Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
It's that special time of the year when we give thanks for all the blessings that have been given to ACO. The PODS that only had six boxes of food the week before Thanksgiving have been filled to over flowing. Not only were we blessed with enough food to supply over 131 families with Thanksgiving meals, we now have more than enough food to make sure that families have Christmas food as well. Once again, donors have come forward and adopted all the 520 children and seniors for Christmas. Everyone will be able to open Christmas presents and have a wonderful dinner.
Throughout the year and especially at holiday time, folks ask me how it is going at ACO, so I would like to take this opportunity to relate our blessings and successes during this past year.
During its second full year of service, the ACO Food Pantry has taken off. Through November we have given away over 225,000 lbs of food to provide meals for over 7,100 individuals. This was all done by dedicated volunteers who work week after week to weigh, sort and keep the shelves full so the clients have a choice. Our partnership with the North Texas Food Bank continues to flourish with corporate food sponsors like Market Street, Whole Foods Market, Kroger, both Wal-Mart's and three Target Stores.
This past fall, ACO opened its second Resale Shop in Farmersville. This opening is the result of strategic planning for the past two years. It will allow ACO to reach out to a Collin County community to provide affordable clothing, house wares and furniture. It will also enable ACO to work in partnership with existing clubs, organizations and churches to help enhance or provide much needed human services.
During 2011, we continued to help close to 950 family members stay in their homes with rental assistance, heat and cooling to prevent homelessness. Between financial assistance and human service information and referrals, ACO has touched over 15,400 individuals in 2011!
The Allen Resale Shop continues to anchor our One Stop Shopping Center! It not only funds ACO directly, it continues to help our families in need with over $20,000 worth of clothing and house wares annually. The Resale Shop is also committed to helping other charities like Send Hope, Allen Head Start and New Life Deaf Ministry in Honduras.
Our volunteers continue to be the life blood for ACO. Presently, we have over 2,300 back ground checked volunteers who run the Food Pantry, Treasure Chest, work on special events, and the Resale Shops plus assist with office duties. These great volunteers also deliver Meals-on-Wheels to over 80 seniors each week day.
In the fundraising area, we have experienced both highs and lows this year. In the summer, ACO was notified that we would not be funded by United Way for the 2011-12 budget cycle. This news brought wide support from our donors through an increase in the "Christmas in July" campaign and presently our Holiday solicitations. This fall we applied to be a part of the Dallas Morning News Charities and we are very pleased to have been selected.
During this past year ACO has been blessed with a great board, staff and volunteers to help us carry out our mission of transforming lives. Personally, I look forward to an exciting 2012 providing basic services plus new ones that will assist our families in becoming more independent and self sufficient. All of this work can't be done without you, the community partner. Thank you for all your help last year and I look forward to a successful 2012.
Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and safe holiday season,
Glenda May, Exec. Director
