This would not make donations unneeded - from us or our friends - but it would mean that we'd not be on pins and needles every time something broke down or maintenance on house or van was needed or property taxes were due, etc. And we're glad to see that day coming, though it's still a bit in the future.
In the future as we still have fix up projects to do around the two houses. A nice lawn, for instance. Tuck pointing around one of the homes. Gutters for the first home, and one single remaining gutter for the second home. Four windows, not only purchased but installed. Maybe even a sign one day!
But the end of all that is in sight. So we're not fretting. Of more immediate concern at the moment - having just paid off the last of the roofing debt - is just finishing off some utility bills, getting the property taxes took care of, and dealing with the lack of a program fee on one of the beds for the next few weeks.
(We're having a former guest come back on the 26th, and he has two weeks free, so that's a $150 hit, as I don't want to put someone in that bed between now and then, as "What if no one relapses?" which is what we must always hope.)
Tonight I'm meeting with the Board of Directors of a local church to coordinate a new food distribution program that will aid 200 food insecure people in our community each month! I've a presentation to make to them as I - and an Elder of that church - met with the Central Illinois Foodbank just last Wednesday to go through orientation.
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| A small part of Central Illinois Foodbank |
Wait...what? Yes, our outreach has wanted a food distribution program for a long time. So, for that matter, has the church we'll be working with. You see, a food distribution program for a church or charity is like a space program for a nation. That is, when you get one, it feels as if you've "arrived"!
We could wait, of course. But we're not going to. You see, it was almost three years ago that we faced another decision like this. We were in the first house, but did not have the second house fixed up, so we had to decide whether to wait on our outreach of aiding people with a sober living home until the second house was fixed up, or to move into that broken down house and aid people with the fixed up house immediately.
We chose to move into the house with no electricity or running water and start aiding others immediately. And while the first winter was difficult, the second house is fixed up now, mostly, and we've not regretted that decision. In business, even non-profit business, you must "go big or go home". It's not for the faint-hearted!
Here we are again! Put off the food distribution while finishing the fix ups? Or ramp up and help 200 others a month, now that it is just now possible to do so? We're ramping up. We're going to "go big". And I have always firmly believed, and see the proof of it each day in our efforts, that if you are doing right things, right things then happen for you.
The church we're working with has a kitchen, a pantry and the ability to come up with $200 a month. And a pool of volunteers. We at 490 Outreach have a van that will save the $100 per month delivery fees that the foodbank would charge, and the ability to come up with $200 a month. And a pool of volunteers - Katie and I! (And as is usual, various guests will no doubt volunteer to aid at various times.)
Together, Springfield First Seventh-day Adventist Church will be able to have a food distribution program and we at 490 Outreach will also be able to have a strong supporting role in that. It will greatly aid us in our plans to reach out to a variety of other sober living homes and halfway homes and group homes in general to help them in getting enough food to keep the guests at each of those facilities comfortable.
Including our own. For as we've personally noticed, people that are just starting their lives again, just climbing back up that long ladder, sometimes do not have enough food when they only have the food stamps to rely on. Food stamps run out in two and a half weeks on average, leaving a pretty lean week and a half to deal with.
And we're looking forward to being able to aid in alleviating that misery, a misery that can cause a person to lose a job in the quest for food, or bobble their sobriety or otherwise cause a relapse.
It's still a month or so down the road, but it's coming!
What can YOU do? The "you" that's reading this? First, pray. That helps more than many know. And we'll take all the prayers we can get, they've sure got us this far!
Second, attend church. The more who do so the better! I'd personally like to see you visit my own church - Springfield First Seventh-day Adventist Church - but almost any church is better than no church if your heart is in the right place.
Third, make a donation. By this I do not mean canned goods or other food. For one, we're not up and running just yet. But for two, the money you'd spend buying such at the store is a waste, as the same money donated would allow us to buy five times more at the Central Illinois Foodbank. When aiding us - or any church or charity - with a donation for a "food drive", remember that cash (or check or credit card) is ALWAYS more welcome, as it allows for more food to be purchased in bulk then you can get at your grocery store.
Fourth, besides making - or planning to make - a donation for food distribution, consider a donation to our general expenses. This is the time when we are putting to bed some big bills, and the aid now would do a lot of good. It need not be some vast sum, either, you'd be surprised how much help just an extra $50 at the right time can be.
And is there any real "wrong time" for an extra fifty? lol, not in my life time there has not been, nor I suspect in yours!
Don't have a fifty? Then remember the first two requests, those don't cost any money!
