Outreach in Action: Serendipity and the goodness of community make special Outreach moments

by Jo Mayer and Paul Crandall

Past installments of this column have cast a spotlight on some of the countless organizations and individuals who help make Outreach successful. But present in everything we do are also less tangible elements: faith, goodness, and serendipity.

At Outreach, we are awed every week at how things we need often seem to arrive just in time, both on an organizational level and on a personal level for our clients.

Having faith in the goodness of our community and believing that “things will work out” accompany the many serendipities we see.

Just looking at the past couple of months, we have seen a number of donated items appear and then immediately go back out with folks who stopped in looking for just that sort of item. These include things like a microwave, a coffee pot and curtains.

Our clients look out for one another, too. In early December, we were handing out food during our weekly Wednesday food distribution, serving folks who were lined up in dozens of cars waiting for their groceries. This particular week, we were also handing out diapers to people who had signed up with the Chelsea Diaper Bank’s program. As we were putting a bag of diapers into one car, the woman in the car behind that one flagged us to ask, “Does she need baby food, too? I have some here I was bringing in to donate.” Indeed, the woman in the first car did need baby food, and the handoff was made. We were amazed at how that worked out. Smiles all around.

Another December example: a donor brought in a couple of artificial Christmas trees and some decorations. We put them near our food distribution table to take care of later, but within minutes, someone pulled up in line and mentioned that they and the other family in their car didn’t have a tree or decorations. Before we knew it, our task had become their treasure.

We offer a place for the exchange of goods, but also for the exchange of good wishes, good advice, good feelings and just a general impulse of wanting to “do good.” These things may be hard to define or quantify, but we’d be hard pressed to offer what we do without them. This community makes it easy for us to “keep the faith!”

Thanks to all who helped in big and small ways throughout 2023 and into the new year!

Thanks to Outreach supporters in the community and at Chelsea Hospital, over 100 families were adopted for Christmas 2023. About a dozen others shopped the Outreach “Christmas room” filled with gifts from Stuff-a-Bus, the Bev Penix toy drive, and donations from individuals, churches and other organizations. Photo credit: Jo Mayer

On any given Wednesday, cars line up for Outreach food distribution. Many serendipitous occurrences take place in these lines. Photo credit: Jo Mayer

This column is sponsored by Stockbridge Community Outreach, our local food pantry, crisis, and referral center located in the Stockbridge Activity Center (old middle school) near Cherry and Elm streets in Stockbridge. Office hours are 1-3 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday and by appointment. Outreach49285@gmail.com, 517-851-7285, or find us on Facebook.