In Jeremiah 29:11 it says “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” This new year, we feel like this verse holds so much meaning for The Pantry.
2018 went so quickly and 2019 has so much promise. The Pantry has been blessed tremendously by our supporters in the last year amid a great deal of change. When we announced the need to purchase a new home and move our services, we had donors and volunteers step up to help. As of the end of 2018, over 84% of the funds for our $415,000 goal had been pledged or secured. We are so close to fully funding the Green Apple Initiative and have set a goal to raise the remaining funds by June 30th. Did you set a resolution to give more this year? We would love to talk about how you can give to The Pantry. One-time donations towards the capital campaign will help us reach our goal. Monthly donations are very easy to set up as well through our online giving portal. You can choose to have your gift applied to a credit or debit card or taken from your bank account with an e-check. We are so thankful to all who gave last year and who are thinking of ways to give this year.
Another one of our resolutions at The Pantry is to get organized. This will take on many forms. When items start moving into our new home we will have to find a place for everything and keep everything in that place. Our new home is much smaller, cozier we like to say, and we will have to be very purposeful with where everything goes. We have put a lot of thought into the design of the space and look forward to seeing what it looks like full of shelving, food, and people!
Another way we are getting organized is through our social media posting. Do you follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn? If not, you should! We have been sharing more and more information that can help you learn not just about The Pantry but about our community. To do this even better we will be following a theme each day. Motivational Monday will be used to share quotes that we think touch on the important things in life. Teamwork Tuesday will be used to share information about our staff, board, and volunteers who make so many wonderful things possible for our neighbors. On West Michigan Wednesday we will highlight other nonprofit organizations serving our community, job fairs, or community events that might be of interest. Thankful Thursday will be dedicated to our donors, those who give financially and those who hold food and hygiene drives to keep the shelves, coolers, and freezers stocked for neighbors in need. Finally, Fresh Food Friday will focus on the healthy foods we all love. Recipes for fruit and vegetable meals and side dishes will be shared, local farms will be highlighted, information on seasonal produce, like how to select or store it, will be shared as well. We think this will help us be better organized in what we can offer through social media and hope you follow along as we bring this information to the public. We always love to hear from others too! If we post a quote, a picture, a recipe, or anything else please let us know what you think.
Happy New Year!
Yours in service,
Karrie
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