Charities thankful for local donations
by Lauren K. Ohnesorge
The old Hospitality House facility was built in 1913, had a broken oven and, until this year, hosted Thanksgiving meals each November.
The first of many Thanksgivings at the new Hospitality House facility happens Thursday, bringing with it holiday cheer, volunteers and turkey.
“It truly is comparing apples to oranges,” Hospitality House chef Kit Kerley said.
“It's just overwhelming,” Kerley said. “A state of the art commercial kitchen. … We've just been extremely blessed here to move into such a fine facility.”
Thanks to donations, eight turkeys will be roasted, traditionally and with garlic. Add honey-glazed ham, homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato soufflè, green bean casserole, pumpkin and pecan pie, and you've got a feast.
“It's all donated,” development director Todd Carter said.
The Thanksgiving meal will be served at 5:30 p.m. at the Hospitality House, and will bring more than30 volunteers.
“We're just very, very thankful,” Carter said.
Down the street, the Hunger and Health Coalition is preparing for a Thanksgiving of its own, to be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at the First Baptist Church on King Street.
“It's a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and all the trimmings,” spokesperson Compton Fortuna said.
With food provided by Makoto's, Bojangles and Woodlands Barbecue, more than 50 volunteers will serve food to “anybody who needs a meal on Thanksgiving Day,” with delivery and take-out available.It's what the coalition has been doing every Thanksgiving for the past 26 years.
“The community and the support that we continue to receive is outstanding,” she said.
It's a lot to be thankful for.
“Even though people may not have the money to go out and purchase everything they would like for their Thanksgiving dinners, it doesn't minimize their desire to spend the time with their family and celebrate what they do have,” Fortuna said.
Additionally, the coalition has given out 35 turkeys to clients.
But even with the holiday cheer, increasing need has both organizations strapped for donations.
At the Hospitality House, the big need is money for its heating fuel assistance program.
“We're in complete crisis,” Carter said, describing the state of the WeCAN program, a crisis prevention initiative at the Hospitality House.
“We could potentially have to shut it down for a week,” he said.
The program, which provides heating assistance to Watauga residents in need, is seeing unprecedented need.
“Honestly, I can't believe that, two years ago we committed $50,000 in an entire winter, and in November of this year, we've already committed $20,000,” Carter said. “Thirty percent of the clients coming in have never been here before and are like, ‘We didn't know where to go.'”
Carter said he wishes he were surprised.
“We can't expect a family of four with two parents working full time, only making $30,000 a year, to make it,” he said. “It's daunting.”
Census data puts 21.2 percent of Wataugans at or below the poverty level.
“One out of every five kids in this county goes to bed hungry every night,” Carter said. “Ten percent of our kids live in extreme poverty.”
Extreme poverty happens when someone is living on $1.25 a day.
“You can't buy a pack of crackers and a Coke for that,” he said. “Extreme poverty is the people that don't have running water or electricity.”
And he sees such poverty every day. Sometimes, people come in just to take a hot shower. Others come in for food boxes.
By Monday, clients had already taken home 737 food boxes in November — compared to 567 food boxes in November 2010.
Down the street, Hunger and Health Coalition officials have already given out 1,325 food boxes this month. Last November, the number was 939.
Both organizations need community food donations and are accepting unopened food you don't use this Thanksgiving.
“People keep coming,” Carter said.
“People just don't see it because it isn't their reality,” he said. “There are millions of American citizens that live in worse conditions than Third World countries. People just don't see it.”
But “people need to know,” Carter said. “Education is the greatest weapon to overcoming poverty.”
“Donations,” Carter said, is the best way to help. “Without more donations, I don't know what we're going to do.”
Currently, the Hospitality House is at full capacity, with 72 residents, including seven families.
“We've had overflow almost every night,” he said.
In dramatic winter chills, even more people will be sleeping in the facility on cots.
At Hunger and Health Coalition, the Sharing Tree Program is just getting under way. That initiative allows community members to “adopt” area families, ensuring that everyone gets a Christmas.
“We have the families list their needs per child on a piece of paper and somebody comes and adopts that family and purchases the needs and delivers the gifts and purchases to the family's home,” Fortuna said.
Five hundred children have already signed up for the program, and very few volunteer adopters.
“It's a lot of fun,” Fortuna said. “It's fun to help people. It feels good, and that is a great hands on way for people who might not always have the chance to volunteer or directly help, it's an opportunity to do that.”
For more information on the Hospitality House, visit http://www.hospitalityhouseofboone.org . For more information on the Hunger and Health Coalition, visit http://www.hungercoalition.com . For information on other area charities, visit http://www.highcountryunitedway.org .
The first of many Thanksgivings at the new Hospitality House facility happens Thursday, bringing with it holiday cheer, volunteers and turkey.
“It truly is comparing apples to oranges,” Hospitality House chef Kit Kerley said.
“It's just overwhelming,” Kerley said. “A state of the art commercial kitchen. … We've just been extremely blessed here to move into such a fine facility.”
Thanks to donations, eight turkeys will be roasted, traditionally and with garlic. Add honey-glazed ham, homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato soufflè, green bean casserole, pumpkin and pecan pie, and you've got a feast.
“It's all donated,” development director Todd Carter said.
The Thanksgiving meal will be served at 5:30 p.m. at the Hospitality House, and will bring more than30 volunteers.
“We're just very, very thankful,” Carter said.
Down the street, the Hunger and Health Coalition is preparing for a Thanksgiving of its own, to be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at the First Baptist Church on King Street.
“It's a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and all the trimmings,” spokesperson Compton Fortuna said.
With food provided by Makoto's, Bojangles and Woodlands Barbecue, more than 50 volunteers will serve food to “anybody who needs a meal on Thanksgiving Day,” with delivery and take-out available.It's what the coalition has been doing every Thanksgiving for the past 26 years.
“The community and the support that we continue to receive is outstanding,” she said.
It's a lot to be thankful for.
“Even though people may not have the money to go out and purchase everything they would like for their Thanksgiving dinners, it doesn't minimize their desire to spend the time with their family and celebrate what they do have,” Fortuna said.
Additionally, the coalition has given out 35 turkeys to clients.
But even with the holiday cheer, increasing need has both organizations strapped for donations.
At the Hospitality House, the big need is money for its heating fuel assistance program.
“We're in complete crisis,” Carter said, describing the state of the WeCAN program, a crisis prevention initiative at the Hospitality House.
“We could potentially have to shut it down for a week,” he said.
The program, which provides heating assistance to Watauga residents in need, is seeing unprecedented need.
“Honestly, I can't believe that, two years ago we committed $50,000 in an entire winter, and in November of this year, we've already committed $20,000,” Carter said. “Thirty percent of the clients coming in have never been here before and are like, ‘We didn't know where to go.'”
Carter said he wishes he were surprised.
“We can't expect a family of four with two parents working full time, only making $30,000 a year, to make it,” he said. “It's daunting.”
Census data puts 21.2 percent of Wataugans at or below the poverty level.
“One out of every five kids in this county goes to bed hungry every night,” Carter said. “Ten percent of our kids live in extreme poverty.”
Extreme poverty happens when someone is living on $1.25 a day.
“You can't buy a pack of crackers and a Coke for that,” he said. “Extreme poverty is the people that don't have running water or electricity.”
And he sees such poverty every day. Sometimes, people come in just to take a hot shower. Others come in for food boxes.
By Monday, clients had already taken home 737 food boxes in November — compared to 567 food boxes in November 2010.
Down the street, Hunger and Health Coalition officials have already given out 1,325 food boxes this month. Last November, the number was 939.
Both organizations need community food donations and are accepting unopened food you don't use this Thanksgiving.
“People keep coming,” Carter said.
“People just don't see it because it isn't their reality,” he said. “There are millions of American citizens that live in worse conditions than Third World countries. People just don't see it.”
But “people need to know,” Carter said. “Education is the greatest weapon to overcoming poverty.”
“Donations,” Carter said, is the best way to help. “Without more donations, I don't know what we're going to do.”
Currently, the Hospitality House is at full capacity, with 72 residents, including seven families.
“We've had overflow almost every night,” he said.
In dramatic winter chills, even more people will be sleeping in the facility on cots.
At Hunger and Health Coalition, the Sharing Tree Program is just getting under way. That initiative allows community members to “adopt” area families, ensuring that everyone gets a Christmas.
“We have the families list their needs per child on a piece of paper and somebody comes and adopts that family and purchases the needs and delivers the gifts and purchases to the family's home,” Fortuna said.
Five hundred children have already signed up for the program, and very few volunteer adopters.
“It's a lot of fun,” Fortuna said. “It's fun to help people. It feels good, and that is a great hands on way for people who might not always have the chance to volunteer or directly help, it's an opportunity to do that.”
For more information on the Hospitality House, visit http://www.hospitalityhouseofboone.org . For more information on the Hunger and Health Coalition, visit http://www.hungercoalition.com . For information on other area charities, visit http://www.highcountryunitedway.org .