Hello Everyone and Happy Holidays to All,

We use this site to try to keep you up to date and somewhat informed about what it is that we are doing. We thank you for your part in reading and even sending a note occasionally to say “good work!”

Today, I pause to attempt to share with you a little more of why.

Everyday I am out of the office, as is the Staff and many volunteers. We have Social Workers, Principals, Teachers, Students helping to do the work daily.

Sometimes my office is a Starbucks or a teachers lounge, sometimes it is a tiny small space in someone’s home. It’s even been a car that folks lived in. We are up close and personal.

Let me share what we have encountered this week alone.

• A senior citizen that has no help to update her license. She needs to do it because, “I need it to prove who I am when it’s time to vote.”
• A woman that lives alone with 2 forms of cancer, that cannot carry the groceries to her house even though she can almost see the Kroger from where she lives.
• An Ann Arbor School called again this week for socks. It was 29 degrees and no, they can’t go to the Thrift Shop because the child is at school on their way outside to recess in an hour in the cold.

These three examples lead me to want to tell you that we need to consider better ways to share and interact with those that we wish to help.

Don’t tell your neighbor “If you need something let me know.” try this instead:

• “I am going to the grocery in an hour, can you check and see if you need something there? I will pick it up for you.”
• “I cooked enough for an extra plate and I brought it over so you could enjoy it.”
• “I’d like to pay my niece to stop over and vacuum for you, I am trying to teach her responsibility. Will you help me with that?” (Folks that need to use a walker truly cannot keep things up.)

Don’t believe that everyone is doing better. Everyone is not. Things really are getting more difficult for many folks.

People work. Many work more than 1 job. They may be working for wages that pay perhaps $10 per hour. Statistics show that 53 million Americans between the age of 18 – 64, or 44% of the workforce, earn an average of $18,000 per year, which is $10.22 an hour.

With this type of income, ANY occurrence out of the ordinary is a catastrophe. They can’t afford to make a mistake. A prescription. A child that grows out of a size and needs new clothes for school. Electricity going out causing the loss of the food in the refrigerator. An illness that requires an emergency trip to the doctor.

We know that we cannot help everyone. But we DO help where we can.

We need your help to help ANYONE. This month alone we will deliver over 300 Christmas presents December 16th – 21st. We will help to feed over 100 families, and countless other “helps” will occur.

Can you help us too?

We do not need any more people to wrap, or shop. We need monetary gifts to assist in our work. Can you skip a coffee, a movie, another pair of earrings, a night on the town? We aren’t concerned about the size of your gift because any size gift makes a difference! Please do make a gift. Donate Now. Make a difference today! If not to us, make a donation to someone else who is helping address the needs of the community.

When people are in need they do not know where YOU are, they look for places like The Ann Arbor Community Center for assistance. We are working daily in your community, to help the folks that you are concerned about. We see the same people in need that you see. Together we can change lives!

With your help we can be there to assist. Join us with your donation by clicking the button below.

Help Make Sure No Family Is Left Behind

Your donation helps us help children and families in need.
Please, don’t wait to donate!

Sincerely, Rev. Yolanda Whiten