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Organizations collect food for families during the holidays
  
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By ROYCELYN BASTIAN
It is almost that time of year again when families put aside their daily differences and sit down to have a nice meal and to give thanks.
But for some families in the Humble, Kingwood, Atascocita and East Montgomery County communities, this time of year is anything but joyous. Due to the downturn in the economy and hardships after Hurricane Ike, more families are finding themselves without money to purchase food and gifts during the holiday season.
Recognizing the needs in the area, several nonprofit organizations have once again stepped up to the plate to provide Thanksgiving and Christmas meals to many families.
With shelves almost bare, the Society of St. Stephen’s Christmas Angel Coordinators are depending on the numerous food and toy drives that are or will be taking place to help them feed approximately 360 families from the Kingwood, Porter and New Caney area.
“The deadline for families to sign up and receive Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets has passed, but those who did not register but show up to get food will not be turned away,” said Marlene Canty, a charter member and coordinator of the Society of St. Stephen.
The society will give away the Thanksgiving baskets Nov. 25 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Kingwood United Methodist Church for those who are registered. The baskets will contain a Kroger gift certificate that can be used to purchase two meats for Thanksgiving and Christmas along with stuffing, cake mix, frosting, mashed potatoes, rolls, butter, vegetables, canned fruit and more. Clients who are not registered, but who show up at noon, will also receive food that is left over along with a Hormel ham for dinner.
For Christmas, the same food will be given out to families along with toys for at least 1,074 children, up to age 17, who were registered. The food and toys will be given out Dec. 16 at the church.
“Names of all children who registered were put on an angel and based on a master shopping list, parents were able to decide what they wanted their children to have for Christmas,” said Lynn Harper, community and business coordinator for the Society of St. Stephen’s Christmas Angel Coordinators. “The child’s wish list is on the back of their angel and they are given to businesses who wish to participate in our Christmas toy/gift matching program.”
On Dec. 16, toys purchased for children registered are sorted out, bagged and given to the families along with their Christmas basket. Donations from generic toy drives are sorted and placed in a girl and boy room for children and families to go in and pick out Christmas gifts.
To make this holiday season a success, area businesses and schools helped out. Holding food and toy drives this year are Kingwood Medical Center, RE/MAX Associates Northeast, Lake Houston Family YMCA, National Charity League-Livable Forest Chapter, National Charity League-Kingwood Chapter, Mothers of Young Children, Flag’s Real Estate, Stacey’s Dance Studio and Her Healthcare. Schools who participated this year are Pines Montessori, Northeast Christian Academy, Kingwood United Methodist Preschool/MDO, Holy Comforter Lutheran Preschool/MDO; Bear Branch, Deerwood, Elm Grove, Greentree, Foster, Hidden Hollow, Shadow Forest and Willow Creek elementaries; Riverwood Middle School; Kingwood and Kingwood Park high schools.
The Society of St. Stephen started in November 1981 as a mission of the Kingwood United Methodist Church. It started out in a closet at the church and three years ago moved into the building across the street.
Today, the outreach facility serves people in the Humble, New Caney and Splendora school districts by handing out food to families once a month and allowing them to shop for free clothes once every other month. The outreach mission is a nonprofit organization and all staff members are volunteers.
The Society is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 to 11:30 a.m. For more information on the Society of St. Stephen, call 281-358-7722.
Another nonprofit organization in the area that is getting ready to hand out Thanksgiving baskets is the Humble Area Assistance Ministries. It will distribute baskets to families Nov. 20-22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“I am so excited because this year our community has put our community first and all of the donations from the various toy and food drives will stay here locally,” said Millie Garrison, resource development director for HAAM.
Partnering with several churches and businesses in the community, HAAM has receives thousands of pounds of food that will be sorted and packaged. A food drive at Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital netted approximately 10,961 pounds of food and $3,127.
“We have been holding food drives for HAAM for more than 10 years and we continue to do it because Memorial Hermann wants to serve our community and this is one of the ways that we do it,” said Rhonda Dishongh, customer relations manager for Memorial Hermann Northeast.
In addition to the hospital, other organizations have worked extremely hard to collect food and money to help feed families during the holiday season.
“We have helped HAAM for many years by providing food as well as volunteers,” said Grace Choate, a member of the Atascocita Presbyterian Church and HAAM board of trustee. “We do this as a mission of our church, and this year is very important because we have so many families who have been affected by the hurricane and the economy that we are trying to raise more food and money.”
The Thanksgiving baskets will consist of a traditional holiday feast. It will provide families with a turkey for their meal as well as dressing, sweet potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and more. According to Garrison, HAAM’s clientele has increased and it expects to feed approximately 700 families this year.
“We have received so much from different people in the community and whatever is left over after Thanksgiving will be used for our Christmas baskets,” Garrison said.
The Lake Houston Family YMCA began helping HAAM three years ago after hosting their own food drive for several years. The YMCA decided to have a food drive at the same time and all donations will benefit HAAM and its Seasons of Sharing program. The East Montgomery County YMCA also has boxes in its lobby to collect food for HAAM.
“Our members are very giving and having the boxes near the entrance of the YMCA helps teach children around the community how important it is to help others and give back to the community,” Carol Sutton, director of marketing for the YMCA, said.
For more information or to help distribute food to families, call 281-446-3663.
While most food drives in East Montgomery County are winding down for the Thanksgiving season, the Montgomery County Food Bank is still seeking donations to help families in need.
“During the summer and holiday seasons, the need for assistance rises, especially this year because we expect an increase of need by 20 percent due to the hurricane,” said Doris Golemon, executive director. The Montgomery County Food Bank is a warehouse that sends food to various food pantries in the area. In East Montgomery County, food is given to the Mission Northeast, Peach Creek Baptist Church, St. John of the Cross, Friendship United Methodist Church, LifeSeekers and The Lord’s Chapel Church in Splendora.
To donate food to the Montgomery County Food Bank, call 936-539-6686.
At the Mission Northeast, the food drive has ended for Thanksgiving, but volunteers will be handing out baskets from Nov. 18-20 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. to its clients.
“We want to say thank you to the many sponsors who helped us this year,” said Lorie Young, executive director.
Get involved
To see a list of participating businesses, organizations and schools who have hosted food and toy drives, log onto www.theatascocitaobserver.com.
But for some families in the Humble, Kingwood, Atascocita and East Montgomery County communities, this time of year is anything but joyous. Due to the downturn in the economy and hardships after Hurricane Ike, more families are finding themselves without money to purchase food and gifts during the holiday season.
Recognizing the needs in the area, several nonprofit organizations have once again stepped up to the plate to provide Thanksgiving and Christmas meals to many families.
With shelves almost bare, the Society of St. Stephen’s Christmas Angel Coordinators are depending on the numerous food and toy drives that are or will be taking place to help them feed approximately 360 families from the Kingwood, Porter and New Caney area.
“The deadline for families to sign up and receive Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets has passed, but those who did not register but show up to get food will not be turned away,” said Marlene Canty, a charter member and coordinator of the Society of St. Stephen.
The society will give away the Thanksgiving baskets Nov. 25 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Kingwood United Methodist Church for those who are registered. The baskets will contain a Kroger gift certificate that can be used to purchase two meats for Thanksgiving and Christmas along with stuffing, cake mix, frosting, mashed potatoes, rolls, butter, vegetables, canned fruit and more. Clients who are not registered, but who show up at noon, will also receive food that is left over along with a Hormel ham for dinner.
For Christmas, the same food will be given out to families along with toys for at least 1,074 children, up to age 17, who were registered. The food and toys will be given out Dec. 16 at the church.
“Names of all children who registered were put on an angel and based on a master shopping list, parents were able to decide what they wanted their children to have for Christmas,” said Lynn Harper, community and business coordinator for the Society of St. Stephen’s Christmas Angel Coordinators. “The child’s wish list is on the back of their angel and they are given to businesses who wish to participate in our Christmas toy/gift matching program.”
On Dec. 16, toys purchased for children registered are sorted out, bagged and given to the families along with their Christmas basket. Donations from generic toy drives are sorted and placed in a girl and boy room for children and families to go in and pick out Christmas gifts.
To make this holiday season a success, area businesses and schools helped out. Holding food and toy drives this year are Kingwood Medical Center, RE/MAX Associates Northeast, Lake Houston Family YMCA, National Charity League-Livable Forest Chapter, National Charity League-Kingwood Chapter, Mothers of Young Children, Flag’s Real Estate, Stacey’s Dance Studio and Her Healthcare. Schools who participated this year are Pines Montessori, Northeast Christian Academy, Kingwood United Methodist Preschool/MDO, Holy Comforter Lutheran Preschool/MDO; Bear Branch, Deerwood, Elm Grove, Greentree, Foster, Hidden Hollow, Shadow Forest and Willow Creek elementaries; Riverwood Middle School; Kingwood and Kingwood Park high schools.
The Society of St. Stephen started in November 1981 as a mission of the Kingwood United Methodist Church. It started out in a closet at the church and three years ago moved into the building across the street.
Today, the outreach facility serves people in the Humble, New Caney and Splendora school districts by handing out food to families once a month and allowing them to shop for free clothes once every other month. The outreach mission is a nonprofit organization and all staff members are volunteers.
The Society is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 to 11:30 a.m. For more information on the Society of St. Stephen, call 281-358-7722.
Another nonprofit organization in the area that is getting ready to hand out Thanksgiving baskets is the Humble Area Assistance Ministries. It will distribute baskets to families Nov. 20-22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“I am so excited because this year our community has put our community first and all of the donations from the various toy and food drives will stay here locally,” said Millie Garrison, resource development director for HAAM.
Partnering with several churches and businesses in the community, HAAM has receives thousands of pounds of food that will be sorted and packaged. A food drive at Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital netted approximately 10,961 pounds of food and $3,127.
“We have been holding food drives for HAAM for more than 10 years and we continue to do it because Memorial Hermann wants to serve our community and this is one of the ways that we do it,” said Rhonda Dishongh, customer relations manager for Memorial Hermann Northeast.
In addition to the hospital, other organizations have worked extremely hard to collect food and money to help feed families during the holiday season.
“We have helped HAAM for many years by providing food as well as volunteers,” said Grace Choate, a member of the Atascocita Presbyterian Church and HAAM board of trustee. “We do this as a mission of our church, and this year is very important because we have so many families who have been affected by the hurricane and the economy that we are trying to raise more food and money.”
The Thanksgiving baskets will consist of a traditional holiday feast. It will provide families with a turkey for their meal as well as dressing, sweet potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and more. According to Garrison, HAAM’s clientele has increased and it expects to feed approximately 700 families this year.
“We have received so much from different people in the community and whatever is left over after Thanksgiving will be used for our Christmas baskets,” Garrison said.
The Lake Houston Family YMCA began helping HAAM three years ago after hosting their own food drive for several years. The YMCA decided to have a food drive at the same time and all donations will benefit HAAM and its Seasons of Sharing program. The East Montgomery County YMCA also has boxes in its lobby to collect food for HAAM.
“Our members are very giving and having the boxes near the entrance of the YMCA helps teach children around the community how important it is to help others and give back to the community,” Carol Sutton, director of marketing for the YMCA, said.
For more information or to help distribute food to families, call 281-446-3663.
While most food drives in East Montgomery County are winding down for the Thanksgiving season, the Montgomery County Food Bank is still seeking donations to help families in need.
“During the summer and holiday seasons, the need for assistance rises, especially this year because we expect an increase of need by 20 percent due to the hurricane,” said Doris Golemon, executive director. The Montgomery County Food Bank is a warehouse that sends food to various food pantries in the area. In East Montgomery County, food is given to the Mission Northeast, Peach Creek Baptist Church, St. John of the Cross, Friendship United Methodist Church, LifeSeekers and The Lord’s Chapel Church in Splendora.
To donate food to the Montgomery County Food Bank, call 936-539-6686.
At the Mission Northeast, the food drive has ended for Thanksgiving, but volunteers will be handing out baskets from Nov. 18-20 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. to its clients.
“We want to say thank you to the many sponsors who helped us this year,” said Lorie Young, executive director.
Get involved
To see a list of participating businesses, organizations and schools who have hosted food and toy drives, log onto www.theatascocitaobserver.com.
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