By Darragh Doiron
The kids have been good this year, Teddy Adams said.
He has five children aged 2 to 12 and especially recalls their exemplary camaraderie in that evacuation hotel room packed with tense siblings and a puppy.
“We really can’t do a lot for Christmas this year. We told them it was going to be a small Christmas and they’re being good about it,” Adams, of Port Neches, said.
Adams has polyostic fibrous dysplasia and is on a crutch and disability. Over his lifetime he’s had 40 surgeries for week bones, having broken his left leg four times, his right hip four times and his left hip two times.
But a trip picking out toys for his clan gave him holiday hope. He and Kristin Dennis received support from Community Care-Prayer Outreach in Nederland. They chose toys just right for the children from a sea of balls, dolls and games.
“It means a lot,” Adams said, emotional as he described the financial strain of evacuating twice this hurricane season.
Nationwide, times are tough. With thousands facing layoffs and home losses, many families that make charitable giving part of their holiday tradition may be stressed for funds to fill their own stockings.
A survey of charities serving Mid-County needy indicates the season of giving is in full force, despite economical strain and devastation from Hurricane Ike.
Community Care-Prayer Outreach
Tracy Droddy, assistant director, said Kristi Thompson volunteered to help match families with gifts to make them smile Christmas morning. Droddy said money and merchandise comes in strong and leaves to support those who need it most.
“It’s been a little down,” she said about this year’s collections. “But it’s amazing with this economy people are not saying ‘I can’t afford it.’ They are still in that giving mode,” she aid.
United Board of Missions
The United Board of Missions food pantry has a stock for now, but operators are always looking ahead.
“The fuller they are the better, we feel. They can always be fuller,” Loyd Patterson, UMB financial officer, said.
“We have seen an increase in inquiries for all of our services this year. Since the hurricane, we’ve been busier than we have been in the past. We’re seeing a lot of people that have not been here before,” he said. “It goes all the way back to Gustav. People in apartment complexes are saying that when they had to evacuate, they were told to throw everything out. They came back here with nothing, so they’ve come to us.”
Donations come from individuals, local churches and food drives.
“We’ve gotten really lucky this year,” he said about school, industry and church drive supplies.
“That’s what we rely on all year long is these holiday food drives,” Patterson said.
Southeast Texas Food Bank
“Hunger really is an issue in our community. It’s not a problem that you can see,” Emelie Irving said.
Irving, executive director of the Southeast Texas Food Bank, said some seniors have to choose between medicine and food.
“It looks like donations are on par this year. It doesn’t look like we had a drop,” Irving said. “I think Southeast Texans are generous when they think of their neighbors not having enough to eat.”
The Beaumont bank services eight counties to help feed about 17,000 low-income households a year. The Hospitality Center, St. James Community Church and The Rock Community Outreach are among recipients, she said.
Irving said Bridge City and Sabine Pass, which Hurricane Ike hit so savagely, are areas of concentration.
“There’s still a lot of need in those communities. After Ike, I would say there was an increase in donations. We normally distribute about 5 million pounds of food annually. We had 2 million pounds in the eight weeks after Ike,” she said.
Salvation Army
Maj. Leonel Ortiz said the need always keeps up the donations.
“There’s a need and during Christmas it doubles and triples,” Ortiz said. “Especially this year, we’ve had two evacuations and the need is just tremendous. The phones keep on ringing and it tells us that there are a lot of people out there that are requesting some kind of aid.”
This year the Mid and South Jefferson County Salvation Army plans to help 240 families with food and toys and hundreds of senior citizens in homes. Those seniors will get gifts such as blankets and slippers. The Angel Tree and Kettle Drive are two major supports for these projects, Ortiz said.
Less money?
Monday’s Austin American Statesman includes information on a recent survey by the Association of Fundraising Professionals reported that 53 percent of 347 charities surveyed said they are raising less money this holiday season than they did last year. According to a separate survey by Charity Navigator — a New Jersey-based nonprofit that rates other charities — 84 percent of the 5,300 respondents said they expected to raise less money this holiday season than they did last year.
ddoiron@panews.com
