Written by Common Heart Executive Director Keith Adams…
Dear friend,
2020 has been a year, hasn’t it?! It’s been challenging for so many reasons, but it’s also been a year when we have come together serving the needs of local families facing hardships. This year has shown … we are a community moved by love!
In March, the pandemic lockdown hit. Food became scarce on pantry shelves. We put out the word and the community gave!
With your prayers and support, we retooled our nine pantry programs. They had to be safer for both our volunteers and the neighbors we served. Older volunteers quarantined, while younger ones rose to the challenge. And struggling neighbors came in record numbers!
We added mobile pantries, neighborhood pop-up pantries and even a new weekly evening pantry at Wingate Baptist Church to help meet the increased need. You were there all the way – donating, volunteering, praying.
Your generosity demanded bold action! So, we are opening up the new East Union Empowerment Center and Pantry in Marshville. This community moved by love has been upgrading this facility, expanding its capacity to serve this underserved area of our county. Walk-in refrigeration units, a refrigerated truck and community space to empower families to conquer poverty are almost ready — all provided by your generosity.
This community moved by love gathered, packed, and drove all over the county delivering Thanksgiving feasts to 1,500 families. The new Marshville center served over 400 of these families. A total of 5,701 people had a Thanksgiving feast thanks to this amazing community moved by love!
2020 has seen this small revolution of kindness expand across the county and the number of people served has more than tripled! The number of neighbors served has soared to 26,312! Many of these neighbors had never asked for assistance from us before!
When we retooled our pantries we had to focus all our efforts on food. Unfortunately, we had to permanently close our Common Things Thrift Store. We put all our other programs on hold (Getting Ahead, R Rules for youth & adult literacy), but this fall we’ve started to retool these nonfood programs. That includes our thrift store transitioning to selling online through eBay & monthly online Facebook auctions.
Now, we’re preparing for a new year & new opportunities for a community moved by love!
With 2021 in sight this holiday season, can you move this small revolution of kindness forward by making a recurring donation or giving a special Our Christmas Wish gift?
It’s easy to make a donation or set up a monthly, bi-weekly or weekly donation at Donate.CommonHeart.org. Your gift of any size will expand this small revolution of kindness across this community!
Let’s continue to be a community moved by love in 2021! Keep this small revolution of kindness growing!
Wishing you a healthy, hopeful and love filled holiday season!
~Keith Adams
Common Heart Executive Director