This morning I was reading scriptures using the Come Follow Me Foundation App. I have just noticed that at the top of the page there are some little grayed-out dashed lines and each time I do one of the suggested readings the dashed line lights up.
Today I noticed that one of the options now available is the #Light The World Initiative prompt for the day. (If you don't know about #Light The World, just Google it. There is a calendar of prompts for each day leading up to Christmas.) Today's prompt was to feed the hungry. The prompt suggested dropping off food to someone who could use it, or create a donation package for a local food bank...even suggested recruiting a friend to help.
This is what I am doing with this post! I am specifically inviting people to make a donation package for a local food bank. I personally am gutless. I am so happy to help people and will do almost anything that is suggested to me, especially if someone else has already paved the way. In this case I bit the bullet, found the address of a local food bank, got in the car and drove to the location.
The building was rather un-pre-possessing with some tall (older-looking) wooden stairs leading up to a door. From the foot of the stairs I could see a batch of notices on the door but since I had some hope that they would be open I hauled my heft up the stairs, found a locked door, knocked, and in a bit a very nice gentleman with a soft very Southern accent/dialect opened to ask what I wanted. At least that is what I thought he asked....I told him I wanted to maybe make some donations and needed to talk with someone about details. He asked me to come in and someone who had information would come talk with me.
A very nice lady named Sherry came to speak with me. She gave me information that I mean to share in this post, so I will get to it rather than working up to it with a long drawn out possibly very boring story.
What they need at that food bank (Sumter United Ministries at 36 Artillery Drive, Sumter) is:
Paper towels--these can be singletons in case you buy large amounts at Sam's Club, Costco, or the like
Toilet paper--these can also be singletons
Feminine hygiene products
Tooth brushes
Tooth Paste
Shampoo in small bottles
There is a fence at the building. It should be open from 9 AM to 3 PM Monday through Friday. If you drive through the open gate to the back of the building there is a covered area which has bins. There are bins for Food and bins for Clothes. All the above items go in the Food bin.
They DO NOT need clothing at this time.
While there at United Ministries, Sherry told me about the Emmanuel Soup Kitchen at 421 South Main Street in Sumter. Sherry volunteers there on Wednesday, or at least she did yesterday.
She says they accept anything you have that could be used by homeless and less fortunate people, including clothing. I myself was hoping to bring some of the multitudes of spices we have acquired since arriving in the South two years ago with the idea I would make some fabulous meals.
It turns out that most of these spices turned into meals "my family" did not enjoy!!! So I will take them over to Emmanuel Soup Kitchen. If they cannot use the spices themselves they will put them out on a table and let their guests take what they want. WIN WIN WIN!
It happens that I also tried to put gutlessness aside a second time in the same day and drove to Emmanuel Soup Kitchen. I had driven by it many times but did not recognize what it was as I drove by. There was a very slim older gentleman hanging around outside the door (which did not have a handle to open it from the outside!!) and when I got out of the car I immediately realized the stroller was critically important at that location as the ground was very uneven. Anyway, I walked over to him and he started talking with me. The dialect was so heavy I could not understand him. Not at first. Eventually I caught a word here and there. There was another gentleman sitting in his truck with the door open. Shortly after I got there he began drumming on the door of his truck. I could not grasp the beat.
Eventually I told the waiting gentleman that I was looking into making donations. He told me to go around to the back door and speak with Jean. I did it. Knocked on the door. Twice. There were voices inside but it was lunch time and since the soup kitchen door was still locked, I assumed they were still in the rush of preparing food so I went back out to the front. And waited some more. The door still did not open so I decided to come back again later. Probably another day.
That is the end of the story for today...
So, this is information for Sumter people. In your town or city there must be similar places. #Light The World today by finding them!
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