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Making a Difference
by Frances Blizard
See: Who are These Interfaith People We Help?
You Made It a Wonderful Thanksgiving for Needy Families!
What seemed like a hundred pounds of food showed up in the
Community Baskets in November. Please realize that the food made
Thanksgiving real for all the families that have to pay rent,
utilities, keep the car running, and all the other expenses everybody
faces, while coping with the fear of being laid off. So it is no
surprise that planning a festive meal for Thanksgiving is out of the
question.
Your support of Inter-Faith's program to provide Thanksgiving
dinners, plus other food, to the struggling families that depend on
them was tremendous. Even though the amount of money donated was not
as large as in the past two years, the amount of food donated more
than made up for it.
“Christmas is a’coming, the goos is getting
fat; please put a penny in an old man’s hat. If you haven’t got a
penny, a ha’penny will do; if you haven’t got a ha’penny, God bless
you.”
They say that want is never as painfully felt as at Christmas.
Imagine a child waking up on Christmas morning, looking around to see
if Santa had come, and nothing was there. The child will remember that
the rest of his life.
The homemaker wants to cook a nice dinner,
but she doesn't have the food to make it.
Once again Inter-Faith shows us how we can keep that from happening
to some of those families. We are asked to sponsor a family, giving
each child two gifts and giving the homemaker grocery certificates so
she can go the store and buy the food she needs to fix a festive
dinner and also put some staples in her cupboards.
One person can
sponsor a single parent with one or two children; two or more people
can go in together to sponsor a bigger family (two parents with three
or four children) — you get the idea.
If you don't have the time for any of this, why not just write a
check to Inter-Faith Community Services.
Please do everything you can to give families and homebound seniors
the gift of knowing that they are not forgotten and can share the joy
of the holidays.
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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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