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HISTORY OF COMMUNITY CARE CENTER

During a free community Thanksgiving dinner sponsored by one of our local organizations it was noticed that there is a large number of needy families in the area. We investigated and found that approximately 100 families in our city were receiving food assistance from a food pantry in a neighboring town. We also discovered that some of our residents were being denied assistance because the other pantries were becoming overburdened with their own residents.

A discussion of this situation at a Chamber of Commerce meeting led to the formation of a committee to create our own food pantry that would serve our city and several small surrounding communities, with our goal being to eliminate hunger in our area. The USDA reports that one out of every ten people in Illinois are "food insecure". This includes those who are temporarily unemployed, and those who are working at minimum wage jobs and are not able to make enough to pay for food after rent and utilities. By receiving food assistance, there is a better chance that their existing resources can be used to pay for other necessities.

Our committee met monthly beginning in December 2003. We visited other food pantries to learn what needed to be done and began searching for a suitable location. We contacted the Northern Illinois Food Bank and had their rep meet with our committee for a presentation to educate us. We also toured the Food Bank facility to learn how donated food is processed and distributed to pantries. We contacted various businesses, civic organizations, and local churches to establish financial support of the cause.

In the meantime we continued to search for a location, utilizing newspaper articles and by making presentations to the local school board and to our city council, hoping that we might be able to lease any unused space until a more permanent home could be found. With the help of our mayor we learned of a house that the city was planning on purchasing for another use. The sale to the city was finalized, we made our request to the City Council, and they voted to allow the Community Care Center to sign a lease for use of the building. We recruited a team of volunteers from local churches and civic organizations to clean up and prepare the old house in August of 2004.

We then began a campaign to raise funds. We wrote letters, knocked on doors, made phone calls, put up posters and placed articles in the local newspaper. We were able to raise enough money to purchase our first few shipments of food, and also received donations of three freezers and a larger cooler to store perishables.

We arranged with the food pantry in a neighboring town to advise their clients from our area that they could receive help from Braidwood beginning October 2004. Our first shipment of food arrived early September 2004. We had a crew of 10 volunteers that helped unload, organize and put away approximately 4,000 pounds of food. We used that shipment as a learning experience before we actually started serving clients. Our second shipment of about 4,000 pounds of food was received early October 2004 and we had about 15 volunteers to assist.

We opened our doors to serve clients on October 5, 2004 with a crew of 7 volunteers.

We are currently open every Tuesday from 10 am. till 2 p.m. During that time we serve an average of 20 families each week, with the help of 5 or 6 volunteers. We receive food shipments the first Monday of each month and are assisted by an average of 10 volunteers.

We draw volunteers on a rotating basis from a current list of about 25 people. We have at least 2 or 3 experienced workers each week in order to train new volunteers.                                         One person takes care of registration at the front desk, two escort the clients through the distribution area, one takes care of the refrigerated and frozen foods, and the bakery goods. One carries the groceries out to the client's car. We restock the shelves in the distribution area during "lulls" throughout the day.

Our pantry is a "client choice" facility, which means that we let the client choose the food they want to eliminate the problem of having them take home items that their families will not consume. The quantity for each item is determined by available stock and/or family size. Each family takes home about 4 boxes of food. We have had 100% positive feed-back.

We continue to receive regular monthly financial support from local churches, various individuals and civic organizations. In addition to the food we purchase at a greatly reduced rate (approximately 19 cents per pound) from Northern Illinois Food Bank, we also receive government commodities and donated food from various food drives held by local organizations.

Each Tuesday a volunteer drives 20 miles to pick up "day-old" bakery items in the form of cakes, pies, rolls, cookies and specialty breads from a grocery chain store.

Our Lions Club always has several volunteers at the ready to assist when ever needed.

We have posters up at various locations advising residents of the service we offer. That, along with word-of-mouth advertising, our client base has grown from what was supposed to be only about 100 families, to an actual 479 separate families as of October 2006. Our library, city hall, police department, and churches refer clients to us. If there is an emergency situation where a family cannot wait until the next service day, we make arrangements to open the pantry outside of regular hours. Our clients register and sign a form indicating their monthly income does not exceed the limits set by DHS. Clients are eligible to return for food once every 30 days. We keep records in the form of a daily log.

We received the State of Illinois Governor's Hometown Award for the positive impact our pantry has made in the community.

We report monthly to the Braidwood City Council. Our committee currently consists of:

Mayor Wayne Saltzman, Noreen Brandle pantry director, April Highbaugh assistant director, and Diane Burns.

Anyone interested in volunteering for the Community Care Center should contact Noreen Brandle at 815-458-9954 to be put on the volunteer schedule. In addition, financial support is always needed and appreciated. Contributions can be sent to Community Care Center, 112 S. Center St., Braidwood, IL 60408.

 

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This Site was last updated 02/08/2009 Copyright 2007 City of Braidwood