Christmas is just around the corner and staff and volunteers at Good Samaritan Ministries are already beginning to pack Christmas boxes with cans of pumpkin, sweet potatoes, chicken broth, sweet peas, cake mixes, frosting and stuffing in preparation of December 1, the first distribution day. On the day the box will be distributed, a chicken, eggs and butter will be added, and it will be loaded into the grocery cart along with the month’s regular grocery staples and pushed to the car of a family who needs a little extra help this holiday season.
It can happen so easily. Holiday layoffs. Illness. Higher than normal electric bills. And with the potential for extra mouths to feed during the holidays and grocery prices steadily increasing, sometimes it can all just be overwhelming.
“Most of us have at some time in our lives, if we are not at this moment, had to live from paycheck to paycheck and know what a delicate balance that is,” said Angelia Bostick, Executive Director, GSM. “It doesn’t take much to throw a kink into the best of budgets on the best of days. Whether it’s a poor economy or poor decision making, we want to make sure that everyone who comes through our front doors needing help receives it with dignity and a healthy dose of Christmas spirit!”
Bostick added that the Christmas spirit the staff and volunteers at GSM dispense – the idea that it is better to give than to receive, peace and goodwill toward their fellow man, and love and kindness to all who walk through the door for no other reason than it is the right thing to do – is not something that only happens at Christmastime.
“We serve the community year-round through our food pantry, clothing store and financial assistance programs,” Bostick said. “It’s nice to give a little extra during December, but come January 2, we’ll open our doors, restock the pantry and do it all over again. Unfortunately need doesn’t play by any set rules. It doesn’t work around our schedule or come only during the holidays when it feels good to give.”
Last year, during December, just more than 1,200 families picked up Christmas boxes with their regular grocery staples. With the record numbers already posted this year, that number could be as high as 1,500 to 2,000 families in the course of December.
It’s not too late to help families in Brown County who have fallen on hard times. Bostick said $35 will provide a Christmas box to one family or a donation in any amount will help purchase regular grocery items for December and to begin restocking the shelves for the first of the year. Donation boxes for food items are located at various businesses around town. If someone would rather donate food, drop it by any of the following locations: American State Bank, Bank of America, Brownwood City Hall, Brownwood Police Department, Citizens National Bank, Davis Morris Funeral Home, Fit by Faith, McCoy’s, Mills County State Bank and Texas Bank.
Donations may be mailed to P.O. Box 1136, Brownwood, TX 76804, brought in to 305 Clark Street or made online via PayPal at goodsambwd.org. One hundred percent of the monies donated to GSM stays in Brown County to help local families.
To accommodate the certain increase of families, GSM will extend their regular hours during December. From December 1st through December 23rd, GSM will be open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on Wednesdays from 1 to 6 p.m. The ministry will be closed December 26th through December 30th to give volunteers and staff time with their families and will reopen Monday, January 2nd.
