We thank you for your continued support and generosity toward the outreach missions of Central. Here’s what happens on a regular basis:
We do Central Feeds on Wheels every Monday. We take a meal to members of our church who are housebound temporarily due to illness or accident or almost permanently due to COVID or physical limitations. Our food comes from a caterer who offers excess prepared sandwiches, wraps, or salads. We supplement with chips, fruit, homemade desserts that are baked by various members. Currently we are serving 25 meals.
We do Central Feeds on Tuesdays. We prepare and distribute around one hundred meals to the senior citizens near McDonalds. We share with some lovely folks from other countries, some with mobility issues. Some weeks we prepare the entire meal. Other weeks we supplement with items donated by parents who have ordered but not used the school boxes offered during virtual learning in Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools. Our cost is minimal for this ministry. We purchase containers, baggies, and other items to keep the foods safe and fresh. Our costs are paid from grants we’ve received and from member donations. Also on Tuesdays Central hosts and helps facilitate Loaves and Fishes Mobile Pantry. This happens in the parking lot for people in the east side of Charlotte who need foods due to emergencies such as sicknesses or job losses. Those receiving the boxes must have appointments after having been screened by a team at Central and other nearby churches. Irma Sandoval heads this team. She and Maria Cardarelli help with communication and distribution each week.
There are various ministries that seem to pop up unexpectedly and for a limited amount of time. The latest has been collecting items needed by Charlotte Rescue Mission.
Central Cares is Central’s oldest on-going ministry. This is a monthly sharing of forty-pound boxes of foods, paper and cleaning items for families identified by our local schools as needing a little extra help. This ministry is financed by member donations of money and/or items suggested each month, and by once-a-week shopping at Second Harvest. We are currently serving sixty-eight families, plus several emergency needs on a semi-regular basis due to COVID.
All of our missions are being done by a minimum of people with minimum contact with others. NO one comes into our church except the ones designated and approved by Second Harvest and our Board. Foods are either picked up outside, with drivers remaining in their car and wearing masks, or they are delivered to places and shared outside with all wearing masks and gloves. We do not go into buildings or homes. Central’s safety team, chaired by Mark Nazarchyk, knows the procedures we follow. This is NOT the ideal way to minister outside our walls, but it is the way we will continue until it is safe to resume face-to-face sharing of more than foods. If you want to help, these are our February needs:
Paper towels, canned mixed vegetables and carrots, homemade desserts (Call Bobbie for date), meals for folks recovering at home (call Christy for dates), money for any of the Central Feeds (call Bette or just send a check to Central with memo “Central Feeds”), and VALENTINES!! We would love to put some valentines in all the meals and boxes during Valentine week. Maybe your family could make or purchase a box of valentines and sign your names. Some could have candy, pencils, and other little gifts. Walmart and Target have lots to choose from! Surely you recall how fun it was to get valentines when you were a child, especially if there was a sucker or treat attached. We can use as many as you can send. This is just for February, but it is for the whole month. Thanks to all of you! -Bobbie Denny and Bette Nazarchyk
