October 29th, 2013

Sharing HOPE... you can too

This past week The HOPE Chest gave over 1500 loaves of bread and buns, 100 dozen locally baked donuts, bags of groceries to feed 288 people and meal packs to feed 10 homeless residents. We appreciate our partners who helped us meet all of these needs. Thank you, Midwest Food Bank, Deal's, Sara Lee and Classic Donuts. And thank you, dear friends, for donating food to our pantry. We appreciate you!

The HOPE Chest Seeds of HOPE program blessed (at no charge) many families with beds, dressers, kitchen tables, chairs and couches. Our staff was honored to help a family who had no refrigerator. They not only needed the appliance to store their family's food, but medical supplies for a very serious medical condition. We were thankful to have been donated a refrigerator, and were able to give it to someone who was very much in need. Thank you to all our friends who have graciously donated furniture and appliances to our store this week.

In the last 6 days, over a dozen people were sent to The HOPE Chest from other agencies in Pekin. They were sent to us in need of assistance for rent, utilities, shelter and transportation costs. But we were unable to help these destitute guests. The HOPE Chest does our best with the funds our sales provide. But we normally do not receive funds from churches or any other organizations. We also do not receive any government funding. Therefore, our Outreach is limited to donations of food, clothing and household items. It breaks our heart to have to send anyone away, and we do our best to find help for everyone who truly has a need. As the weather gets colder and more people struggle to keep warm and stay dry, I expect many guests to come to The HOPE Chest seeking assistance for these more difficult needs.

Please continue to support the HOPE Chest, so we can continue to provide assistance to the poor in our community.

Lynne Johnson - Outreach Director, The HOPE Chest