Groceries for Families: Week 45 - Day 2
February 3, 2021
While yesterday was cold and wet, today was dry and mild. So much better! Even the sun came out in the afternoon. Lovely! Families even commented how lucky they were to be on Wednesday because of yesterday’s weather. Shoppers also benefited from that and happily brought groceries, pantry, and hygiene items today. Thank you, everyone! Families lined up early and kept a steady line all afternoon. There were quite a few additions to the waiting list today. Thanks for a great day!
Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Delivery
Rotary of Bellevue Delivery
Groceries today were provided by St Louise, Newport Covenant, Calvary Chapel Eastside, Bellevue Christian Reformed, Crossroads Bible, Indian Fellowship, 24-Seven, and Bellevue Presbyterian churches, as well as the Rotary Club of Bellevue, the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club, and the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 255 orders came in today (thank you for the extras!) and all but 31 went out to families today. The remainder will go out first thing tomorrow. Thank you to everyone who donated today.
Today’s AM Crew
Many people donate pantry and hygiene items through online vendors. Daily there are deliveries from Costco, Amazon, and others. Rarely are we able to see the names of those who are ordering these items, so we want to acknowledge these silent heroes and thank you for your generous gifts. They are received, welcomed, and added to the inventory which keeps this operation running. Thank you so much!
The morning volunteers came from Bellevue Presbyterian today. This group worked very efficiently at processing a very large amount of deliveries and packing many food boxes. Thank you, crew!
St Thomas School Delivery
St. Thomas School in Medina delivered a very large donation today from a drive they completed for the ‘Groceries for Families’ program. A vast array of non-perishable foods, diapers, wipes, paper towels, and more-more-more arrived in three vehicles at 4pm today. It took 7 volunteers over 30 minutes just to get it in the building. This is a huge boost to the inventory numbers for all these items. Thank you, Evan, crew, and donors!
Denisse, who normally handles all the family check-in, took on the task of signing up families to an app called “Remind”, which we use to communicate with them more easily. This allowed a regular volunteer, Chrissie, to step into this new role. While Spanish was not rolling off her tongue, she brought a ray of sunshine and joy, which families were drawn to. Thank you, Denisse and Chrissie, for taking on these new roles today.
Chrissie at the Check-in Station
A few stories:
Patrick, who is a Jubilee Site Coach at Ardmore Elementary, except for 3.5 hours on Wednesday afternoons. He met Maria who comes for groceries on Wednesdays and has actually been a volunteer at the Jubilee Thrift Store in the past. Patrick is at least 6’ tall and Maria is less than 5’. Yesterday, Patrick saw Maria shopping at the thrift store and chatted with her, not knowing she came for groceries, too. (Patrick worked on Thursdays before this week.) Today, he saw her in line and ran to greet her. Witnessing this exchange was lovely. Patrick poured out genuine joy and friendship, in a mix of English and Spanish. Maria beamed at being recognized and the welcoming attention given to her. It was the sweetest of sweet moment for both of them. When asked about taking a picture with Patrick, she exclaimed “Of course!” Patrick has such a huge, loving heart.
Yesterday, you read a bit about flowers being given to children to present to their mom or grandma. A few of you brought flowers today (thank you!), so we did the same thing. One young man, who clearly has a drama career ahead of him, received the flowers, ran to his mother, bent down on one knee, professed his love for his mother and asked her to marry him. All of this was in Spanish, so all of the families around the market area burst out in laughter and cheers. The mother, who clearly knows her not-shy son, played her part exceptionally well. She was beaming with love and pride in her son. It all happened so fast, we had to ask them for a repeat of the scene a picture.
If you find flowers on the clearance rack at the local grocery stores, feel free to bring them to Jubilee. We’ll keep passing them out and sending along the stories. It is clear, these ladies do not receive such gifts or attention these days.
A quick update on Shahin’s husband. He has returned home, as there is nothing more medically which can be done for his fast advancing brain cancer. She was here today and is deep in grief. She knows many people are praying for her. She is asking God for a miracle. Please pray for her, their daughter and her husband, as they spend this shortened time together as a family. She is so proud of him.
Today’s PM Crew
Thank you for another great day in ‘Groceries for Families’. You ARE Jubilee! Together we are holding up this small corner of the world during this incredibly tough time. Without question, families are feeling the love poured into all the donations provided to them. While they may not know each of you by name or face, they know someone cares. Thank you for answering the call.
Have a great evening and bless you,
Ken Carpenter
Director- Community Care, Jubilee REACH
On behalf of the Jubilee family
