Good morning…
Today is November 1st, the day the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) benefits are set to expire for millions of vulnerable Americans. A 2023 report revealed that, of food stamp recipients in our country, about 39% were children, 20% were elderly, and 10% were non-elderly individuals with a disability. Though lawsuits are pending, just twenty-five minutes ago, the headline read: “As U.S. Senate remains in gridlock, SNAP benefits suspended.”
Last Monday afternoon, I talked with LaTonya Gates, Founder and Director of PAWkids, an active non-profit serving the Grove Park neighborhood of our community. I asked LaTonya, “How can we help?” She gave me the link to the PAWkids food drive, and in the following letter, LaTonya shared different ways we can help stand in the gap.
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PAWKids is stepping up we are providing direct support to families in our community who need it right now. And we’re inviting you to join us in two concrete ways to make a difference.
1. Gift Cards for Groceries and Family Meals ($25-$50)
Purchase gift cards in amounts of $25 to $50 for any of the following stores:
• Lidl
• Publix
• Target
• Walmart
• Kroger
• Jim and Nick
These cards serve as immediate, flexible resources for parents to choose the groceries their households need fresh produce, milk, family meals, etc. They empower dignity and choice.
2. Drop off Items at Claudia’s House on the PAWkids campus
If you prefer to donate food items directly, we welcome your contributions of perishable and non-perishable goods. Items like milk, eggs, fresh vegetables, meat, yogurt, and other refrigerated goods are especially helpful during this time.
You can bring items to Claudia’s house:
Monday, Wednesday, Thursdays 10:00 AM–2:00 PM, 1633 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30318
For more information please feel free to contact Ambria Kramer at (404) 953-3719.
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In addition, I have made it easier for my friends to get involved by offering to take gift cards, checks or donations to PAWkids when I go to the campus each Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning. So, if it helps you to drop off items in our mailbox or on our front porch, please do so at your convenience: Sue Allen, 2743 Vinings Oak Drive, Atlanta, GA 30339. You can also Venmo me funds (@Sue-Allen-34), indicating PAWkids donation, and I will put together a collective check for PAWkids each week with your generous donations.
In our class reading for this week, Sue Monk Kidd shares a Henri Nouwen quote on page 162 of God’s Joyful Surprise. “Christians ‘must go where love is.'” PAWkids is one place in our community where God’s love is; God’s love is multiplying in life-giving ways.
And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. As the Scriptures say,
“They share freely and give generously to the poor.
Their good deeds will be remembered forever.”
For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you (2 Corinthians 9:8-10, NlT).
…Sue…
