Ruth Kittner is fundraising
Feeding Wilkinsburg's Hungry!
Wilkinsburg Community Ministry provides food and necessities for Borough residents in emergencies. Our food programs offer an emergency pantry and a walk-through pantry. You can learn more about us here --our website is undergoing construction but the pertinent information is posted.
In the summer we feed Wilkinsburg kids through 10 food sites throughout the Borough. Did you know that 40% of the school-aged kids in Wilkinsburg are technically homeless? Or that 80 percent live at or below the poverty level? And their parents work 2 or 3 jobs to try to keep body and soul together? For some of these kids and their parents, the ONLY meal they get during the summer is the one we provide for them at several sites throughout the Borough.
We are constantly fund raising. It's a never ending process, because people need to eat every day. We get some help from Pennsylvania, but this doesn't cover the cost of food, much less of the labor to prepare it. The need is particularly urgent now: we will provide about 7000-8000 meals this summer-- in 3 weeks in June, we've served about 1500 meals, and most of the summer food sites aren't fully operating yet. July will be our busiest month! We expect to serve almost 4,000 meals.
Obviously, this means a lot to those of us who work here: there are five of us, two cooks, an office clerk, a driver and myself. None of us will get rich doing this, but we are dedicated to the cause. Wilkinsburg's problems are vast: it's a blighted Borough with an eroded tax base. Wilkinsburg families work hard to provide for themselves, but it's like a treadmill that moves faster and faster.
If you cannot make a cash gift, and you live locally, we are also seeking material for children's hygiene packs: bottles of body soap, tooth paste, tooth brushes (children's sizes), hair accoutrements, combs, brushes, etc. These will be distributed to the kids via the guidance counselors, teachers, and nurses at the two elementary schools in Wilkinsburg.
We also always look for shelf stable food products: boxes of cereal, shelf-stable meats, canned fruits, etc. Once a week we distribute bread and pastries, and we'd love to distribute some fresh fruit, too. We have serious needs all the time for boxes of cereal and canned fruit (in water, or LIGHT syrup).
In the summer we feed Wilkinsburg kids through 10 food sites throughout the Borough. Did you know that 40% of the school-aged kids in Wilkinsburg are technically homeless? Or that 80 percent live at or below the poverty level? And their parents work 2 or 3 jobs to try to keep body and soul together? For some of these kids and their parents, the ONLY meal they get during the summer is the one we provide for them at several sites throughout the Borough.
We are constantly fund raising. It's a never ending process, because people need to eat every day. We get some help from Pennsylvania, but this doesn't cover the cost of food, much less of the labor to prepare it. The need is particularly urgent now: we will provide about 7000-8000 meals this summer-- in 3 weeks in June, we've served about 1500 meals, and most of the summer food sites aren't fully operating yet. July will be our busiest month! We expect to serve almost 4,000 meals.
Obviously, this means a lot to those of us who work here: there are five of us, two cooks, an office clerk, a driver and myself. None of us will get rich doing this, but we are dedicated to the cause. Wilkinsburg's problems are vast: it's a blighted Borough with an eroded tax base. Wilkinsburg families work hard to provide for themselves, but it's like a treadmill that moves faster and faster.
If you cannot make a cash gift, and you live locally, we are also seeking material for children's hygiene packs: bottles of body soap, tooth paste, tooth brushes (children's sizes), hair accoutrements, combs, brushes, etc. These will be distributed to the kids via the guidance counselors, teachers, and nurses at the two elementary schools in Wilkinsburg.
We also always look for shelf stable food products: boxes of cereal, shelf-stable meats, canned fruits, etc. Once a week we distribute bread and pastries, and we'd love to distribute some fresh fruit, too. We have serious needs all the time for boxes of cereal and canned fruit (in water, or LIGHT syrup).
- S
- B
- A
27 supporters
guidestar.org/profile/25-1196619