Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1479628
26 maconmagazine.com LOCAL BUZZ LOAVES AND FISHES MINISTRY CONTINUES TO REACH THOSE IN NEED L oaves and Fishes Ministry is a faith-based, nonprofit organization that began in the basement of Tattnall Square Presbyterian Church about 54 years ago. Starting out as a food and clothing ministry, it has grown to serve the community through services such as groceries, meals, case management, laundry assistance, birth certificates and IDs, prescription assistance and Bible classes. Operating out of its headquarters at 651 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., the ministry partners with other service providers and community agencies to ensure that programs and services are accessible and delivered to those who are confronting life's unfavorable circumstances. The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly tested the will and strength of everyone in our community. With the support of local church partners and generous benefactors, the ministry has not only survived, it has thrived. Loaves and Fishes continues to achieve its mission of improving the lives of the poor and homeless. In fact, the ministry never closed its doors during the heart of the pandemic. A dream team of Valerie Sewell, Debra Singleton, John Sewell, Shirley Randall and Kyra Osmos stayed on the frontlines to serve our clients. New ideas were implemented, processes improved, equipment upgraded, meal times added and services fine-tuned. In 2020, Loaves and Fishes provided 2,829 bags of groceries, 2,680 hygiene kits, 16,120 meals and 259 prescription assistance. It also developed a number of new partnerships and enhanced its food outreach program. Donors have been fantastic, working tirelessly to keep supply lines full. During this time, a wonderful new program was created. Valerie Sewell, director of operations, developed and introduced the "Welcome Home Program." Valerie placed the ministry's first senior homeless client in an apartment home in December 2020. As of today, 54 senior homeless clients have been placed in apartments, with the majority of them at St. Paul's apartments. Without the generous support of its church partners, board members, donors and a dedicated cadre of volunteers like Sarah Tapley, Jeanne Roddenberry, Judy Hill and Casey Stitt, none of the ministry's successes would have been possible. The ministry continues to take a strong stand against the epidemic of homelessness in our community, focusing on not just a handout, but a hand up for those experiencing a big bump in the road. We are where hope lives. — JAKE FERRO Pictured left to right: Volunteers Kyra Osmos, Judy Hill and her granddaughter Saylor Hill work on birth certificates and IDs. Aubrey Wynn, Mercer University student volunteer, and Valerie Sewell, Loaves and Fishes director of operations, pack plastics bags with Olathe corn donated by Kroger for the Senior Grocery Day.