Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, dear friends of Oak City Cares!
Thank you for your generous spirit in helping the guests at Oak City Cares. Your donations of food and time serving make a huge difference to them, even if they don’t show it. Your gifts show the dignity that Christ asked us to share as Christians. During 2023, we encountered rain, heat, and cold. We’ve seen men, women, children, and families struggling with hunger and homelessness—in fact we’ve served over 2,500 meals since the beginning of the year. At the beginning of 2023, we planned for 150 meals at breakfast, and now we prepare 200 on a regular basis. In fact, just a few days before our Christmas Eve brunch, we were asked to increase it to 250, as OCC expected record numbers of guests. We asked for quick help, and you definitely stepped up! Thank you so much for answering God’s call to help others.
As we turn to 2024, we find that the need for our help continues to grow. We, Jim, Suzanne, and Ann are looking for ways to fill these needs and grow our understanding of how to do more than just provide a meal. We hope to live up to the Catholic Social Teaching that calls us to change—”to care, sacrifice, and love our brothers and sisters in poverty,” according to Fr. Patrick McDevitt, C.M. He goes on to say, “Catholic Social Teaching shows that we must do more than just ‘help out,’ ‘give some of our time,’ ‘be nice,’ and to do for the poor in order to ‘feel good about ourselves.’ The Christian call is to advocate for real systemic change to directly alleviate and liberate our brothers and sisters from the suffering and shackles of poverty. The disease of poverty kills the body and spirit in those directly affected by the rage of poverty, and it deeply affects all of society.” Oak City Cares does this by offering more than just weekend meals but by offering wrap around services of social work, medical care, and other services to help their guests move from homelessness to homes. Your donations and service do much more than just feed the hungry!
We opened the opportunities for January, February and March. Click on the link below to sign up to donate food or sign up for serving.
- If you are interested in donating food, look for opportunities on these Fridays: January 26, February 9, February 23, and March 22.
- If you would like to serve, look for these dates: January 28, February 10, February 25, and March 24.
CLICK HERE to View Oak City Cares Needs
For First Time Servers only: If you have never served at Oak City and would like to, please reach out directly to either Jim, Suzanne, or Ann. We are opening some slots just for first-time volunteers. We will sign you up!
Thank you again for your generosity and compassion for those experiencing homelessness and hunger. You are truly living Jesus’ call to serve the poor.
Peace and all good things for 2024!
Ann, Jim, and Suzanne
