Many many thanks!!!

Hello and Happy Monday! We have some AMAZING news to share with all of you! About a year ago, we were approached by the Presbyterian Women of Grace Presbyterian Church about applying for a grant to help programs such as ours in the Jefferson County area. It seemed like a long shot, but the thought was that if we team up with area programs such as ours, then maybe we would stand a chance of bein...g recognized to receive funds through the national Presbyterian Women group. After a year of research, writing, and collaborating with organizations like ours in the Jefferson County area, we have been notified that we will be awarded a grant in the amount of $15,000 to help feed area children on the weekends!!! PRAISE GOD and the many blessings He bestows upon us! Programs like Helping Hands have touched the hearts of people in this community, particularly the Women of Grace Presbyterian Church, and they've taken a stand against childhood hunger in our community. There are over 500 children in Jefferson County who are receiving assistance from programs like Helping Hands, and all of these programs are supported by the grace of the people of the community. No budgets, no official funding, just a community of people who won't allow our kids to go hungry. This $15,000 grant will be spread amongst the programs in Jefferson County, and are a huge blessing in ensuring we can continue our program in the 2013-2014 school year. Thank you all so much for your continued support!

Hi everyone!  We hope you enjoyed a wonderful 3 day weekend!  Summer school started today, and we have 15 kids from Helping Hands who are enrolled in summer school.  Right now, our shelves are completely bare! While we have some great things in the works, we have immediate needs so that we can make sure these kiddos are able to go home every weekend during summer school with snacks and meals that they can prepare themselves.  We currently need:  15 jars of peanut butter, 15 plastic bottles of jelly, ravioli, tuna, soup, spaghetti-o's, Ritz crackers, snacks such as fruit cups and apple sauce, and breakfast items (cereal bars, individual boxes of cereal).  If you would like to donate, please take your items to Crystal City Elementary, the office is open every day during summer school.  We would be happy to do the shopping for you if you'd rather donate money-they will take that at the office as well!  Thanks so much for all you do-it's rare that we have to ask for anything because this community gives so much when we do. We would love to ensure that we can take care of these kids throughout the summer, and we appreciate all of your efforts to help!

Hello!  As we all put the finishing touches on yet another amazing school year, we want to update you on our Helping Hands program and the families we serve.  We have made it through the entire school year with the ability to send home food every weekend with our kids!  Thank you!  We appreciate all you've given through the year. We have a lot of really amazing things in the works as far as donations and grants are concerned, but as we wait for those to go through, we are nearly out of everything as we approach summer school.  We have enough to send the kids home with full bags this weekend, and we would like to be able to continue to help the ones that are coming to summer school. Following are some of the items that we need:
cereal bars
individual boxes of cereal
ravioli
individual mac and cheese packets
beefaroni
spaghetti o's
soup
tuna
crackers
peanut butter
jelly
fruit cups/applesauce

If you would like to contribute to these needs as we go into summer school, please take your donations to Crystal City Elementary school.
Thanks so much for all you do!

Donations Needed!!

Hi!  We hope you have all been enjoying the wonderful weather!!  Wanted to give you all an update on Helping Hands...As we've posted over the last few months, the response we received to our request for donations around the Holidays was SO AMAZING, we have been able to continue to feed all of our kids without having to ask for help-that was over 3 months ago!!  Well...our shelves are now REALLY BARE!  We need quite a few donations.  Here is a list of items that we use pretty regularly:
Ravioi
Beefaroni
Soup (packets or cans)
Individual mac n cheese packets
Canned chicken/tuna
Spaghetti O's
Chili
Snacks (peanuts, popcorn, applesauce, cheese crackers are all good items to send home)
Oatmeal
Cereal/granola bars
Peanut Butter
Jelly

If you would like to help, please bring your donations to Crystal City Elementary School and we will make sure they are distributed to the kids in our program.  Also, if you would like us to do the shopping, we take monetary donations at the school as well!  This program relies solely on donations from people in the community, and you ALWAYS come through for us!  Thanks so much for all you do!  All of your donations are so appreciated!

Hello everyone and Happy Friday!!  Thanks so much for checking in!  As we stated in our last couple of updates, the support for Helping Hands has been so amazing, we find ourselves rarely having to ask for donations-we always receive blessings and gifts beyond what we need and they keep us in a position to serve our families for weeks on end!  Right now, we are at a point where we could use a little bit of extra help!  We are running low on several items, and with Spring Break around the corner, we want to make sure we have everything we need!  We are currently in need of meals-ravioli, beefaroni, mac and cheese, tuna, canned chicken, and  breakfast items such as cereal bars and oatmeal.  We are also extremely low on peanut butter and jelly.  If you would like to contribute some of these items, please drop them off at Crystal City Elementary school and they will be distributed to the children enrolled in Helping Hands.  Thanks so much for all of  your continued support of this program!

Monday morning update!

Happy Monday everyone!  It's been a couple of weeks since we've updated you on our status, so we thought we would check in!  We are still in really good shape to continue taking care of our Helping Hands kids on the weekends.  So many of you have made Helping Hands a priority in your lives and in your giving, and it's really helped us to be able to commit to these kids every weekend.  Such a blessing to know that even when we don't ask, you know what we need and you help us to provide.  Thanks so much and have a blessed week!

God continues to provide through our community

Hello all, and Happy Friday!  Thanks so much for continuing to check in!  It's hard to believe we are over half way through January-this year is flying by! We wanted to send out a quick update and let you know we are still in great shape as far as donations are concerned.  The kids in this program continue to be a priority for this community, and we are so thankful for the amazing and often unexpected contributions that we receive.  If you have  made Helping Hands a part of your weekly shopping and would like to donate, you can still drop off donations at Crystal City Elementary School, and rest assured they will be distributed in the next few weeks.  Every single item, and every single dollar, donated is used for children right here in Crystal City.  We are currently serving 32 children, and send home a total of 192 meals and 128 snacks every single weekend-all donated from members of this very gracious and giving community. God bless you all, and thanks so much for your continued support!