The Community Foundation received over a million dollars in gifts and donations during 2020 and disbursed $1.2 million in grants and scholarships, including emergency COVID-19 funding to area nonprofits that were affected directly in supporting children and families during the pandemic.
“After having to cancel last year’s meeting, I was very pleased that we had the opportunity to celebrate all that the Foundation accomplished during 2020 while dealing with a global pandemic. Because of our citizens’ generosity, the Foundation can assist nonprofit organizations as we do. I want to say ‘thank you’ to everyone who attended the meeting and to those that made 2020 successful,” said Board President Richard Carlson.
In addition to reviewing the financials of the Community Foundation, Carlson thanked outgoing board members whose terms ended in 2020: Bruce Taylor, Dennis Weishaar, Marcia Williamson and Mark Wilson; and welcomed new board members Anita Miller, Randy Gassman and Doug Lindahl.
“I’m glad we had the opportunity to thank them publicly, even if a year later,” said Carlson.
In addition to recapping the financials of 2020, the Foundation also presented two awards.
The Quiet Hero/Nonprofit of the Year Award was presented to Sister Loretta Jasper – Neighbor to Neighbor, Abilene. Last year, Neighbor to Neighbor rallied board members and volunteers to serve over 50,000 meals to families due to the strain of COVID-19.
“We were thrilled to present this award to Sister Loretta; she is so deserving,” said Weese.
The next award presented was Volunteer of the Year. Rod Riffel was nominated for all he does for Dickinson County. During 2020 Rod organized car shows throughout the county to help with food drives. Though people were 6 feet apart and masked, they could wander outside to look at these fantastic vehicles. The shows were not for enjoyment only. The purpose was to raise awareness of food inequity to those less fortunate and bring food items to share to increase the food supply at area food pantries.
To conclude the evening, $2,000 was awarded to area nonprofits randomly selected by four of the evening’s guests. Dennis Vasholtz chose Camp Tomah Shinga, which received $500; Fay Johnson picked Neighbor to Neighbor-Abilene, which received $500; and Greg Wilson and Dennis Biggs both selected St. Andrew’s School to receive $1000.
“It is always nice to finish the evening by disbursing grants to worthy nonprofits,” said Weese.
The Community Foundation of Dickinson County is your placed-based giving nonprofit, which makes your charitable giving easy, flexible, and effective. To find out more, click www.communityfoundation.us, call 785.263.1863, or visit 418 NW 3rd Street, Abilene.
More than 50,000 meals: Neighbor to Neighbor meal program expects to hit milestone today
By Diane Wyatt Member N2N-Abilene Board of Director May 11, 2021, Abilene Reflector
Anyone walking into the kitchen at the Neighbor to Neighbor-Abilene house at 803 N. Cedar on any Tuesday or Friday can hear and see the sounds of volunteers cooking, preparing and packing up food for anyone in Dickinson County that would like a home cooked meal to go.
Neighbor to Neighbor-Abilene, located at 803 N. Cedar St., has been a blessing and a lifeline to people who live in the Abilene community that have food insecurities or need to use money they would otherwise have spent on food to pay rent, bills and other necessities.
The meal program began in March 2020 as a way to help families of school children have meals during the school district’s spring break from their regular school day meals.
Then the Covid-19 pandemic changed the meal program from a week of meals during spring break to meals that are still going strong more than a year later.
Now, a little over a year later, N2N-Abilene is fast approaching the milestone of serving its 50,000th meal.
Recently, N2N adjusted the meal schedule moving from a daily pickup schedule to twice a week, Tuesdays and Fridays.
Home cooked
The healthy, home cooked meals include a main course, salad, vegetable, fruit and cookies and are either provided curbside or delivered to homes.
Each bag includes enough food for each person in the household for three days, including breakfast, lunch and dinner. That covers meals Tuesday through Sunday.
On Mondays, Trinity Lutheran Church, located at 320 N. Cedar, provides a free meal served at the church for families in the community.
N2N meal numbers soar
The number of families that receive meals from Neighbor to Neighbor-Abilene fluctuates.
When the meal program began on March 16, 2020, five families received 38 meals. On March 30, 2021 17 families received 258 meals. Some weeks during the past year there were close to 50 households served. The accumulative number of meals served as of today (Tuesday, May 11) will reach the 50,000 meal milestone.
The heart
Sister Loretta Jasper is the heart behind the meals and helping so many families. She came up with the idea during a N2N a Neighbor to Neighbor board of directors meeting in March 2020 and without hesitation the board supported the idea of feeding Abilene and surrounding area families.
To make the program work, a plethora of volunteers are needed. Since all the meals are homemade volunteers have included vegetable choppers, bread bakers, cookie bakers, quesadilla makers and pancake makers. Also included are the volunteers who get together before each delivery day to cook and prepare the meals for the following day. The day of delivery there are volunteers to package the food and hand out curbside or deliver to homes.
Community support
The community also has stepped up and helped Neighbor to Neighbor-Abilene achieve this milestone. People have given monetary donations to help purchase food, grocery stores and restaurants have provided food, farmers and gardeners have provided produce and beef and pig producers have donated beef and pork. N2N has also received over 1,000 pounds of deer meat and pork from community members.
There is also a take and eat pallet on the outside of the house by the alleyway for anyone who would like to take extra food. It is provided by gardeners or off the shelf items from local groceries stores. This is available daily.
“Neighbor to Neighbor Abilene is a place for any woman, to enhance her daily life. Since the upstart of the pandemic, we have become a place for many persons to enhance their daily life in ways beyond one’s imagination,” said Sister Loretta Jasper.
The bakers of our breads, cookies, pancakes, the crafters of our quesadillas continue to enhance their purpose by reaching out to others in the mix of being limited in daily activities due to the pandemic. Persons throughout Abilene continue to share their resources of time, personal effects and monies as a way of sharing in meeting the needs of others’ difficulties. We re-cycle and re-purpose insofar as possible. One owner of pigs used our vegetable parings to feed his pigs…to only share a portion of the pork at such time the pigs were butchered and processed. An example of full circle. All gain; no waste!”
“I’ve been astounded by the giving of people in our community and the many good deeds that are just a natural part of each day at the ‘orange house’,” said Board Member and Volunteer Sandy Canfield. “Sister Loretta helps it all flow so naturally, from food coming in the door to food going out, the phone ringing and people bringing things to donate while others are coming for assistance. I am proud to be a tiny part of N to N.”
N2N-Abilene Chairman of the Board Tom Schwartz has been a vital part of the meal program from the start. He said the socialization that comes with providing meals to people is paramount.
“As individuals stopped by to pick up their food it was apparent that just the social interaction was an important part of the food distribution too. They had a chance to talk about their lives and how they were trying to work through all the disruptions and loss of work,” Schwartz recalled.
“We were a listening board that gave individuals a chance to talk out their frustrations. Through this process we have become like a big family trying to help get them through those struggles.
“This has been met by finding other resources to help them with payments that needed to be made, finding appliances for them when their appliances broke down. I have met many individuals and feel like they are friends and family members forever.”
Neighbor to Neighbor is a non profit organization which has had the opportunity to fill a need for our community. For more information about Neighbor to Neighbor-Abilene contact Sister Loretta at 785-200-6750.