Chesterfield

Second Harvest Column: World Hunger Day

kpaul.mallasch — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 21:35:02 -0700

By Lois Rockhill

My friend Christie Stephens handed me a copy of the monthly newsletter from Second Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis. The front page shows a colorful action painting by Joanie Rothenberg created for the Interfaith Hunger Initiative in our capital city.

In front of a night sky filled with blue swirls and round white stars, a group of people dressed in more swirls, poke-a-dots and bright colors are bringing offerings of food to add to a huge yellow pot of soup stirred by a person in green. There are peppers, tomatoes, potatoes and carrots. One man is lifting a child high into the sky so she can reach over the crowd to add her bowl of veggies to the soup.

Below the picture is the quote from Matthew 25:35, “I was hungry and you fed me”. Second Presbyterian endorsed the Interfaith Hunger Initiative in June of this year with The Indianapolis Covenant that includes this phrase: “WHEREAS, our religious traditions, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism, all clearly teach that God expects us to care for the hungry; therefore as individuals and as religious congregations we commit ourselves and our resources to eliminating child and family hunger both locally and globally.”

Thursday, Oct. 16, is World Hunger Day. This day set aside to remember that 854 million people across the globe are hungry, raised the month of October as a good choice for Second Presbyterian to highlight hunger. Congregants received collection cups this past Sunday to place on their tables. They are urged to fill the cups with cash for hunger relief as they enjoy their own family meals. On Oct. 12 the Interfaith Hunger Initiative has scheduled a forum on hunger with their congressional candidates — how great is that, to not only hold ourselves responsible but to also invite lawmakers to see that their constituents take ending hunger very seriously!

On World Hunger Day itself the Indianapolis community is invited to meet at the Circle for an un-lunch and time of prayer. The month goes on with other hunger awareness and hunger action activities including Jim Morris, former executive director of the UN World Food Program, in the pulpit at Second Presbyterian on Oct. 19.

I am sure that many of our religious groups in east central Indiana are also planning events around World Hunger Day. I would be very happy to hear about them. And I would love to hear if we have anything similar to an Interfaith Hunger Initiative in east central Indiana. It seems like a good thing to have — working together to end hunger is the only way it will be achieved. It is a tremendous task but not an impossible one.

I am reminded of another group that took on a huge task — one that seemed impossible to achieve but is very close to the goal set so many years ago. Rotary took on the challenge of eradicating polio. Some readers may shrug because polio just isn’t an issue here. And it is hardly an issue globally because Rotarians all over the world said it wasn’t acceptable for any person to have polio when a simple vaccine given to all children would eradicate it.

Can you imagine what would happen to world hunger if the religious people of the world mobilized themselves and their religious bodies to eradicate it? Like polio, there is a cure. For hunger is it food. We have the food; we have the means to produce even more food. Would an Interfaith Hunger Initiative in our region allow us to come together to alleviate hunger in our own communities and around the world?

Lois Rockhill is executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana. She can be reached at lrockhill@curehunger.org.

Chesterfield Freedom Walk 2008 - 02

kpaul.mallasch — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 21:15:17 -0700

Chesterfield Freedom Walk 2008

Chesterfield Freedom Walk 2008 - 01

kpaul.mallasch — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 21:15:17 -0700

Chesterfield Freedom Walk 2008

Character in Motion - 02

kpaul.mallasch — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 21:15:17 -0700

Character in Motion

Character in Motion - 01

kpaul.mallasch — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 21:15:16 -0700

Character in Motion

Watch for Children and School Busses

kpaul.mallasch — Wed, 6 Aug 2008 22:22:07 -0700

Watch for Children and School Busses

Second Harvest: Fruit of the Spirit

kpaul.mallasch — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:15:59 -0700

By Lois Rockhill

The July issue of a local church newsletter focused on the Fruit of the Spirit. Contributors were invited to write one page, double-spaced accounts of kindness or goodness they experienced or observed in the outreach ministry of the church. Five of the eight authors wrote about the church’s food assistance pantry.

The majority of the programs supported by Second Harvest Food Bank are pantries. Nearly all of these pantries are operated by churches or supported by the faith-base community. Most have no paid staff, and most have been serving their communities for a decade or more.

Feeding the hungry and ministering to those in need are practical outcomes of people deeply committed to their religious beliefs. Churches in every community and of every denomination take this mandate seriously. While temples and mosques are not common in our region of Indiana, devout people of all beliefs look for opportunity to give to those in need.

The people sharing in the church newsletter left this reader in awe of the process of pantry day. They painted a picture of people of the church and people of the pantry inspiring one another. What a tremendous commitment on the part of volunteers to give hours of their time daily, weekly, monthly to unload trucks, handle cases and tons of food, greet those needing assistance and do many, many other acts of kindness.

There is usually a faithful core of volunteers who keep a pantry going. They are the workers, the ones who keep the food coming in and the doors open. It is this core of volunteers who are most often blessed by those they help. They see people in need helping each other even when it means sharing meager resources to do so.

The newsletter tells a touching story of one pantry client providing another with a ride home and with assistance carrying groceries up to this elderly man’s apartment. Another tells of grandparents caring for grandchildren and reaching out to a child in the neighborhood who also needs their help.

We learn in this newsletter that these pantry volunteers are doing more than providing food to needy neighbors. They write with a joy of being involved in this ministry. They write with a real love for the people who enter their lives through the pantry door. They write in admiration of the whole network that gets food through the system and on to the tables of people struggling to make ends meet.

Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana will bring millions of pounds of food into this region by the end of this year. Perhaps a couple hundred thousand pounds will go to this particular pantry to help them feed their neighbors.

We know that local pantries will continue to feel the pressure of diminishing resources and increased need. Second Harvest is committed to filling that need by funneling donations from the food industry to our network of pantries and meal programs.

Perhaps it is time for your church or organization to establish a food pantry or commit to ongoing support of one serving your community. Funds, food and volunteers are needed at every level of the food assistance network. Visit our Web site at www.curehunger.org for more information or phone (765) 287-8698 ext. 100 to get involved.

Lois Rockhill is executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana. She can be reached at lrockhill@curehunger.org.

Second Harvest Column: Columbus Flood Relief

kpaul.mallasch — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:40:53 -0700

By Lois Rockhill

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence spoke to Muncie Rotary more than a month ago about the devastation the Indiana floods had caused in his hometown of Columbus, Ind. He appealed to Rotarians to reach out to the Columbus club to help them help restore their town. Gay Nation took the lead and organized work groups to go down on three consecutive Saturdays. I joined Gay and sister Rotarian Pat Garafolo on the trip this past week.

We stepped into the East Side Community Center in Columbus and found that small room packed with people packing lunches. Our job was to deliver the lunches to areas of town where homes had been flooded. The meals were packed in carry-out containers and the containers in cardboard boxes that were loaded into five waiting vehicles. We brought plenty of water and that was divvied up as well. We quickly jumped into different cars with people who knew the routes and started off.

The Columbus hospital was damaged so badly that it had to be evacuated. Employees continue to report to work and to be paid but their work assignments are often not hospital related. There was quite a crew of hospital employees at East Side, dishing up food, delivering lunches, and cleaning up the center. Pat and Gay had met many on their trip the week before.

I rode with Charlie, a Rotarian, and Ginger, a community volunteer. Ginger had delivered meals before and knew the route. We went into one of the hardest hit areas of Columbus. We delivered 58 of the 60 meals we took. Many, many homes were vacant. Many had huge barrel fans set up and running. From the outside most houses looked normal but a glance in the windows showed interiors with nothing left but floor boards and studs.

We saw debris and piles of saturated belongings lining the streets as home owners continued the tough task of emptying out their basements. A few people had RVs pulled into their driveways as a place to live while doing repairs. There were a surprising number of real estate sale signs.

As we approached homes the smell of mildew and dirty water was overpowering. We wondered how those who were hoping to live there would ever get rid of that stench. People still living on the blocks we traveled seemed resigned to their situations and committed to getting their homes back in order. They were thankful for the lunches and for the volunteers who brought them.

Back at East Side, kitchen cleanup was under way. We barely got started when we were recruited to unload a truck. The Catholic parish at Geist had collected enough household items to fill a large moving truck and a pickup. A couple dozen people seemed to appear from nowhere and begun unloading by hand, in 90-degree humid heat, sofas, beds, appliances, televisions and much, much more. Whew — it was tough! We sat the stuff down in the parking lot. Once it was unloaded, pre-selected families were invited to pick out what they could use.

It is hard to imagine how much more help will be needed before families are back on their feet. From the looks of things their community will be there for them and so will others who hear about the need. United Way is coordinating the volunteer efforts and a Web search shows a number of churches also addressing the task.

We see it all the time at Second Harvest Food Bank. Once people know the need and how they can help, they do. That’s how we continue to get food to people in crisis here in east central Indiana. Citizens see the need and respond. Food and funds are donated. Time and energy is donated. The community rallies and responds.

Crisis may be generated by a flood and more commonly by lack of work, low wages, divorce, illness or aging. Like the flooded out residents of Columbus, children, families and singles in our town need some, and sometimes a lot, of help while they struggle to get back on their feet. We are fortunate to live in a land where reaching out with a helping hand is considered the right thing to do!

Lois Rockhill is executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana. She can be reached at lrockhill@curehunger.org.

05-2008 Heather Belle - 15

kpaul.mallasch — Mon, 5 May 2008 07:08:22 -0700