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Food For Families’ Awards Ceremony Held on Sunday, January 13th
An Awards Ceremony honoring the winners in the Chairperson’s Cup competition during the 2007 Food for Families Food Drive, this year in memory of Charles Cagle and in honor of Nancy Cagle, was held from 3-4 p.m. at the Salvation Army Community Center, 1225 S. I-35, on Sunday, January 13with a good crowd present. The food drive, again sponsored by HEB, KWTX-TV, the Army National Guard, and the Boy Scouts, was a great success with over 326,000 lbs. of food being donated for the benefit of 10 local pantries, including Acts Christian Fellowship, Caritas of Waco, Church of the Open Door, Fill My Cup (Riesel), Lake Shore Baptist Church, Loaves and Fishes, Mission Waco, Operation C.R.I.S.I.S., St. Francis Social Ministry, and the Salvation Army.
The majority of the food donated was generated through competition between schools, congregations, businesses, civic organizations, financial institutions, colleges and universities, manufacturing and industrial concerns, law firms, municipal and public service employees, and health services providers. The 2007 food drive winners include Waco Founders Lions Club, Waco Vacuum, Brazos River Authority, Dwyer Group, First Central Credit Union, Wells Fargo Bank, Neurosurgical Associates, Providence Healthcare Network, Vanguard Preparatory School, Lorena Middle School, Robinson High School, Midway high School, Temple Rodef Sholom, St. Matthew Lutheran Church, City of Waco Municipal Court, VA Regional Office, Baylor University Chamber of Commerce, McLennan County District Attorney’s Office, National Lloyds Insurance, Clayton Homes, Cub Pack #403, and Boy Scout Troop #308.
The winner of the Chairperson’s Cup, who donated the most food out of the entities from all classes of the competition, was The Dwyer Group. Also, the Food For Families Food Drive Steering Committee extends special thanks to Mayor Virginia Dupuy who served as Honorary Chairperson for the 2007 Food For Families Food Drive, and to John Mayne and Justin Bahnsen, who provided equipment to help expedite the weighing in of the donated food.
The next Food for Families Food Drive is already scheduled for Friday, November 21, 2008.As of January 1, 2007, Caritas was 40 years old! It is with mixed emotions that we celebrate this anniversary. When Caritas was begun, it was hoped that in time, because of Caritas’ activities, the needs of people living in poverty would decline, but that has not been the case. Rather, Caritas has become a “growth industry”. So, it is definitely with mixed emotions that we approach this 40th anniversary. Dedicated more than ever to serve people in need, but sad that this great need seems to be constantly growing in our community.
Look for details later in 2007 for how we will “celebrate” this 40th Anniversary!
Caritas Receives Beaumont Foundation Grant
Caritas’ Executive Director, Kenneth Moerbe, was very surprised when he recently received a phone call from W. Frank Newton, Executive Director and CEO of the Beaumont Foundation of America, indicating that the Board of Directors had selected Caritas to receive a grant of $50,000. Moerbe quickly responded with a big YES!The purpose of the grant is to help Caritas provide emergency and supplemental food for its clients. According to Moerbe, this generous grant will assist Caritas in three ways: 1) Allow Caritas to secure more food from Capital Area Food Bank, the America’s Second Harvest Food Band, which serves Caritas of Waco through the “shared maintenance “ program, by which food is secured at $.14 a pound. 2) Allow Caritas to enter into partnerships with other pantries and CAFB in securing food resources in bulk. When food is secured in large bulk amounts, it can be purchased at the bulk rate which is much less expensive, although the outlay of cash is greater, and 3) Permit Caritas to secure a greater variety of food, as well as food with greater nutritional value. The fantastic thing about this grant is that is was unsolicited and totally unexpected! Thank you Beaumont Foundation of America for having faith in Caritas of Waco to meet the hunger needs of people in the Waco/McLennan County area.
Beaumont Foundation of America Comes Through Again!
In December of 2006, Caritas Executive Director Kenneth Moerbe received a surprise telephone call from W. Frank Newton, President and CEO of the Beaumont Foundation of America (BFA) informing him that the BFA Board of Directors had selected Caritas to receive a grant of $50,000 to help with the feeding of hungry people in the McLennan County-Waco community. During 2007, Caritas used the BFA grant to increase the quantity and quality of the food provided to it clients, so that the average amount of food given to families in the course of the year was increased to 81 lbs./per family unit served, from a low of 56 lbs./per family unit in 2005. More importantly the nutritional value, especially in terms of protein, was increased considerably.
The BFA’s vision is to “Provide support and assistance to the underserved.” That purpose has certainly been realized by Caritas’ clients served during this past year through its food pantry.
The even better news was that in December, 2007, Caritas again received one of those wonderful phone calls, informing it that again the BFA was
going to grant Caritas $50,000 in 2008 to better serve people in need in Caritas’ service area. According to Kenneth Moerbe, Caritas is considering taking a slightly different approach to providing more nutritious food for its clients through the resources of the BFA grant. Although only in its initial stages of development, the plan will be to focus on the acquisition of more fresh vegetables and fruit, and also provide education to clients related to the preparation of these healthy food products. It is well known that for various reasons, the diets of Americans living at or below the poverty line is sorely deficient in the food value provided by fresh fruits and vegetables.
Thanks again to the BFA for its most generous support of the mission and ministry of Caritas of Waco!
Baylor Social Work Interns now at Caritas
On January 9th, Carmen Branscum and Martha Stice, Masters’ level social work students at Baylor, began their internships at Caritas. Each of them will working on the Caritas staff for 16 hrs./week for the Spring Semester and one Summer Semester. As inters and staff members, they will be serving in many areas of Caritas’ ministry.
Carmen and Martha each bring a variety of skills and gifts to the mission of Caritas. They have indicated interest in almost every aspect of Caritas’ activities, from our intake procedures (interviewing clients) to aspects of ‘supply and demand’ as it impacts our Food Rescue Program in projecting Caritas’ future needs. Please make them feel welcome as you encounter them in the coming months.
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