Outreach in Action

At Outreach, Christmas begins long before cold weather sets in

by Jo Mayer and Paul Crandall

“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.”

—Scrooge, in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”

Sure, it may be a hot day in July, but Christmastime is never far from our thoughts at Stockbridge Community Outreach.  Things get very busy for us in November and December as we ramp up for our holiday programs.

To those who qualify, we offer bags of special holiday food for Thanksgiving and Christmas, along with a turkey for Thanksgiving and a ham or pork loin for Christmas. Last year we served over 200 families with these special meals.

Another big Christmastime effort: our Adopt-a-family program, where families who need a bit of help are “adopted” by area individuals or groups. Those adoptees receive gifts along with their Christmas food.  Last year, this program served over 100 families.

These, and other Outreach efforts like year-round assistance with utility bills and rent support, are major undertakings that help a lot of people in our community. Funding for them is not something that can wait until the snow flies.

Enter, “Christmas in July”—a focused funding effort that helps keep the sleigh bells ringing all year long.

For the second year, The State Bank is offering to match every donation we receive in July, up to a total of $5,000.  This means, if a person donates $50 in July, The State Bank will donate $50 to match that, bringing the total to $100.  It is a nifty way to give twice as much!

“This is our major fundraiser,” Outreach Director Gwen Reid said. “Last year, we raised over $13,000 from the Christmas in July fundraising drive and we hope to do even better this year!”  She added that most of the money went toward helping clients with their utility bills.

Another major Outreach benefactor over the past few years has been Chelsea Hospital’s Community Benefit Fund. Vital contributions from this Fund help with operating costs, allowing Outreach to allocate whatever money is raised from the community directly to helping clients.

In 2023, Outreach used donated funds or grants to provide the following assistance:

• Sent home over 3,500 Tide-Me-Over bags to kids from preschool through high school
• Handed out over 4,500 bags of food at our weekly Wednesday “Pop Up” curbside distribution
• Registered 44 new clients
• Spent over $30,000 on utility assistance
• Served nearly 1,000 families using our free clothing room
• Offered two free mobile health clinics

We are honored to offer such services “all the year” and so grateful for the vast community support we receive, making our work possible.

Anyone wishing to contribute to Christmas in July may send checks to Stockbridge Community Outreach, PO Box 682, Stockbridge, MI 49285 or through PayPal at www.stockbridgecommunityoutreach.org.  Please note in the memo that it is for Christmas in July.

It may be hot in July, but Christmas Outreach is never far from our thoughts. Donate to Stockbridge Community Outreach in July, and The State Bank will match every donation received, up to a total of $5,000. Image credit: krakenimages on unsplash.com