A Helping Hand or Ten?

Having lived in Crawford County for the majority of my life, I know that there are a lot of wonderful people and organizations, here. When a tornado ravaged the area, and my family's home was destroyed -- well, it restored a lot of my faith in humanity. That happened fifteen years ago, but I will never forget the feeling of being violated. Everything we owned was destroyed, and we no longer had a house. I will also never forget the people who volunteered their time through their churches or businesses. People from the Red Cross were wonderful, and for those who did not have enough insurance coverage, there was help from FEMA. It was the first time I had ever felt such a sense of community. I have felt and seen it, since in organizations such as Angelfood Ministries and CASA of Crawford County.

I freely admit that I have to pinch my pennies until they scream, right now. I have had to do so in the past. Even if things improve soon, I may have to do so, again. In times like these, with so many people that I know who are out of work, or they make just a little too much for any kind of assistance, there are programs like, Angelfood Ministries. I had heard of it a few years back, but I did not need it at the time. Once I did need it, I tried it. It was amazingly helpful.

"Angel Food Ministries is a non-profit, non-denominational organization dedicated to providing food relief and financial support to communities throughout the United States. The program began in 1994 with 34 families in Monroe, Georgia (between Atlanta and Athens), and has grown to serve hundreds of thousands of families every month across 45 states. Angel Food Ministries crosses denominational lines and has spread the good news of the gospel of Christ through salvation tracts that are placed in each food order."

For about half of the money, people are able to purchase grocery items. I do not mean they are purchasing leftovers or expired goods, either. These foods are all perfectly good. I have had to buy from Angelfood at different times in my life, so I have watched the menu flourish. They not only have a main package with enough food for "a family of four for about a week," they have a huge array of offerings, from packages that are entirely fruit, or veggies, or meat. They even offer an allergen free package. There are after school snack packages, for healthy snacks, or prepackaged meals that only have to be cooked in the oven for the seniors. Angelfood also pays attention to the nutritional needs within the packages that they offer.

Not only do they offer excellent savings, nutritious foods and some relief from the strain of a grocery budget, Angelfood Ministries allows all of this to be purchased by any person. They do accept food stamps, but you do not have to qualify. Whether you are a millionaire or in dire need or anywhere in between, you can buy from them. Volunteers, mostly through local churches in my area, await the arrival of the trucks, set up and help distribute the food when people come with their order receipts in their hands. It is a wonderful system. To volunteer for this organization, I would look up the website, here, and look for the closest church that distributes. People can pay it back or pay it forward with this one.

An organization of which I learned while working with teens at my last job was CASA of Crawford County. The mission statement of CASA is: "The mission of CASA of Crawford County is to recruit, train and support volunteer advocates who will serve to ensure safe and permanent homes for the abused and neglected children in our community. The board serves to assist in the development of resources and provides direction to the CASA Program Director with regard to program goals and policies.

Our program continues to have the goal of providing every child in foster care with a volunteer advocate. It is our belief that every child deserves a safe and permanent home and we hope to grow our program with that belief as our direction."

A CASA volunteer is a Court Appointed Special Advocate for a child within the court system. Assigned by the judge in the child's case, this volunteer makes certain he or she is placed and kept within a safe and permanent home. It is easy to sit and shake our heads about the horrible things that happen to children, especially when the abuse or neglect comes from the people who should be the most vigilant about keeping it away from them. It is a lot harder to look into the eyes of an abused or neglected child and convince them that they can trust any adult.

Being a CASA volunteer means taking your own time to see that the needs of another person are being met. You need to be in court for the child's sake. You need to be around as much as you can possibly be, to assure them that somebody is keeping an eye out for them and care. I do know a couple of CASA advocates, and they are amazing individuals. With their busy lives, they take the time to care and help the children in our community leave unfit situations and make the transition into better ones. Having that one person who is always there can make a difference, especially when kids are smart enough to know when it is simply somebody's job, as opposed to being a voluntary relationship.

To volunteer with CASA in Crawford County, you may look at the information on this link. This is a national opportunity, though. To work with CASA in your area, this link can take you to the national site, so you can look for local information.

There are many ways to volunteer your time and efforts. With this link, I was able to look at many websites where a person who wants to help can do so. You can simply type the words "volunteer opportunities" into a search bar with your city, county or town added to narrow the search for you. No matter what my faith is, or what anybody else's faith is, when there are people in need, somebody should be willing to expend a little effort to help them. It can be a small scale thing, such as the way I watch the children of my family members when I can. It could be a big thing, such as changing a life or giving somebody the means to afford food for their families. With either CASA or Angelfood Ministries, I can see the capacity that anybody can have for doing something good for others and for themselves.