A Year of Thanks 

As I look back over the past year, I am overwhelmed by the generosity I have seen flow through Care Ministries.  

As I was working on a "year in review," I realized what I was actually creating was a list of thanks.

Many of you have asked to remain anonymous. Therefore, I am not including individual names in this list.

There have been so many acts of kindness this year that it's entirely possible I have forgotten a dozen or two.  If you catch something I forgot, send me an email, and I will include "part 2" in our next newsletter.  

Here, in no particular order, are things I am thankful for from 2013:

• Food and monetary donations enabling us to provide about 1,500 bags of food to 192 households (595 individuals) during the year

• Prayers, prayers, and more prayers 

• Hundreds of volunteer hours spent building relationships, working the pantry on Wednesdays, stocking shelves, shopping at Feedmore, hosting food drives, tabulating numbers, submitting reports, attending trainings, participating in special events, working individually with Care Ministries friends, and so much more

• Gayton's amazing staff, who have supported this ministry in countless ways

• Scout troops, preschool classes, and other groups who have hosted food drives and taken the time to learn more about Care Ministries through tours and learning session   

• The Richmond Region Christian Community Development Learning Cohort for providing a place to network and grow alongside other agencies in our area

• Pantry guests who paid it forward by volunteering and donating

• Three pantry guests who invited us to services and special events at their churches

• One pantry guests who now regularly attends worship and Sunday school at Gayton

• Two pantry guests who joined us for the chilli cookoff

• The High Blood Pressure Center, for coming out each month to help educate our guests on healthier lifestyles

• Short Pump Chick-fil-a for helping us thank your volunteers 2 years in a row

• Dedicated volunteers who have fostered a personal relationship with a senior adult friend and regularly help dump her garbage, check her mail, and clean her cat litter box

• Volunteers who took a walk to meet neighbors in an area of need near our church, and invited friends out to Fall Festival

• Friends who boldly stepped out to help make a video to educate others about Care Ministries

• A DVD made for a friend so that she can share the love of Jesus with her family one day (hopefully far in the future!) at her funeral

• A funeral preached (and affordably arranged) for a dear Care Ministries friend who left us this year

• Visits, calls, and support for this same dear friend and her family 

• Oil provided for a senior adult friend last winter

• Emergency financial assistance to several friends throughout the year

• Christmas assistance so that children in 3 families have gifts under the tree

• Back to school assistance so that children in 2 families were ready to learn

• Clothing donations that provided a way for guests to get needed items with dignity through our Dollar Shop, which in turn financially supports our food pantry

• Great volunteers who manage our Dollar Shop

• A letter of recommendation written for a job application

• A scholarship essay proofread

• An offer to mow the lawn of a friend in need

• Turkeys and hams donated that allowed friends to purchase these items at small fee, which the provided poinsettias to our senior adult friends at Christmas

• Volunteers and financial support to provide tree service and gutter repair for a senior adult friend

• A trunk full of baby items, both from Gayton and the church of one of our Care Ministries friends, to support a family in need who received an unexpected blessing in a new daughter this  year

• Amazing and overwhelming support for a family who became homeless this fall                      Thanks to generous donors and volunteers, this family knows they will have a secure place to stay for several  months.     In addition, they have received a Christmas tree, and an offer of financial support to make sure the son gets to play football next year.