We Care Center

October 11, 2024
St. Jacob’s Lutheran Church
We pray sincerely that this letter finds you and yours safe from the storm! Hurricane Helene packed quite a
punch to our community, and we have been working hard to meet the extensive needs of those least capable of
absorbing these losses. Fortunately we were able to maintain power in our building, so we had no losses, but as
stock in stores is depleted, our capacity for perishables like produce is particularly hampered. Many clients are
without power and water, and we are filling orders accordingly with ready-to-eat food that does not have to be
cooked, pop-top cans, manual can openers, bottled water, and many gas and propane vouchers for those with
access to a generator.

We are all doing all we can for as many as we can for as long as it takes! And that could be quite a while. The
majority of our clients reside in lower Newberry County, and we are finding that because of the widespread
outages of power and internet, the story is not being told widely. There are dire needs in this area,
demonstrated poignantly at our first mobile pantry after the storm in Prosperity. We normally serve 40 families
at that monthly distribution; that day we served 140, most of them new!

Despite the heaviness of this moment, there are many sources of hope, including your kind support! We so
appreciate your help as we help our clients. We are so very grateful. They are so very grateful!

Many of our volunteers served faithfully, even as they struggled themselves without power or water.
Donations of food and water have been pouring in from faithful local partners. And we are still kicking off the
holidays this month as we begin to receive Thanksgiving and Christmas applications from clients! We
anticipate serving 1,000 people for Thanksgiving and 500 children for Christmas! There is joy to be had and
we are determined to find it, for our clients above all else. Thank you again!

Alecia Klauk
Executive Director

Most Needed
1. Jelly/Jam (plastic jars)
2. Cereal
3. Peanut Butter
4. Tuna
5. Canned Meats
6. Grits
7. Snack bars/cookies
8. Spaghetti Sauce
9. SpaghettiO’s
10. Oatmeal

We also ALWAYS need dish soap, laundry detergent!