Community Meals Christmas & Beyond
Tax deductible
The Community Meals Program is a nonprofit organization that started from the generous hearts of two women in Traverse City, Michigan. In 1990, Sandra Svec believed that no person should spend the holidays alone, so she started gathering donations and volunteers to serve holiday meals. Around the same time, the Traverse City State Hospital, a psychiatric hospital, closed and many of its residents became part of the city's growing homeless population. Vera Sparks, saddened by witnessing the struggles of the homeless, began gathering donated meals from local restaurants and serving them to those in need every Sunday and Monday.
In 2002, both operations became official as the Community Meal Program, Inc. To date, the Program serves thousands of meals each year, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter meals. During these holiday meals, many meals are delivered to shut-ins in the counties of Grand Traverse, Leelanau and Antrim. And, the Program continues to serve Sunday meals every week. These meals are served to anyone in need -- they are truly community meals -- such that regardless of need, whether it is hunger or loneliness, the Program is there to serve. The entire Program, whether its the Board of Directors, the holiday meals or the Sunday meals, is staffed entirely by volunteers. The Program, with origins in and strength from christianity, serves all people.
Unfortunately, the recession depleted the Program's funds. Many long-time contributing restaurants for the Sunday meals closed or cut-back on donating meals and the Program resorted to purchasing and cooking meals for its guests. For years now, the Program has been running week-to-week and holiday-to-holiday. Yet, the need for the Program is growing, as is evident from the growing homeless population in the area. For Thanksgiving 2016, the Program served 757 meals! Sadly, the Program's cash reserves are now depeleted, such that it doesn't have sufficient funds to serve the Christmas meal. Please consider a cash donation to the Program so that we many continue to serve those in need in our community. We need $2,000 to cover the Christmas meal. And, $5,000 to replenish our reserves. Please consider a donation to help our Program regain its financial strength so it may continue to provide this necessary service to those in need in our community.
Please check out our website and facebook page
Thank-you.
In 2002, both operations became official as the Community Meal Program, Inc. To date, the Program serves thousands of meals each year, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter meals. During these holiday meals, many meals are delivered to shut-ins in the counties of Grand Traverse, Leelanau and Antrim. And, the Program continues to serve Sunday meals every week. These meals are served to anyone in need -- they are truly community meals -- such that regardless of need, whether it is hunger or loneliness, the Program is there to serve. The entire Program, whether its the Board of Directors, the holiday meals or the Sunday meals, is staffed entirely by volunteers. The Program, with origins in and strength from christianity, serves all people.
Unfortunately, the recession depleted the Program's funds. Many long-time contributing restaurants for the Sunday meals closed or cut-back on donating meals and the Program resorted to purchasing and cooking meals for its guests. For years now, the Program has been running week-to-week and holiday-to-holiday. Yet, the need for the Program is growing, as is evident from the growing homeless population in the area. For Thanksgiving 2016, the Program served 757 meals! Sadly, the Program's cash reserves are now depeleted, such that it doesn't have sufficient funds to serve the Christmas meal. Please consider a cash donation to the Program so that we many continue to serve those in need in our community. We need $2,000 to cover the Christmas meal. And, $5,000 to replenish our reserves. Please consider a donation to help our Program regain its financial strength so it may continue to provide this necessary service to those in need in our community.
Please check out our website and facebook page
Thank-you.
Organizer
Julie Townley Gillum
Organizer
Traverse City, MI
Community Meals Program Inc
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
