Some twenty or so years ago I had a dream that there would be no man, woman or child in Johnson County going to bed hungry at night. I thought that since the Federal government’s statistics showed that Johnson County was one of the wealthiest counties in the United States that it would be easy to mobilize people and solve this problem locally.

I knew that despite being one of the most wealthy counties that we had poverty in our midst. There certainly were people going without food, needing clothing, affordable after school day care and more… We needed a place to get started. We found a fifteen acre property in western Shawnee which was just starting to really grow.

We brought ten families together who guaranteed the mortgage and we got started. It was a mess. It had been a rat farm! Literally it had been a place built to raise and sell rats for experimentation. But we could get it for the right price. We knew that it would be a big job but we had a big dream. The place had been abandoned for a time, so we started thoroughly cleaning the place and clearing the trash and weeds..

We had no money for employees so everyone that helped us was a volunteer. Wherever we saw a need, we worked to find a solution. We worked with apartment owners that were having vandalism problems. We got gym equipment and started summer school programs. We gathered clean, used clothes and provided affordable after school day care and snacks. Whenever we saw a need in the community, we worked to find a solution..

We knew the community needed more services and a gathering place. A new swimming facility was appropriate for this growing part of Shawnee. A civic center seemed a logical solution, too. We helped build voter support to pass a bond issue first for the pool and then the civic center. We donated the rest of our property to the City of Shawnee for the complex..

But the problem of hunger seemed to be growing. We needed another building. We found a former convenience store and again we gathered clothing added others donations including furniture, appliances, cars, trucks and even a house! And the food. More and more food poured in. Volunteers gathered bread, donuts, sweets, canned goods, produce and more. Some of our volunteers had gardens and brought us fresh produce. We have been continually blessed with an outpouring of abundance that has enabled us to help those in need..

We have been privileged to assist thousands of people each year including veterans, single moms, families, senior citizens, handicapped and the homeless. We have seen waves and waves of immigrants – Asians, Russians, Hispanics and so many more. Many have come through our door. We have seen the best of people in the worst of their times. Most of our clients only need help for a short time. Consistently we see that offering them a hand up rather than a hand out helps put them back on the path to self-sufficiency. Knowing that someone really cares makes a huge difference.

Sometimes it takes longer. We have a client that has been coming for about ten years and has been through every possible bad circumstance. It all stemmed from a debilitating medical condition. We have stretched every way possible to help her to get on her feet and each time something happened and she was starting over again. We heard from her recently and she was coming in to talk and we worried that we wouldn’t be able to help this time. When she came for her appointment, we couldn’t believe our eyes! She was beautifully dressed, her hair was fixed and she was all smiles. Her doctor had given her an all clear. She had beaten her illness. She was starting a job and she felt better, stronger, more hope-filled than she had in years. She thanked us profusely and we wept with tears of joy. .

There are no guarantees. No quick fixes. Just one day at a time helping all that you can help. Respecting each person where they are. Offering food, clothing and your best advice from years of dealing with the problems life throws at us.

We have been doing this charitable work at our present location for over 17 years. If you’ve visited, I’m sure you noticed that we are cramped and overcrowded dealing with the abundance that we have been blessed with. Through a very fortunate set of circumstances we were able to purchase the property adjacent to our location. We are so very excited to share it you that we have paid off the mortgage and own it free and clear. .

Now we are able to focus on building a new facility with approximately 15,000 square feet of space. It will be able to house all of our operations and allow room for expansion. It will even give us a REAL kitchen, office space and a conference room for our meetings AND classroom space. It has always been part of our dream to offer classes that will assist our clients and others in our community in becoming more self-reliant and successful. .

In order to build this building, we have begun a Capital Campaign to raise $3,000,000. This will not only allow us to build the new building which is currently estimated at $1.5 million dollars but will fund an endowment to help support our operations..

We know better than most that every single penny counts. One of our donors recently said, “we can make a dollar scream.” We take that as a great compliment and it is our promise to continue to stretch every dollar as far as humanly possible. Thank you for joining us now as we work together to make the future bright and as we pursue our dream of ending hunger and homelessness by 2020..