Holiday Hope: The Shepherd's Staff needs help in its mission to offer assistance to Carroll County residents in crisis - Baltimore Sun

1 year ago 46

Editor’s note: This communicative is portion of a bid moving done December profiling the six section charities that volition payment from the 2022 Holiday Hope campaign, sponsored by The Carroll County Times and the Kahlert Foundation.

The Shepherd’s Staff, a Carroll County-based nonprofit, says much country residents are seeking assistance this twelvemonth due to the fact that of rising inflation, which has led to higher costs astatine market stores and state pumps.

“People are truly struggling,” said Brenda Meadows, the nonprofit’s enforcement director. “We are seeing much moving families and seniors. With ostentation costs up galore radical conscionable can’t marque it.”

Meadows said seniors who unrecorded connected monthly societal information payments are uncovering those payments are not capable to marque ends meet.

“That’s a colonisation that person ever wanted to bash things themselves,” she said.

The Shepherd’s Staff is simply a nondenominational Christian outreach and enactment halfway with locations successful Westminster, Eldersburg and New Windsor, It offers fellowship, fiscal assistance and aesculapian support, and provides transportation, nutrient and clothes, among different things.

“We are fundamentally a halt spread for radical successful crisis,” Meadows said. “We’re privately funded, which means we are solely supported by the community. We don’t person immoderate county, authorities oregon national giving.”

Meadows said successful 2021 the nonprofit helped 4,500 individuals, and truthful acold this year, the fig has jumped to much than 5,000. By the extremity of the year, she expects to person helped 5,500 individuals.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to interaction fundraising efforts for the organization, located astatine 30 Carroll St. successful Westminster.

“Fundraising is inactive challenging,” Meadows said. “We’re not backmost to mean yet.”

In 2020, the nonprofit raised $42,066. In 2021, that fig dropped to $28,735.

Meadows said this twelvemonth the nonprofit hopes to rise what they did pre-pandemic, successful 2019 — $65,000.

“We can’t bash what we bash without the community, and their support,” she said. “Carroll County is simply a large assemblage arsenic acold arsenic giving. We person hundreds of volunteers, and we’re blessed to person enactment with the radical we serve.”

The nonprofit has 1 full-time unit subordinate and 4 part-timers.

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Shepherd’s Staff is holding a escaped Christmas performance for the assemblage astatine 7 p.m., Dec. 10, astatine Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3184 Church St., Manchester. Attendees are asked to bring nonperishable nutrient items and idiosyncratic attraction products, specified arsenic toothbrushes, shampoo and soap, arsenic donations.

The enactment is besides holding an online lawsuit — the Giving Tree — wherever radical tin bargain a virtual decoration — prima ($250), presents ($100), ornaments ($50) oregon lights ($25) — to grant a household subordinate oregon friend. The nexus is https://www.shepstaff.org/giving-tree.

The enactment is again filling Christmas stockings with gifts that volition beryllium fixed to families with children. To hole for winter, the nonprofit is besides collecting caller coats to manus retired to children and adults. Men’s coats successful larger sizes are particularly needed, Meadows said.

To enactment successful Holiday Hope, donate online astatine tinyurl.com/42hvad5h oregon constitute a cheque payable to 1 of the organizations beneath and nonstop to: Holiday Hope, 332-140 Village Road PM8179, Westminster, MD 21157. Include the signifier recovered wrong the people variation of The Carroll County Times to person a convey you paper from the organization.