Soup of Success team 22 experienced the most unique program ever held in our history…
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The financial impacts of COVID-19 are continuing to devastate families we work with. Our phone has been ringing off the hook with frantic people in need of help with rent, mortgage and utility payments. While there have been moratoriums for some of these bills, not everyone qualifies and for those who do, the bills are still expected to be paid eventually.
Vonda Horst, our Financial Services Director, who has been with CCS for 18-years, says she has never seen anything like this. “It's so much worse than the recession, at least then people didn't have to worry about their health and that of their loved ones on top of everything else.”
Maria and her husband were both working full-time and making ends meet when the virus hit and the factory where Maria worked shut down, and her husband, who is self-employed as a mechanic, had no work altogether. For many in our community, living paycheck to paycheck is a reality, and any unexpected bill or financial setback can mean financial ruin.
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June 15 our Seed to Feed program kicked off its second year of the Teen Growers Internship. The six-week internship allows 6 Elkhart teens the opportunity to practice gardening and job skills like leadership, teamwork, responsibility, and communication in a safe outdoor learning environment. The program is made possible in part with funding from Monogram Loves Kids Foundation, Beacon Health Systems, Renee and Brian Campbell and Steven and Kathryn Shantz.
Teens are learning about gardening and topics like food justice, food waste, food traditions, climate change and opportunities in agriculture.
"It's been challenging for me being so isolated. I'm in recovery and I miss my recovery family. Especially the weekly meetings. Zoom has been great but it's just not the same. My anxiety has been another struggle." She explained that Soup of Success is supporting her through the quarantine…
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We are so proud of Soup of Success participant, Angie! She has such a positive attitude and is making the best of things during this trying time of social distancing. Here's what she shared with us:
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This summer CCS held its first Seed to Feed Teen Growers Internship. The six-week internship has allowed 9 Elkhart teens the opportunity to practice gardening and job skills like leadership, teamwork, responsibility, and communication in safe outdoor learning environments.
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For fifteen years Don Rockwell has quietly become a permanent fixture at CCS, and he isn’t even paid to be here! After retiring early, Don began looking for something to do with his time that was worthwhile, and he found that at CCS. Don began his involvement with CCS as a board member, using his accounting background to help the agency. Don knew that the best way to really get to know the organization was to be actively involved in the work we do, so in his early days he also helped in the food pantry.
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Melissa, a mother of five (two biological and three she is guardian of), is one of the many people we helped this year. Melissa was facing some serious challenges and we were able to help her because of support from people like YOU!
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For the 16th year, Ruth and friends will be hosting a Victorian Christmas Tea with proceeds benefiting our Soup of Success program. Ruth Rockwell, a retired nurse, loves all things Victorian and came up with the idea of hosting a tea as a way to give back to the Elkhart community. “There is so much need right here in Elkhart,” Ruth says, “especially for women who are alone. That’s why I love supporting Soup of Success, because many of the participants are women trying to make it on their own. Women need to help other women.”
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For fifty years Church Community Services has been providing help and hope to those in need of food. Deb Krawiec has been a faithful volunteer in our food pantry since 2011 and she has seen firsthand the hope CCS provides.
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Chanel first started visiting the pantry in 2009, soon after she moved here from Arizona. Life in Elkhart started off as a challenge, as she was unable to find a well-paying job during the recession while also attending college.
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Jill is someone CCS was able to give the gift of hope to because of those who support us. Jill came to our Soup of Success program after the birth of her second child.
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I grew up in a modest home on a modest piece of land in the Chicago area. My dad was a ‘city boy’ and my mom was a ‘farm girl.’ Each parent brought their own strengths to our home: Dad could fix anything and mom taught us ‘seed to feed.’
Her parents lived on a small farm in Elkhart County in the same house in which my mom grew up. Our family often traveled there so as to lend a hand with the garden work. ‘Too young’ was not a phrase we heard: when it was time to work the garden there was a task for everyone. I remember following behind my grandpa, dropping pieces of potato into a freshly-tilled trench: I know I was very young at the time because the image that is burned in my memory are his work boots.
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Can you believe it’s already time to start growing plants for the summer season? Neither can we, though we couldn’t be more excited! This is the first year the greenhouse grew plants throughout the winter, and the second year it is being used to grow vegetable starts from seed.
Read MoreThe current unemployment rate in Elkhart County is 2.5%. So why are people still struggling financially? “Unfortunately, just having a job isn’t always enough to meet one’s basic needs, and certainly not the needs of a family,” says Vonda Horst, Director of Financial Services at CCS.
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Church Community Services is celebrating its 50th year of providing hope to our Elkhart neighbors in need. We’ve come a long way from our little house on Benham Avenue where we focused on tutoring in the public schools, children’s camps, emergency financial services and providing a few loans to those who would otherwise not be able to obtain them.
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