Families Helping Families!

I was walking through our Franklin County office.  It had been an incredibly busy week and I was taking a moment to visit staff and programs – to reclaim why I do this work.  Becky, from our Work Ready program motioned me in to look at the beautiful canned tomatoes that the families in her program had made with the help of Virginia, a Circle Leader who is gifted in canning and making the most of what you have.  As we talked, Jennifer, one of the Work Ready participants, chimed in telling me how she was part of the glean that happened earlier in the week (the first glean in Franklin County!). 

Gleaning is such a brilliant concept.  It allows farmers and producers to contact SCCAP when they have excess produce that they don’t want to go to waste.  Our Gleaning Coordinators then bring a group of volunteers out to the farm to pick the produce which is then distributed to low income families in the community.  SCCAP has administered this program in Adams County for just over a year and has brought in more than 130,000 pounds of produce.  Last month, with help from a grant from the Summit Health Endowment, we were able to spread this successful program to Franklin County.  Jennifer and her two children, age 16 and 7, came out to volunteer to be part of the first glean.  The group brought in nearly two thousand pounds of fresh corn.  Jennifer was so excited.  She said that she and her children loved the experience and can’t wait to participate again. 

We make assumptions about families who are struggling in poverty.  We assume they are lazy, that they are waiting on someone else to help them out, or that they are taking advantage of the system.  My experiences are so different than the stereotypes.   Virginia, a family in our Circles initiative volunteered her time to come into Work Ready to teach families how to can and preserve produce.  Jennifer and her children volunteered to go pick corn so that other families could have access to fresh produce.  Both joyously giving back to their community.  We see this all the time! 

Families are not broken or deficient – they are just like you or I except they may have some additional barriers to overcome.  They may have had children early or be a single parent.  They may be dealing with mental health issues.  They may have not had the opportunity to go to college so they are trapped in a low wage job structure.  And frequently their parents were living in poverty as well, reducing the opportunities that existed for the family.  But they are not broken or deficient.  Many families can budget better than I can.  And when provided some time and space, they create amazing plans to build resources to help them move toward stability.  They are committed and driven but need guidance and opportunity.  And amidst all of the hard work, they give back frequently in ways the general public frequently does not see.

Cara, who works 60 – 70 hours per week to meet her financial needs, takes time weekly to volunteer at Circles serving as a mentor to other families or assisting with child care.  Roberta and Bobby are working to become facilitators of Money Skills the program they feel helped them learn how to change their values and thinking about managing their money.  Marci, Nereida and Adrienne are serving as allies for families in Circles, giving back to other families in a program that helped them.  Virginia will assist The Gleaning Project (www.thegleaningproject.org ) by teaching others how to can.  Camille teaches couponing and how to save money on things families need.  Jennifer and her children are examples of the many families who volunteer to help provide resources to help others.  Families helping other families!  Families, who while fighting against the odds themselves, are incredibly vested in being part of the solution to help build  an effective path out of poverty!  Please join us in this important work - www.sccap.org