Brandon Twp.- Last Monday, St. Anne Church was abuzz with activity from nearly two dozen Ortonville Community Emergency Fund volunteers as they prepared to make Christmas merrier for 151 families in the Brandon School District and for the residents of eight area adult foster care homes.
Bags full of groceries line the halls leading to a large room where volunteers place food into the bags in shopping carts. Tables are lined with boxes of cereal, stuffing, cake mix, Jell-O, macaroni and cheese, and pancake mix, as well as canned vegetables, soups, pasta and more. The workers mark items off on a check list for each of the families, which range in size and ages.
One recipient will be a single 69-year-old woman. Another is a family of eight, including both children and adults.
In the sanctuary are large black plastic garbage bags that are filled not with food, but gifts. Out of one a gift bag with crayons and a pink toddler’s outfit can be seen. Another bag has a Sponge Bob comforter. A volunteer lifts a bag and a honking noise comes from it. Other brightly wrapped gifts are on chairs all over the room. Tags on some identify what is inside? in some cases, hats, gloves and scarves. In many more, gift cards to Payless Shoe Source, Meijer’s, Target and Kohl’s.
Annette Thompson is one of the volunteers and an OCEF board member. She walks among the rows of gifts and explains that she oversees the adopt-a-family program and fields phone calls from businesses and individuals who want to help with donations. This year, 75 families who applied for Christmas assistance were adopted by 60 benefactors.
‘It is rewarding,? says Thompson of her OCEF work, which she has been doing since 1989. ‘It keeps me grounded… Judy says I can’t quit and I can’t get fired.?
‘Judy? is Judy Henley, OCEF food pantry director. She is also Christian services coordinator for St. Anne, a job she has had since August 1999.
OCEF began in 1980 and is supported by several area churches besides St. Anne, including Ortonville United Methodist Church, Seymour Lake United Methodist Church, Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church, Lake Louise Church of the Nazarene, Prince of Peace Lutheran, Christ the Shepherd Lutheran Church and Ortonville Baptist Church.
The biggest change Henley said she has seen over the years is the increase in sheer numbers. In 2000, there were 15-20 families seeking food pantry assistance monthly, and now she sees 65-80 families per month all year long. The numbers increase at the holidays and it is not a result of community growth, Henley says.
‘It’s strictly people not making enough money to live on,? she said. ‘It’s the working poor not making enough for basic necessities… Even if you make $10 an hour, it’s difficult to support a family.?
Another change Henley has seen is a switch to giving more gift cards to families.
‘This allows family members the dignity of purchasing a gift for their child or themselves,? she explained. ‘It’s hard enough to ask for help, but gift cards allow them to select their child’s gift.?