We'd love to share some information with you that we hope will give you an inside look at what is happening at The Caring Place. Throughout the pandemic, The Caring Place has worked hard to protect its mission to provide for the basic human needs of people in our community. We feel it’s critical to be able to serve a struggling a community through every circumstance, so we did whatever was needed to serve families in need. We felt that was our priority. In order to prioritize the health of our mission, we made some temporary changes that also prioritized the health of all who come to The Caring Place, including many neighbors in need:
- We greatly reduced the number of people in The Caring Place for over a year by pressing pause on most volunteer participation. That’s a workforce of a few hundred faithful folks. While many volunteers are now returning, it’s a gradual process. We are still practicing some safety protocols like social distancing to ensure our work is carried out safely. Some volunteers are also still waiting until they feel a little safer in regards to the virus before they return. We are encouraging everyone to do what they feel is right for them. So until our full workforce returns, we are doing what’s necessary to get the job done. This does greatly impact our hours, as you may suspect.
- We operate our Food Pantry 2-3 days a week in our outdoor drive though. This is new since the pandemic and this area is shared with the Donations area, making it critical that both departments do their best to share space and move stored items throughout the week. Warehouse Staff are often now often working with both Donations and the Food Pantry on any given day due to the change in how we handle Food Programs. Since we have seen a large number of folks this past year in need of food, having food easy to access in a safe way has remained important.
We know these changes have caused some inconveniences to those wishing to donate items, but in order to best carry out our mission with the people power and resources we have had this year, they have been the right choices for us. The good news is that volunteers are returning. We are incredibly excited about the prospect of expanding hours again in areas like Donations. We know it means a lot to our community, and to us as well! As you can imagine, it does take some time to coordinate the efforts across an organization like The Caring Place. We are working hard to make many anticipated changes this fall. We do completely understand that our valued friends sometimes have to donate elsewhere. Hopefully when those Donation hours expand, you’ll find it easier to donate items here again. Thank you for allowing me to make this lengthy explanation about what is going on behind the scenes. You aren’t alone in hoping our Donation times expand, so we think it’s worth sharing the awesome work going on here in the incredibly unusual circumstances of this past year.
We are so grateful to our community for your unwavering support. Your patience as we navigate providing for neighbors in need through a pandemic has been especially noteworthy. We are blessed to have your encouragement and support.
