When It’s Hard To Find Things To Be Grateful For

Posted

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie

Times are tough all around. The pandemic has taken jobs, lives and our ability to visit loved ones. But if you have a roof over your head and food in your kitchen, you are still doing better than some. We all pray for life to get back to normal, but some families in our community are having trouble. Utility shutoffs and eviction looms in the near future. For these families, buying gifts for their children takes a back seat to paying bills, and not everyone has enough to do both.

SPAN’s Holiday Caring program focuses on these families, although this year we altered the program. Instead of having people sponsor families with meal baskets and personalized gifts, this year we requested gift cards so our donors did not have to go shopping during the pandemic. Our client families received grocery gift cards for holiday meals, and also store gift cards to purchase gifts. By all reports, donors and recipients feel like this was a good solution to an unusual situation. Thank you to all who donated gift cards. We were overwhelmed with generosity!

For local families who are not able to get enough food to eat, pay their utilities, or pay their rent or prescription costs, SPAN is here to help. We have a baby pantry for those in need of diapers or formula. Please call 410-647-0889 between 10:00am and 1:00pm Monday through Thursday to see if you are eligible for food or financial assistance. In some cases, SPAN can even give assistance without you ever having to leave your home. We are committed to helping local families in need, and we have stayed open during the entire pandemic.

SPAN (Serving People Across Neighborhoods) is an independent nonprofit food pantry and emergency services provider that has been helping local families with eviction prevention, utility turnoffs, medical/prescription bills, and food since 1990. SPAN serves 14 zip codes in Anne Arundel County. SPAN is located behind Our Shepherd Lutheran Church at 400 Benfield Road in Severna Park. Hours are Monday through Thursday from 10:00am-12:45pm. For more information, call 410-647-0889, email spanhelps@yahoo.com or visit www.spanhelps.org. Financial donations may be made through the website. Food donations may be dropped off 24/7 using the storage bin behind SPAN’s building. Please “like” SPAN on Facebook!

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here