The HELP Network – South Whidbey Island

Feb 102010
 
 February 10, 2010  Posted by Kathy McLaughlin No Responses »

We have a HELP Network on South Whidbey Island that is truly amazing. Perhaps it’s time that we do our part in getting the word out! I plan on writing a post about each of these organizations over the next few months. People helping people and in so many ways.

Gary Zukov wrote in his book, The Seat of the Soul, that “millions of individuals are awakening  sometimes to their surprise  to a hunger for harmony, cooperation, sharing, and reverence for Life. Their challenge is to create those things in a world of discord, competition, hoarding, and exploitation, a world in which life is a cheap commodity.”

I’m currently reading a book called “Blessed Unrest” which is a story about how the largest movement in the World came into being and why no one saw it coming. The author is Paul Hawken and the book was released in 2007.

In Hawken’s book he identifies one to two million organizations working toward ecological sustainability and social justice. This social movement is decentralized and has no specific leaders; hence no media following. “This is the largest social movement in all of human history. No one knows it’s scope, and how it functions is more mysterious than what meets the eye.”

“What does meet the eye is compelling: coherent, organic, self-organized congregations involving tens of millions of people dedicated to change. What I see are ordinary people willing to confront despair, power, and incalculable odds in an attempt to restore some semblance of grace, justice, and beauty in this world.”

“Collectively, it expresses the need of the majority of people on earth to sustain the environment, wage peace, democratize decision making and policy, reinvent public governance piece by piece from the bottom up, and improve the lives of women, children and the poor. Throughout history, armies, corporations, religious rulers, and political zealots have overpowered the majority world, which in our upside down world we consider to be minorities.”

It is very evident that we have our own movement right here on South Whidbey Island.

We have The HELP Network! You can visit their websites by just clicking on their logo.

All of us working together to help strengthen our community!!!

The Good Cheer Food Bank – How it Works

Feb 062010
 
 February 6, 2010  Posted by Kathy McLaughlin 7 Responses »

The real story behind the success of the Good Cheer Food Bank are the people. People like Damien Cortez, the food bank coordinator, and the many volunteers who devote their time and energy. These are the frontline people who make this charity work. Damien is on the far left in the above photo.

I wanted to spend some time explaining the process of becoming a client of the food bank. Many of our clients have the ability of using the Food Stamp Program that is made possible through DSHS. The problem that many people find is that their benefits can be relatively small. The poverty threshold in America for a single person is $10,830 and for a family of four the number goes to $22,050.

The Opportunity Council is a great resource for a number of programs that can help you through the tough times. You can find information on programs that include food, nutrition, energy, shelter, and child care.

I have a friend who is currently unemployed and has a $1500 monthly social security benefit. He applied for Food Stamps and his benefits were only $16 a month; not much help. Living on such a tight budget presents a number of problems. What happens if you need to replace a tire or get new corrective lenses? You just put the problem off and that is not a good solution.

With that in mind, consider what the food bank can do to help. Perhaps a food supplement from the Good Cheer Food Bank might just save you a little money to ease some of your problems. Pride can always be an issue but that is just your ego talking to you. We are here to help the community and make the tough times a little easier.

Becoming a client at the food bank is very easy; we trust you when you say you need food. Good Cheer serves the community of South Whidbey; the boundary is Bakken Road just before the Greenbank store. If you live south of that area you quailty as a client.

The proof of residency can be a rental or lease agreement, a receipt of that rent or lease, a utility bill, pay check stub, a note from your landlord or any official mailing that comes to your address. Bring that and you are in!

Priya, one of our volunteers who may assist you, will take your information and set you up with an account. She will help you determine how many points you qualify for. A single person receives 70 points for the month; you receive an additional 10 points for every other family member.

You will then have an account at the food bank. You can access the food bank more than once during the month; just bear in mind that you can only use the number of points that you are allotted for the month.

A volunteer, perhaps Ula, will show you around the food bank and explain the points system and answer any questions that you may have. You will be given a shopping worksheet so that you can track the points that you have used. This information goes on file so that you will know know many points that you have left for the month after your visit.

I mention Ula since she is quite a big help to the food bank. She is a coupon cutter and her hard work allows us to get tremendous value for the money that we spend on food.

A few things that you should know:

Sometimes we have excess goods that are zero point items; you can take all that you can use.

All baby items are free (infants 2 years or younger) make sure to document this when you register.

If you bring your own shopping bags you receive an extra three points for the month.


It is pretty amazing what 70 points will provide in the way of food. You’ll find that fresh vegetables and fruits don’t cost you much in points and you can get a bag full of them; spring and summer will be nice with the fresh produce from the Good Cheer Garden. You will find that less healthy food like cookies will cost you more points. Remember the free items; for example pinto beans are healthy, provide fibre for your diet and taste good.

Good Cheer!