I am reaching out to you, asking that you take five minutes to give to United Churches of Lycoming County athttps://www.raisetheregion.org/organizations/united-churches-of-lycoming-county   All the fun begins at 6:00 p.m. tonight!

Your donation of any amount will help!

Our Food Pantry, located at 202 East Third Street, is a 100% Client Choice Food Pantry.  Each one of our neighbors can shop our shelves with dignity, choosing the items they are able to prepare and that they know their family will eat.  The Pantry operates on a budget of $3000 a month.  With that we are able to provide meat, dairy, bakery, and shelf stable items for our community’s most vulnerable.  $25 purchases 130 pounds of food…impossible to do at the grocery store these days!

Our Shepherd of the Streets, located at 320 Park Avenue, provides for medical and self-care needs that our neighbors otherwise would go without.  On a daily basis, we provide funds for medical transportation, prescription co-pays, dental exams/oral surgeries, eye exams/glasses, and personal hygiene kits.  At an annual operating budget of $165,000, this ministry spends almost $3000 a month on prescription needs alone.  That means your loved ones, and mine, will not need to make a decision between their health and their electric bill!  Just $50 will provide a hygiene kit, allowing our neighbors to utilize their funds towards an ever-growing list of financial burdens they are facing.

I hope by now, you have had a chance to try some of the delicious baked goods coming out of the kitchen of Rise Up Village Bakery, located at 202 East Third Street!  Not only will your stomach thank you, but your donation supports a training program that strengthens our community at large.  Justice involved individuals are given a chance to learn skills that they can carry with them into the work force.  The skills are second, though, to the support system they receive in this ministry.  As the Bakery continues to expand, our current annual ingredient budget of $7000 will need to be adjusted.  A donation of $100 will purchase a week’s worth of eggs.

As living costs soar, we have seen an increase in our neighbor’s needs for some of the most basics.  From the time I arrive at the office until the time I leave, I am answering calls for housing and utility assistance…many from people who have never found themselves in need before.  One vehicle repair, one medical bill, one lost babysitter all can lead to a crisis.  It is very difficult for some of our neighbors to ask for assistance; having been raised that it is a sign of weakness.  During the first week of January, I received a visit from a young couple that had been without heat since before Christmas.  They had exhausted their LIHEAP funds, and since they were both working and didn’t have any children, they didn’t qualify for some of the other assistance programs.  They had been told several times that there was “no money to be given.”  Holding hands, the love apparent between the two, they told me they would be fine.  They understood that there were people worse off than they were.  They explained that they had placed blankets up on the doorways and were wearing several layers of clothes and a coat to keep warm.  I wish that I recorded the phone call I received from the young woman, in tears, unable to believe that a fuel company showed up at their address one afternoon to deliver 125 gallons of fuel for them with no questions asked!  That phone call was thanks to all of you!  A donation of $500 will help the next family in a similar situation.

And, so much more…

Together, we make a difference!