My most memorable day at the Community Services Clearinghouse came the Monday after COVID-19 became prevalent in our community. Everyone was going to the store stocking up on food (and toilet paper). I went to work as usual, and we discussed what was going on and how scary it was. At 8:30 a.m., we unlocked the door and had numerous clients throughout the day. It was so clear to me on that day that our clients were coming to the Clearinghouse to get their food, and we were the only way for our clients to stock up! Our cancer patients, elderly, and disabled clients don’t have the money to stock up on food. So they were relying on us to help them. I called my husband and daughter and was crying at how sad it was to see people who didn’t have the money to buy extra food. How scary is that? It made me so proud to work for an organization that genuinely helps people every single day.

The cancer clients get food from us every week. It may be the only food they get. They are physically, emotionally, and financially devastated. Our Executive Director, Tami Kuhns, came up with the idea to give our cancer clients two weeks of food at a time so they didn’t have to leave the house so much. She also decided to let the clients stay in their car so they could stay safe.

During the pandemic, our food donations have been down. So if you can find a way to have a food drive in your neighborhood, place of business, church, or by any other means, we’ll pick up the food for you, or you can deliver it to the Clearinghouse at 4420 Wheeler Ave.

Thank you for your support. Many in our community rely on the generosity of others!