
share with you the story of one woman whose story was particularly
touching.
Missing her front teeth, she
was a bit hard to understand as she told of having five children — all
epileptic. One died in Guatemala at the age of five, because they had
no money to take her to the hospital. She went on with a big smile to
say that things were ever so much better here, because her severely
disabled four-year-old was able to receive regular medication and
hadn’t had a convulsion in weeks. Her husband supports them all on a
minimum-wage job, since she needs to care full-time for the young
handicapped boy, who has emotional as well as physical problems. In
spite of this, she told of their family having taken in a young woman
with three children because she was being abused and had nowhere to
turn. For the last several months they have had three adults and seven
children living in their tiny apartment. “It’s a little tight,” she
said, “but there was no way that I could turn away someone that needed
help.”
It was hard — very hard — for
me to tell this woman that her kids would likely not get backpacks
this year. Inter-Faith has had to establish a priority system in which
those who’ve received backpacks in the past rank lower than those new
to the program. This is because the need so far exceeds the number of
sponsors. She smiled again, said she understood, but that she sure
hoped it would be possible because that is the only set of new clothes
her kids got all last year and they had been thrilled.
When Frances asks you to be a
sponsor this year, please think of this dear woman who has had such a
rough life and yet finds it in her heart to support those who are
having an even harder time. - Ann Wederspahn
Ongoing Interfaith Activities
READY, SET, SCHOOL!
— Formerly called “Pack to School”, its goal is to outfit needy
children to return to school feeling as if they belong. A new
outfit, a backpack, school supplies and a $15 shoe certificate make
all the difference in a child's life, and his parents' too. Because
of our generous congregation, over EIGHTEEN children started school
last fall feeling good about themselves.
TURKEY BUCKS — For many
years Inter-Faith has distributed over 600 food baskets to its
clients and were able to include a turkey in each one, thanks to the
generosity of a local poultry company. A few years ago the company
withdrew its support, and IFCS had to buy turkeys, at a cost of
about $10 each. That was $6,000 , and they had to ask for help from
the community. That's when “Turkey Bucks” got its name.
In 2006, rather than buy turkeys for $10, Inter-Faith had a better
idea. Instead of including a twelve-pound turkey, they decided each
food basket would receive a $5.00 certificate for King Soopers. In
this way, each family could buy a turkey or anything else for its
Thanksgiving dinner. With its customary enthusiasm, our church
raised over $1,222 for Turkey Bucks! If you think I'm exaggerating,
simply go back and read the December '06 newsletter. In '07 even
more money was raised. It all says that the idea of Thanksgiving
without a turkey (or something else special) was unacceptable to our
members.
SPONSORING FAMILIES AT CHRISTMAS — Just
imagine a child waking up on Christmas morning and finding his
stocking empty. That is common in many of the families that exist
below the poverty line. What Inter-Faith has done is to ask people
(churches, businesses, civic groups) to sponsor a family. This
involves giving the homemaker food certificates (so she can plan her
own holiday meal) and two gifts to each child in the family.
It costs more to sponsor a large family than a small one; often
groups of people as well as committees will get together and choose
a large family. Last year people in our church sponsored SEVENTEEN
FAMILIES (you can check that out in the 1-07 Connection). Each year
we do better, and I hope that continues this holiday season
Our response to these special occasions is outstanding, (Inter-Faith
calls us “The Little Church That Could”) but it's just as important
to remember the everyday needs of the clients who depend on
Inter-Faith. Their Food Bank often has empty shelves, and food
drives by schools and churches and businesses are vital. In fact,
this church will be holding a food drive at the Coal Mine Road King
Soopers on Saturday, April 19, as part of COLUMBINE ACTS. Mark your
calendars.
And ... Please keep bringing donations
of clothing and contributions for the Inter-Faith Food Bank.
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