Our partnership with CitiIMPACT goes back a few years now, helping in the aftermath of historic flooding in South Carolina in 2015 and in North Carolina after Hurricane Matthew last year. We have now done the same with them in 2017 after Harvey brought an unprecedented deluge to Houston and southeastern Texas.
Felicia Young, an amazing “multi-tasker” and the Relief Coordinator at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Beaumont, Texas, shared about the situation in her town:It’s been an emotional process. We’ve had over a hundred volunteers helping us. The volunteers’ homes were under water, but they chose to help others worse off than themselves.
The sentiment was shared by others that the smaller towns were being overlooked because of the focus on the nation’s fourth largest city—Houston. It will be weeks before flood waters even leave many homes and neighborhoods in these outlying locations. Many also still do not have access to clean water at this writing.
The Lord blessed Feed the Hunger with a full shipment (32 pallets, or 1,152 boxes) of Beans and Rice and Chicken Pasta packets ready to go thanks to friends like you who had volunteered at recent Packathons. Along with a good friend and supporter of Feed the Hunger, Scott Hildebrand, I headed to Texas to see our food being used and to help as much as possible as the Lord led us each day, hour, and minute. The food arrived in hard-hit Beaumont and was also given out via distribution points in Houston, Rosenberg, and Baytown. This included handouts of the packets as well as being prepared as a hot meal. One location added sausage to the Beans and Rice meal. Yum! And in a matter days (four, to be exact), nearly all the food had been shared with those hardest hit. Felicia continued:We had volunteers with trucks who delivered to areas that were hard to reach. The people came out crying. They hadn’t had a meal or access to water in a couple of days. They asked how we knew to go to them . . . God! That’s how. I thank you and your organization again for the donations.
At another location in Rosenberg, Pastor Jimn Kyles of The Church shared with us:
As far as Feed the Hunger’s impact on the ground, the following aid and relief activities were funded and distributed:One of the many things our volunteers have been able to do is put together a general care package for families in need. In these care packages, we have included your donations of the meal packets, along with snacks and paper goods, nonperishables, toiletries, hygiene products, paper goods, etc. If families come in with something specific, we will go ahead and make it for them on the spot and add in meal packets. We are so appreciative of your generosity and thank you for helping us reach out to those in need.
- 262,000 servings of nutritious food
- 100 cleaning supply kits (9 items each)
- 840 pounds (120 gallons) of bleach
- 300 masks for victims as they clean out their homes
Natural disasters are no respecter of persons. We saw people from all walks of life equally affected by this hurricane. Jesus loves them all, and so it was a blessing to represent Him to those with whom we connected. Being His hands and feet is why we are on this earth and why we were in Texas, thanks to your partnership.
Joseph Williams | CEO
This is why I donate to your organization. Your feedback is so powerful telling us how the people reacted to your service and how appreciative they were. So many times you donate money and never know where the money went. God is definitely working through this organization.
Great news that you were able to deliver help to an “in the moment” need. That certainly mimics Christ’s impact during his earthly ministry.
Thank you for the update.
Amen!