Small and Simple Acts Make a Big Impact on Local Charities
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by
Anna Zenk
Hurst area congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held an annual conference March 25-26, 2023. While gathering for a weekend of instruction and worship led by local and regional leadership, members of the Church donated about 1,000 individual packages of Ramen noodles to be delivered to Community Storehouse in Tarrant County and the I Can Still Shine program, which serves abused women and their children in Tarrant County.
Sandra Cooper, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ who volunteers at Community Storehouse, identified a need for Ramen noodles. Additionally, Howard Skinner, the Hurst Stake JustServe representative, contacted the I Can Still Shine (ICSS) leader, Brenda Jackson, who positively responded to his inquiry as to whether ICSS was also in need of Ramen noodles
Sharing her insights about Community Storehouse, Cooper said:
“Community Storehouse is an organization that helps families in need in many ways. They have educational programs that not only help children in various school districts who might be at risk but also help to empower the parents. They offer after-school tutoring, where kids can get one-on-one help with schoolwork they might struggle with. In addition to these programs, they also have a food bank. Anyone in the DFW area can come to Community Storehouse to receive food. To help fund the programs and the food bank, they have a couple of resale stores that depend on donations from others—donations of both food and household items are always welcome.
“Not only does the food bank supply food to anyone in the DFW area, but they also provide roughly 5,000 snack packs a month to kids in various school districts. These snack packs are for children who are at risk of going hungry on weekends when school is not in session.”
Cooper initially became involved with Community Storehouse through the Fort Worth Service Missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who have a long-standing relationship with Community Storehouse, with several missionaries giving dedicated service to them.
“When touring the place with my son Anthony, a missionary, I saw there was a need for someone to pack up snack packs in the food bank,” explained Cooper. “This was something I knew I could do, and so I jumped in. Not only do I help with snack packs, but I help stock, fill food orders, and deliver the food to the clients.”
I love serving at the food bank. Each week that I do, I see it as an opportunity to shine his light and to share His love, the Savior’s love can heal. As disciples of Jesus Christ we are an extension of His hands, and I see that each week. After all, when we are in the service of others, we are in the service of our God.
Sandra Cooper, Community Storehouse Volunteer
“The food bank manager, knowing that I am a member of the Church, asked if we could help them out,” Cooper continued. “I was told that during the holidays, there is an abundance of food donations, but after the holidays, donations tend to drop off, and shelves go empty. Donations may dwindle, but the need for food doesn’t.
“A scripture in The Book of Mormon comes to mind, “By small and simple things great things are brought to pass…” (Alma 37:6) If one person donates Ramen, it might not reach many individuals; but collectively we can feed many. Through our combined small and simple donations, I was able to deliver roughly 700 packages to Community Storehouse.
“The Ramen noodle food drive is a perfect example of what great things can happen through small and simple means.”
Community Storehouse happily welcomes volunteers. Anyone interested can contact Krista Morrison at 817-741-3340 or email [email protected]. Volunteers can also sign up online at www.communitystorehouse.org under “How Can I Help?”
Those who wish to volunteer at I Can Still Shine, please contact Howard Skinner at [email protected], who will put you directly in touch with Brenda Jackson at ICSS.
Anna Zenk is a professional graphic designer specializing in design for print. During her free time, she works on personal design projects and blogs and enjoys bookbinding by hand.
For more news in the Hurst Area, please www.HurstTexasStake.org
