Blessings of Hope partners every week with Akron Church of the Brethren, in Akron, Pa. They have a food outreach every Wednesday that draws people in need from the surrounding areas. At an outreach not long ago they distributed all of the 576 Hands of Hope boxes we sent and they had to turn people away. The drastic rise in the price of groceries recently has increased the number of people showing up for these outreaches. The cars start lining up at 8 AM and they fill the parking lot before the outreach begins.
At 10:30, when everything is ready, the cars pull up 2 at a time and the volunteers load their trunks with boxes of food and gallons of milk. Afterwards, they can visit a small area set up in front of the church steps to receive bread and fresh produce. There are volunteers ready to help at every phase of the process, including how to prepare the bok choy that was being given in this produce box.
The whole atmosphere is fun. The men placing the boxes in the cars are having a blast, joking, encouraging and chatting up the drivers. Because the line is long, they work quickly and efficiently, waving people on with a ‘God bless you.’ We even had one lady picking up 7 boxes of food to share, who had a mini refrigerator and a wheelchair in the back of her car to donate.
Our volunteers tell us ‘It’s about the Hope we can give to people. I always thought it was about the Blessings, but now I realize it’s more about the Hope . . . and people really need that in these times.’ Blessings of Hope works with multiple partners like Akron Church of the Brethren to bring food to the hungry and give hope to the hurting every week. You can help right now, from wherever you are, by making a prayerful consideration to become a Neighbors Helping Neighbors monthly donor. We are grateful for every generous gift.
Reaching out,
Blessings of Hope
