Dear Friends,

I cannot begin to tell you how thrilled I was at your response to our Mission of Mercy to feed the poor, especially poor children. The total amount raised on the Givebutter platform and in private donations to me was $54,206.38! Incredible. After consulting with my Board of Directors, “Dr. Jane,” and learning of the needs of different ministries, we decided to distribute those funds in memory of our beloved Fr. Otis Young and Ruth Prats as follows, with the stipulation that we want the funds to be directed towards feeding children:

• $1,000 to Sr. Teresa Berlin (Holy Family Hospitality Hermitage, Inc.): Sr. Teresa is a fixture in the Covington, LA, community, where she operates the Blue Stand in our poorest neighborhood. She simply feeds people and loves them, as she has done for years. This is especially meaningful since the killer of our beloved pastor, Fr. Otis Young, and our dear friend Ruth Prats, was from this neighborhood. It was a concrete way to repay evil with good by donating to Sr. Teresa’s mission.
• $4,000 to the St. Vincent de Paul Society (St. Peter, Covington, LA): The St. Vincent de Paul Society provides grocery vouchers and basic assistance in emergency situations to the area poor. They do home visits to build relationships, establish actual need, and help them grow in greater self-reliance.
• $5,000 to Feeding the Needy: Feeding the Needy is an initiative of the Covington Rotary Club, which ensures that school children are fed while school cafeterias are closed for the long winter break at Christmastime. Every year on December 23 and 24, volunteers from all over the area come together to prepare Christmas boxes that include:  a 12-14 pound cooked turkey with 6 side dishes and dessert.  Each box has enough food to feed a family of four.  Larger families receive additional boxes. On Christmas morning, Rotarians and other community volunteers hand deliver the boxes to the homes of the identified families. Each family only needs to heat the food and it is ready to serve as a substantial Christmas Day meal and leave plenty of extra to help on the days leading up to school reopening.
• $5,000 to the Northshore Food Bank: Northshore Food Bank provides food assistance to more than 300 individuals and families each week who live at or below the 130% federal poverty guidelines and have found themselves in need within our community. After qualifying for assistance, an individual can receive at least 40 lbs. of food once each month, and families can receive at least 70 lbs. of food each month. Depending on donations, recipients may also receive what they call a “lagniappe” box. A lagniappe box may be filled with breads, pastries, dairy products, fresh produce, or frozen foods.
• $5,000 to Our Daily Bread: Our Daily Bread is a food bank in Hammond, LA, that has faithfully served the disadvantaged of Tangipahoa Parish since 1999. Their mission is to alleviate hunger and make an eternal impact by sharing kindness and compassion with everyone who is in need. They currently serve over 10,000 hot meals a month.
• $5,000 to Our Friends Closet: Our Friends Closet provides much-needed items to homeless and low-income students in our community, including individually-wrapped snacks and meals for those students that do not have food available to them after school, on weekends, and during school breaks. They also provide personal hygiene products and other dignity items to students in need.
• $5,000 to Restoration House: Restoration House Pregnancy Resource Center provides (among many other services to women in crisis pregnancies) diapers, wipes, formula, and clothing to mothers and families of children newborn to 5t. While the primary mission of Restoration House is to support women in crisis pregnancies, they also provide much-needed baby formula for women who need help feeding their babies after they are born.

That brings our total disbursements to $30,000. The remaining $24, 206.38 will be distributed in 2023 as we assess the most urgent food needs in the coming months. May God bless all of you who participated in this beautiful Mission of Mercy!

With joy and humble gratitude for your kindness,