 |
| The Storehouse |
 | | in Albany
Vision Albany provided sports shirts for kids attending a local summer camp sponsored by Urban Missions, one of Vision Albany’s partners. |
Providing Fundamentals for Families in NeedBuilding Self-Esteem, Rebuilding Lives
An Albany woman found herself alone, trying to raise three children while her husband was incarcerated. She had no financial or physical help until she learned of the Faith Community Outreach Center’s homeless shelter for women and children. Caring staff members there are helping her earn her GED and fostering hope for a better future. But she still needs basic necessities, and those are being provided by World Vision.
“I did not have decent clothes to wear. Thanks to World Vision making donations available to Faith Outreach, I now have several new and beautiful outfits,” she said. She also received shoes for her whole family.
“I really feel good about myself again and can concentrate on my studies,” she added.
Meeting a Great Need
With the exception of Lee County, every county in Georgia’s Region 10 has 21 percent or more residents living below the poverty line—defined as a family of three living on $15,260 or less a year. Nearly 25 percent of the residents of the city of Albany live in poverty.
According to 2000 Census Bureau data, 36.4 percent of Albany’s children live in poverty (43.6 percent of children younger than 5). Statistically, these children are more likely than children in other families to become teen parents or victims of a violent crime. An alarming 51.5 percent of female-headed families with children also live below the poverty line.
Life-Changing Gifts
The Storehouse answers Christ’s call to care for the poor by distributing life-changing products that range from clothing, toys, and religious and other reading materials to toiletries, household items, and building supplies. The Storehouse offers basic items that lift spirits, boost self-esteem, and ease burdens. In the past year, The Storehouse has worked with more than 40 World Vision partners in Albany to serve more than 36,000 children and family members.
The Storehouse is part of a growing network of World Vision facilities that provide items for daily living to local residents who might otherwise go without.
The Storehouse also provides school supplies to local schools, and plans to expand to regularly provide free school and office supplies to teachers who work in schools that serve low-income neighborhoods.
Statistics show that students who lack resources lag behind their schoolmates, and many teachers try to narrow that gap by spending hundreds, sometimes thousands, of their own dollars to help students meet these needs. School supplies help young scholars perform better in the classroom, and improve their chances at future success in school. Teachers will be able to make regular visits to The Storehouse to pick up school and office supplies as well as books and other useful learning tools.
Products for The Storehouse are donated by hundreds of U.S. merchants and manufacturers and provided free to partner churches and organizations, which distribute them to those in greatest need. Donors receive tax benefits of up to twice the value of the products, plus increased warehouse space when they contribute overstocked inventory. They also fulfill their community involvement objectives and create positive public relations opportunities in the business arena and in their communities.
These generously donated products allow local churches, faith-based organizations, and community organizations to enhance and expand their transformational work in the Albany area.
| |
|
