Time is slipping away . . .

Wow, I can't believe it's the end of April already.  This has been one very rough winter.  The Pantry is still going strong, although our numbers were down a bit this past month - in spite of it being Maundy Thursday, our doors were open.

One big change I want to let everyone know (well, it's not that big), but we have discontinued using the Post Office Box in Broadway.  We thought having a post office box in Broadway would make it easier for us to get there, since the majority of our volunteers LIVE in Broadway. . .not so.  We're a bunch of busy people, so we've decided just to use Rader's address, which is PO Box 1123, Timberville, VA  22853.  It's a small change, but it will save us $48 a year.  We thought it better to save the money and have the mail picked up consistently.  Oops. :o )

In early April, I had the pleasure of letting the Broadway-Timberville Rotary know what A Small Hand-Plains District was all about.  What a great group of men and women.  It still amazes me, in spite of having opened our doors in November 2011, there are still people in the community that don't know we exist.  I guess that indicates a very low budget for advertising.  Oops, I should say "no" budget for advertising.  So far, though, "word of mouth" advertising has done pretty well for us.  The folks down at J & B's help keep us visible in the community and we are thankful for their willingness to be a collection point.

The Pantry will be open Thursday, May 15th from 5 - 7 PM.  If the weather's nice we might even be able to convince Mr. Brower to come take some pictures for us again.

It's also time to switch out the winter clothes for spring and summer's lighter, brighter clothes for the little ones. (FINALLY, this seemed like the longest winter ever!)   We really appreciate the volunteers that just "show up" and get it done through the day, when the rest of the crew is working their day jobs.  

If you have any children's books, we would really appreciate them, we like to have them available to give to the siblings.  We hope they will encourage them to read to their little brother or sister.  Of course, as the babies turn into toddlers, those books look pretty interesting to them, too!

We have been very blessed again this year.  Due to your donations of goods-diapers and baby foods, we've not had to purchase a whole lot.  We're hoping to get a sizable donation of Size 4 diapers through our friends at A Small Hand in Edinburg.  For some reason, they believe their next diaper shipment will have an abundance of them and they are willing to share!  Yay! They're our most popular size.  

There are a lot of small bits and pieces that make our little outreach work, God has richly blessed us and we enjoy sharing.  The folks at J & B, Mr. Brower, the ladies switching out the clothes, our Thursday evening volunteers. . .all a small part of how we make it all work!  

If you know someone that could benefit from our help, we hope you will encourage them to come see us on the third Thursday of the month.  We enjoy offering them a helping hand, getting to know them, their baby and their family.  We know we're not going to change the world through our little ministry, we just want to give them a small hand for a little while and let them know we care.

Thanks for checking up on us.  I hope this finds you enjoying a nice warm, spring day.  God Bless.
Bev



For the rest of 2014, these are our pantry dates, 
May 15
June 19
July 17
August 21
September 18
October 16
November 20
December 18

In cases of emergency:
Contact Bev via phone (evenings, please 540-578-0779) or email ashpd.bev@gmail.com, we will try our best to make arrangements to help.

Finally, a break from the snow!

As I write this I am seeing, what I hope, are the final flakes of our mega snow storm.  The weatherman finally got it right.  

Not a whole lot to report.  The Pantry is still going strong, thanks to some very willing hands and support from our church and community.  
We still love watching our babies grow!!

Pantry will be open one week from tonight, February 20th from 5-7. 
If anyone has any questions, they can give me a call 578-0779 (evenings are best for me).  

If you're a resident of the Plains District (Broadway School District) and a first time pantry visitor, please bring your WIC or SNAP paperwork, a valid form of ID and your baby.  If your baby is on a special formula, please call me in advance so we can have the formula you need in stock.  

We are in need of some gently-read books for little ones and their siblings.  

The dates for the balance of 2014:

March 20th
April 17th 
May 15th
June 19th
July 17th
August 21st
September 18th
October 16th
November 20th
December 18th

Keep safe & warm!

Bev