Get all Details at www.georgetowngrand.com

1)      PEAS

2)      CORN

3)      REFRIED BEANS

4)      BLACK BEANS

5)      JELLO/PUDDING

6)      FRUIT JUICE

7)      ROTEL

If you would like to do a food drive for us, please contact Rita at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 943-0702.

We are looking for volunteers for the following positions;

Switchboard operator – shifts are available Monday thru Friday, shifts are 9am to 12:30 & 12:30 to 4pm.  Ability to handle four incoming phone lines.  Responsible for answering and transferring calls to correct person.  Excellent customer service skills needed.

Intake Specialist – shifts are available Monday thru Friday, shifts are 9am to 12:30 & 12:30 to 4pm.   Intake specialist will be responsible for speaking to clients and updating their information into our computer system.  Must have great customer service skills, ability to work with families, computers and data entry.  Will be making decision if all presenting documentation supports the crisis and our guidelines.  Will NOT be making decision about service delivery.

Quality Assurance – Need 10 volunteers. Shifts are 9am to 12:30 & 12:30 to 4pm This position will be responsible for quality control of our files.  Will need good attention to detail to look at the file and ensure the information is correct in our computer system.

All interested parties will need to fill out a volunteer application which can be found at www.caringplacetx.org.  We will also run a criminal background check on perspective volunteers.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact Rita Turner at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (512)943-0702.

Many of the indicators suggest the economy is recovering, but don’t tell that to area families still in the grip of the economic squeeze. These are folks caught up in the daily struggle to feed their families – working hard to fulfill one of the most basic of human needs. Most of us simply take that for granted as we push our shopping carts thru the abundant HEB aisles.

The Caring Place experienced a record-setting distribution of over 352 tons of food to nearly 3,900 families last year. And to top that off – the demand for food during the first three months of 2011 is even greater than ever before. Through the end of March, 1,064 families have received 113,295 pounds of food. This compares to 817 families receiving 83,580 pounds during the same period in 2010. This reflects an incredible 30% increase in the number of families seeking assistance, and a 35% increase in the amount of food being distributed.

The shelves in the food pantry reflect this huge volume increase, as there are more bare spots which need immediate attention to fill. The largest portion of non-perishable food on the pantry shelves come though the community food drives held at various businesses, churches, schools, and organizations throughout the community, as well as from individuals who drop off food when they come by to donate items for us to sell in the store.  The Caring Place also has to purchase both perishible and non-perishible food when the shelves are bare and food drives fall short, spending nearly $25,000 in 2010 to keep the shelves filled.

If you or your group or organization would like to schedule a food drive to benefit area families, please contact Rita Turner at The Caring Place by calling 869-4735, ext 231. Rita will provide you with a list of the most critically needed items, and make arrangements to drop off collection barrels, help with the publicity, and arrange for the return trip to pick up the filled barrels. Also, be watching for the next big community-wide food drive – Help Stamp Out Hunger on the second Saturday in May. This annual collection is conducted by the National Postal Letter Carriers Union and provided over 27,000 pounds of food to The Caring Place in 2010.

You can also help out The Caring Place by dropping off food in the special barrels at the front of Georgetown’s HEB stores. All of this food comes directly to The Caring Place to help hungry families.

Contact Rita Turner at 869-4735 for more information or to learn how to volunteer in this rewarding area.

The Caring Place

Board of Directors Approves Building Expansion Project

At a special board meeting on Monday, February 21, The Board of Directors of The Caring Place unanimously approved an exciting building expansion project. This aggressive project is designed to allow The Caring Place to better serve more families in need in Georgetown and Northern Williamson County.

The actual construction project will start in March 2011, and if all goes well the building should be completed in September 2011. The centerpiece of the construction project is a 4,600 square foot two-story addition to the north end of the building. The construction project has three primary goals: 1) To better serve more families by increasing the amount of space allocated to our Client Services area; 2) to enable us to better inventory, manage, and organize our food distribution processes and to serve families out of our food pantry; and 3) to expand our retail space and establish additional specialty shops within our thrift store. The creation of more retail space enhances our revenue generating capability.

The need for the expansion is reflected by our second consecutive record-setting year during which we exceeded all previous levels of services to families in need.

This will be the fifth move or major expansion for The Caring Place since it was created in 1985, and the third expansion at the present location.