Project Update:
We are thrilled to announce that our “Keep Girls in School” project has moved to the distribution phase. This month, volunteers from United Way’s “Day of Caring” came and packaged more than 235 ready-to-go feminine hygiene kits. Our first distribution will be at the October Mobile Food Pantry, with plans to continue monthly and begin resourcing local school nurses. We are so grateful to the 20+ volunteers and hundreds of community members who made donations to accomplish this vision.
Community Kitchen Grows:
Our Community Soup Kitchen has been very busy this summer. We have witnessed some beautiful moments of relief and gratitude from families with children home for the summer and many individuals on their lunch breaks.
Throughout the summer, we were grateful to serve fresh produce from the Saint Bede Community Garden, which came in abundance. We also had nearly 150 volunteers each month making so many meals possible.
Our meals area critical for two reasons:
1. It allows the working poor to refuel for the rest of their shift and be more productive and present in the home after work and
2. It becomes a starting place for additional services and conversations leading to stability and independence.
We are coming to an end of sponsored weeks, thanks to the generosity of our GIveLocal757 donors. If you or your business are interested in sponsoring a week of meals for the Community Soup Kitchen and the Harbor Day Shelter for the Homeless, please let us know! For $200, we can provide fresh, home-cooked and nutritious meals that make a tremendous difference in the lives of our hungry neighbors.
Inclement Weather:
As we continue through hurricane season and anticipate winter weather, we want to take a moment to share how we make inclement weather closing and delay decisions.
Most of our clients and guests come via public transportation, by bicycle, or on foot. We try to be sensitive to this and determine the risk factor of inviting individuals to come to our site for services or remain sheltered in place. For forecasted inclement weather, we also work hard to provide emergency shelter and information about the temporary shelters available in our area.
In addition to the safety of our guests, we place great importance on the safety and well-being of our volunteers. Our programs are run primarily through hundreds of volunteer hours each day. With volunteers ranging from school children to retirees, we take safety very seriously.
We hope for an incident free fall, but are preparing our inclement weather plan and budget for every outcome.
Stay tuned for our winter outreach announcements as we prepare for our Thanksgiving and Christmas programs!
