Groceries for Families: Week 2 - Day 2

March 31, 2020

Tuesday has come and gone…another very fun and successful day.  Sixty families were invited today and most came, despite the weather getting colder all day.  People were in good moods and were very calm, following the social distancing processes we have in place.

Groceries were delivered by Cornerstone Fellowship and Crossroads Bible Church.  It is quite a sight to see 60 orders (120 bags) of groceries fill the lobby of Jubilee REACH.  Site Coaches were on hand to sort them and deliver them to families.

Today was also a day where other volunteers who have offered to shop for bulk food items and personal hygiene items delivered their treasure to Jubilee.  Vehicles pulled up all morning and into the afternoon.  I’ll highlight two organizations, which have been connected to Jubilee for years, NCL (National Charity League) and NLYM (National League of Young Men).  These groups are highly organized and have made a scavenger hunt out of finding the hard to locate items needed.  A vehicle piled to the top pulled up, with Karyn delivering with a big smile. Thank you to all those who brought such items today and in recent days. 

A welcome surprise delivery from the Lake Samm Foursquare Church food bank brought a lot of vegetables, potatoes, canned goods, fruit, and breads to add to the “store” in front of Jubilee.  This allows families to take a bit more, choosing what they like.  

Welcome to Creekside Covenant Church, which will be supplying groceries on Tuesdays!

Thank you all for your continued support of this program.  It is making a difference in the lives of many families in our community.

Serving together,
Ken Carpenter
Service Coordinator, Jubilee REACH

Groceries for Families: Week 2 - Day 1

March 30, 2020

Today is the 1st day of week 2 for this program and the first time to go from 20 families to 60.  Groceries today were provided by CityHill Bellevue, Lighthouse Christian, and Rain City Churches.  Delivery was smooth and on time, ahead of the rough weather that came later.

New processes and procedures were introduced today to account for the larger group of people expected with the 60 families, all with the goal of being safe & keeping people separated.  The staff now all dons yellow vests and cones keep people separated in line. With no exceptions, the families followed the rules and were happy to have the precautions taken.  Other than the heavy hail and rain at times, today was very calm and smooth for having so many orders going out.

A few stories for you:

An email from a family: “To: The volunteers and staff at Jubilee Reach. Thank you for your time, your service has made a difference in our lives. We are Thankful for the food and the other items we have received. God Bless you all, Debra – grandmother, grandkids- age 10, age 8, age-2”

An email from a church volunteer coordinators (common sentiments shared by other, too): “Thank you so much for coordinating this.  You are not only helping those that need the groceries.  You are also helping those who want desperately to be able to help.  I have had a hard time sitting at home wishing I could be out there helping.  Being in the higher risk category, I know it's wise to stay in, but it's been difficult.  (It's hard getting older...)  This task has given me something to do that is making a difference for those that are hurting.  And it's giving our people a way to help.”

An email from a family:  “I just wanted to take the time to say thank you so much for everything! Especially with the diapers that really helped us out this week and thank you to the volunteers/ delivery volunteers really helped out having our stuff delivered especially with two kids. Again thank you jubilee reach!”

Please share these stories.  The service being provided by the many volunteers, who never get to see the families face to face, are making a difference in this community.

Welcome to the Evangelical Chinese Church of Redmond and Covenant Presbyterian Church of Issaquah to the grocery program.  CPC has been providing bulk items and personal hygiene from the beginning and is now adopting families on Fridays. 

There are now 205 families in this program.  The waiting list is clear, so everyone who has been referred to Jubilee is being served.  We’ll see if it grows.  Thank you all for stepping forward to answer the need.

Bless you!
Ken Carpenter
Service Coordinator, Jubilee REACH

Groceries for Families: Week 1 - Day 6

March 28, 2020

We have just finished distribution for day 6, which concludes the first full week of the program.  Groceries were brought this morning by Common Good Church and Bellevue Presbyterian.  Thank you!  Today, 28 scheduled families received groceries and plenty of personal hygiene items.  Five of them were delivered to their homes.  There were some extra orders brought, so five additional families were able to be served.

The crew this morning consisted of two site coaches, Kandan & Aleigha, (see attached picture), as well as my own teenage children.  My kids speak Spanish, so their language skills were needed today, with Daniel taking a much deserved day off.  The picture shows the coaches next to the white board listing all of today’s families.

Today, we welcome Sacred Heart Catholic Parish to this program and email list.  They will be providing groceries next Thursday.  Welcome!

Tomorrow is a day off for the program, so no email will be sent.  We’ll start again Monday with 60 families on the schedule that day!

Cheers,
Ken Carpenter
Service Coordinator, Jubilee REACH

Groceries for Families: Week 1 - Day 5

March 27, 2020

Day 5 was another smooth and calm one for us all.  There is definitely a nice rhythm being found by all involved.

Groceries arrived from Crossroads Bible Church. Families started arriving right at 1pm, with lots of smiles.  Like yesterday, we recognized many faces and were able to greet some by name.

Outside, there is a canopy set up with all the extra food items being donated, other than the groceries.  (see attached picture)  We have also set up feminine hygiene products here, so women can choose for themselves.  It’s a good experience that families can do some “shopping”, along with what they are given.

There is also a whiteboard set up listing all the available items inside.  Families are able “order” what is needed.  Site coaches scoot back to my office where there is a wall of hygiene and cleaning products ready to pick from.

A few stories for you:

The first four families today all needed size 6 diapers, which drained our inventory.  I sent a quick email out to volunteers who are shopping for such items.  Within an hour, another package of size 6 appeared.  Thank you!

Of the 20 orders today, we were scheduled to deliver 3 of them.  Two of those three ended up coming in person, too excited to wait and wanting to see what was happening.  We did deliver the final order.

Only one family didn’t show up today.  When we called the mother, she said she was simply too sick to come.  We offered to deliver the order, but she asked us to give it to someone else in needed.  We are already in need of extra orders tomorrow, so it will go to a family on the list then.

The waiting list is continuing to steadily grow.  Churches are continuing to come on board to meet this need.  Welcome Lighthouse Christian and Cornerstone Fellowship!  Beginning next week, the current total count of families being served is 150.

Thank you for a wonderful week.  Looking forward to one final day tomorrow and then a day of rest.

Ken Carpenter
Service Coordinator, Jubilee REACH

Groceries for Families: Week 1 - Day 4

March 26, 2020

Here we are at the end of day 4.  It’s hard to believe just a week ago this entire program was just a nudge.  Thank all for being such a huge part of pulling it together quickly.

Groceries were delivered today by Doxa Church (see attached picture with two site coaches and ½ the groceries), which called an audible by adding spaghetti sauce to the ordered pasta.  Evidently, one cannot be given without the other, so they taught me a lesson.  😊

Bulk food were given out with the groceries for the first time this week:  flour, rice, pinto beans, sugar and butter.  Families were very excited to see the ingredients to many favorites they can make themselves.

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A few stories for you:

This email came today from a man who was at Jubilee REACH earlier in the day to pick up gift cards for his own need, and saw what was happening.  “In one word…Thank you!!!   Today, I saw all of you working for the community, you guys, are amazing! You touched my Heart! I can feel God in each one of you, guys! Sincerely with truly feelings!”   (He isn’t part of the grocery program yet, but his family is now on the waiting list.)  

Today was the first day for people to return.  We are recognizing faces and getting to know names.  People arrived earlier than Monday and all had smiles on their faces as we greeted them.  It seems this may turn into a family!

Yesterday, a woman showed up quite desperate for size 6 diapers, which we didn’t have.  The Well Community Church had earlier in the week supplied gift cards to Target.  A site coach drove to Target, bought the size 6 diapers and delivered them to her home.  Wow!

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There are now 120 families confirmed in the program, all with people in the community supporting them.  This means 40 families coming each day, each twice a week.  The waiting list is growing slowly but steadily, and we’ll be adding them 20 at a time.

There are quite a few individuals, organizations, and churches bringing personal hygiene and bulk food items nearly daily.  These are tremendous gifts that are steadily going out to the families. 

Thanks to you all.  Keep going,
Ken Carpenter
Service Coordinator, Jubilee REACH

Groceries for Families: Week 1 - Day 3

March 25, 2020

Day 3 today was another success which had a new sense of calm about it, as we learn best practices and get comfortable with the rhythm of a day.  Groceries were delivered in the morning by Bellevue Presbyterian Church with much excitement and celebration.

Distribution was handled by Jubilee Site Coaches, who love being on the front lines and caring for people.  It was a joy to watch them in action.

More bulk foods were delivered by donors and packed on site.  There are now 60 bags (see attached pictures) with Ziploc bags of flour, rice, pinto beans, and sugar.  We’ll be adding sticks of butter.  Over the next 3 days, all 60 families will receive these extra bulk items.

The shelves of personal hygiene items are well stocked and steadily being claimed by families in need.

A few stories for you:

A woman came to claim her first order of groceries and went away very happy with arms full.  Not long after, she returned, this time bringing her friend/neighbor who was in need of help but not on our list.  Daniel qualified her quickly as a family with kids at Interlake and Odle.  We added her to the wait list but were actually able to give her groceries, as BelPres had brought 6 extra orders.  All of these extra orders went out to people in a similar manner.  (Note to Churches – feel free to bring extra orders.  It seems obvious such opportunities to help random people will be continuing.)

At the end of the day, a woman who was on the waiting list already, showed up today, seeing if we had any personal hygiene items.  She had a baby and three girls in the car.  She was very pleasant, but it was very easy to see her anxiety.  We provided her a bag full of hygiene items and a box of diapers.  We had one final order of extra groceries remaining, so were able to give them to her, too.  She is now on the service list beginning next week. 

As I wrote yesterday, we were actively looking to grow the program from 60 families to 120 families, beginning next Monday.  I’m happy to report that has been accomplished!  New churches have joined and current churches have increased their numbers.  Welcome to Highland Covenant and Rain City.

Monday through Saturday, there will now be 40 families provided with groceries and personal hygiene items each day, with each family coming two times weekly.  All of these groceries, bulk food items and personal hygiene items have been generously donated by churches, organizations, and individuals.

Thank you all for your hard work and dedication.  Together, we are helping people in this community.

Bless you all,
Ken Carpenter
Service Coordinator, Jubilee REACH