Making A Difference |
One of the families we serve is a single mom with a young daughter. The mom didn’t plan for her life to become what it is today. She planned to enter the military but found out she was pregnant. She opted to try to raise her daughter on her own since the father did not want the child. It was hard to find work that paid enough to cover her child care costs. Though this mom tried very hard to provide for her child by working an overnight night shift, her babysitting arrangements fell through. She also began experiencing health problems, some of which were related to diabetes. When the mom felt she had no other recourse, she would call Multi-Service, even though she preferred to do things on her own. She would come in to get food, paper products, personal care items, diapers and more from our pantry. We were also able to offer holiday meals at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. In addition to the holiday dinners, we found a sponsor for the little girl at Christmas. Clothes and toys were a special treat on Christmas morning. At Easter time, the child had an Easter basket given by one of our donors. Because we feel every child should feel special on their birthday, she also received a birthday kit (a gift bag containing a cake mix, icing, drink mix, matching plates and napkins, candles, balloons and more)! Over time we helped the mom to qualify for an electric assistance program and provided rent assistance. We referred her to the YMCA to get a Golden Rule scholarship. She has used the computers in our lab to do job searches and has attended a career workshop hosted at our center. She has benefited from our transportation program, which helps people get to their doctor appointments. We arranged for her to go to the Clothing Rack (run by St. Luke Lutheran Church in Gilbertsville) to get some clothes. A referral to the BACH (Boyertown Area Creative Housing) program has given this mom a real chance at becoming self-sufficient. With housing and a support system of caring community members, she has begun to make headway. Self-sufficiency for this mom is no longer just a dream.
Thank you so much for the amazing food we received yesterday and the other paper products. It was such a blessing to my family. The fruits and vegetables were wonderful to get and the milk! Serenitey was so happy to get her pads for teens! Thank you for this ministry. IT was so encouraging.
Boyertown Area Multi-Service received an emergency call. The situation was desperate so the caller was asked to come in right away to talk to a case manager. The caller and her husband had to take emergency custody of their two young grandchildren with no notice. The children’s father had died abruptly and their mother had had turned to drugs to cope and was feeling suicidal. Other family members who lived nearby had initially taken the two children in but it was soon discovered that they were abusing the children. When the grandparents ultimately received the children, the kids had only the clothes they were wearing. The timing was not the best as the grandmother had been laid off in February and the grandfather was a private contractor who did not make much money. They did not know what to do and they reached out to Multiservice in desperate need. Their case manager spent time with them to assess immediate needs, one of which was food. Our Food Programs Manager began to gather up food stuffs and since it was almost Easter, a special meal was assembled – a ham, potatoes, vegetables, muffins, pineapple, dessert, and more, were gathered to take home and cook on Easter day. The grandparents were ecstatic to also receive Easter baskets for the little girls which even included toys to make the day more special. We called The Clothing Rack at a local church and they opened at early to accommodate the family to come get clothes for the kids. The case manager also gave gift cards for a shoe store, and lastly we arranged for a free car seat for the youngest child. Several times during the visit, the grandmother was choked up as the case manager chipped away at each need, one by one. In just one visit, we were able to help this newly formed family put together the pieces needed to begin life together. What an honor for us to serve the community in this way.