When you make yourself available & live by Isaiah 6:8, “Here I AM, Send ME!” He does say GO! But, Be Ready! In our community we saw so much need all around us. This led us to reach out to many organizations in the area to see how big this need actually is and what it is.
Our Benevolence Program helps families, children, veterans & individuals by filling their needs. Follow The Need also provides volunteers to support specific tasks & events, putting us on call throughout the year. It is not unusual for other nonprofits, churches, pantries to turn to Follow The Need to fulfill an urgent need.
Follow The Need supports five pantries with food throughout the year. And, when a dire need comes in, we are always there. The need for food is growing each month. Many families who never asked for a handout, but due to food prices, are now joining the ranks. In particular, vulnerable populations such as children, seniors, and people with chronic illnesses are more likely to rely on the food pantries. Additionally, households with single parents, immigrants, and communities of color are coming for help at the food pantry. Overall, we serve as an essential resource, so individuals and families who are struggling to access adequate and healthy food, will receive, because we are stepping up & filling the need.
Over the years Follow The Need is called to help the many homeless in the area. The main need is the tent. We take for granted our warm home that includes a bed & warm blanket. They don’t, so we fill this need by purchasing many tents & hundreds of blankets. Other items are bought to make it easy for the many in need. Over the years, we supply towels & thousands of pairs of socks. In all our years of giving, the main item specifically asked for is a clean pair of socks.
So many are in need in Appalachia, where jobs were lost and never came back. Follow The Need was there for 9 days during the Christmas holiday to fill an enormous need. There were 500 families who only wanted a coat to keep warm & a gift for their children. We filled all the needs, as 1,100 coats were brought from the team. Along with hats, scarf & gloves. Gifts were given to every child, along with food for the holiday. This is what Follow The Need is all about, leaving Jesus in our path, along with our footprints.
When a shoe drive is not just about collecting shoes, but changing lives, Follow The Need is there again & again. We have put 23 women into a micro enterprise, with more this year. We have sent over 14,000 pairs of shoes to Haiti, chosen as our country in the most need. These women are handpicked, and then given 500 pairs of shoes to sell in their marketplace. Follow The Need will always give a hand UP, not OUT!
Every Year Follow The Need joins the Salvation Army for the Christmas Angel Tree program. Simply, many underprivileged families sign up each year asking for help to fill the gift wishes from their little ones. Over 2,300 gift requests come in where each child is allowed three gifts, and one “Big Wish”. Follow The Need provides hundreds of boys and girls with their big wish…a bicycle. Boys and girls are riding down their street on their brand new bike filled with joy.
The need for help never stops coming in, and filling the need is what we will always do. So, when you realize how blessed you are and how much you have to give others, don’t forget about Follow The Need. We ask you to open your heart, and support us by donating to our benevolence program.