End of Year Update (2109)
Dear Friends,
The leaves are turning into a myriad of red and gold; the weather is getting chilly and Thanksgiving is coming. This is a special time; a time to enjoy the beauty of nature, to be thankful for so many things.
Everyone today knows of someone who has lost their job. Everyone is talking about the economy and “when is it going to turn around.” But we know that it will – eventually. Today there are people who are not able to think about “eventually” – they are trying desperately to survive today. They are not sure if they will have a meal today, let alone where they will be sleeping tonight.
There are 37 million people in the United States living in poverty who need a soft place to land. Everyone has experienced “hunger pains” – imagine what it feels like to be hungry and have nothing to eat and how terrible it must be to feel like that every day.
People for the Poor helps the true poor – the hungry and the homeless. One of our soup kitchens feeds 350 people a day; another one has served over 24,000 meals last year – and the numbers keep going up. I was talking with the Director of a soup kitchen who told me that last Thanksgiving they had a line around the block waiting for food; it was the first time in their history that they ran out of food and had to heartbreakingly close its doors while there were people still in line. Imagine that it was your neighbor or friend standing in line and there was no more food; you would be there to help them. Your support is just that – you helping your neighbor with their basic needs – food and shelter.
We are now in our 8 th year. We are made up of volunteers whose sole mission is to help provide food, shelter and dignity to those in need. So far, we have raised and given away close to $200,000 to soup kitchens and shelters throughout South Jersey.
Hopefully you will be the People who are helping the Poor so that no one is left standing in line. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mike Scott, Co-founder
Caroline Scherrer, Co-Founder