'All this' feeds the hungry

Scott Horn, pastor of City Outreach Church, worries about how much of a Christmas the ministry can provide needy children this year. A few bicycles were left over from last year, but with layoffs and low donations, he is concerned about having enough toys to go around. (T-G Photo by Mary Reeves) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

"It all started with a loaf of bread," said the pastor of City Outreach Church, which operates City Outreach Ministries. "God spoke to me and told me to go to Kroger and get their day-old bread. I started getting it, and we went from a loaf of bread, in my garage, to all this, in a warehouse."

"All this" is a building half-filled with donated food, from crackers to corn, from hams to hash browns -- all to be given away. City Outreach works closely with Good Samaritan, and as with its fellow charitable organization, its larder is getting lean.

"We help people in need," said Horn. "We're low on donations and we need help."

The outreach group makes up food boxes for the needy on a weekly basis -- it has no screening criteria or minimum requirements, just a driving desire to help those who need it.

"We had a lady come in once who had been a millionaire," he said. "She was having to declare bankruptcy and didn't have enough food to buy groceries. We help anybody who needs help."

School children are primary benefactors of the group's generosity, but they are the ones about whom Horn is most concerned.

"We help all the kids who need it in the school system," he said. "Food, clothes, toys, all of it. In the past, the school system has helped us out, but now they're not going to."

Local families who need help providing Christmas for the children have the last chance to sign up at the Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday, which begins at 11 a.m. at the church/warehouse at 221 Burt St.

Horn knows there will be plenty of children signed up, especially with the layoffs and planned layoffs the county has suffered recently. He only hopes there will be many just as eager to sign up on the giving end, donating the toys and funds to buy toys for these children.

"We have some people helping -- judges, lawyers, companies -- there is a great need here," said Horn. "Especially in the school system. I'm told more than half the kids are on assistance."

Food is always needed and welcome, he said, even more so with the holidays coming up. Volunteers gather in the warehouse on Burt Street and fill the boxes, assembly-line style, and is handed out at the door.

"Some civic groups are going to help us put together the Thanksgiving boxes for the veterans," he said.

"But we really need toys," he said. "Bicycles, stuff like that, for kids 1 to 14 years old."

Some of the very veterans who receive help from City Outreach Ministries are quick to turn around and help others.

"Big Brothers, the veterans group, they've been a major help," said Horn. "They bring in a lot of toys."

City Outreach Ministries is a 501 (c) 3 organization, he added, and all donations are tax-deductible.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

For more information, leave a message for Scott Horn at 684-9984.