Small and Simple Acts Make a Big Impact on Local Charities
Hurst area congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held an annual conference March 25-26, 2023. While gathering for a weekend of instruction and worship led by local and regional leadership, members of the Church donated about 1,000 individual packages of Ramen noodles to be delivered to Community Storehouse in Tarrant County and the I Can Still Shine program, which serves abused women and their children in Tarrant County.
By Anna Zenk
Howard Skinner and his daughter, Ryan Skinner delivering roughly 300 individual Ramen packages to ICSS. Image courtesy of Howard Skinner.
Sandra Cooper, a member of the Church in the Hurst area who volunteers at Community Storehouse, identified a need for Ramen noodles. Additionally, Howard Skinner, who is the JustServe representative for the Church in Hurst, contacted the I Can Still Shine (ICSS) leader, Brenda Jackson, to inquire if ICSS could use some Ramen noodles. She said yes!
Cooper shared her insights about Community Storehouse with us:
“Community Storehouse is an organization that helps families in need in many ways. They have educational programs that not only help children in various school districts who might be at risk, but also help to empower the parents. They offer after school tutoring, where kids can get one-on-one help with school work they might be struggling with. In addition to these programs they also have a food bank. Anyone in the DFW area can come to Community Storehouse to receive food. To help fund the programs and the food bank, they have a couple of resale stores which depend on the donations from others—donations of both food and household items are always welcome.
Not only does the food bank supply food to anyone in the DFW area, but they also provide roughly 5,000 snack packs a month to kids in various school districts. These snack packs are for children who are at risk of going hungry on weekends, when school is not in session.
The Fort Worth Service Missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have a long standing relationship with Community Storehouse, and several missionaries give dedicated service to them. This is how I got involved. When touring the place with my son Anthony (who was then a missionary) I saw there was a need for someone to pack up snack packs in the food bank. This was something I knew I could do and so I jumped in. Not only do I help with snack packs, but I help stock, fill food orders, and deliver the food to the clients.
I love serving at the food bank. Each week that I do, I see it as an opportunity to shine his light and to share His love, the Savior's love can heal. As disciples of Jesus Christ we are an extension of His hands, and I see that each week. After all, when we are in the service of others, we are in the service of our God.
Sandra delivering roughly 700 individual packets of Ramen noodles to Community Storehouse.
Image courtesy of Sandra Cooper.
The food bank manager, knowing that I am a member of the Church, asked if we could help them out. I was told that during the holidays there is an abundance of food donations, but after the holidays donations tend to drop off and shelves go empty. Donations may dwindle, but the need for food doesn't.
A scripture in the Book of Mormon from Alma comes to mind, “By small and simple things great things are brought to pass...” (Alma 37:6) If one person donates Ramen, it might not reach many individuals; but collectively we can feed many. By our combined small and simple donations, I was able to deliver roughly 700 packages to Community Storehouse.
The Ramen Noodle food drive is a perfect example of what great things can happen through small and simple means.”
Community Storehouse happily welcomes volunteers. Anyone interested can contact Krista Morrison at 817-741-3340 or email Krista@communitystorehouse.org. Volunteers can also sign up online at www.communitystorehouse.org under “How Can I Help?”
Those who wish to volunteer at I Can Still Shine, please contact Howard Skinner at howardskinner@yahoo.com who will put you directly in touch with Brenda Jackson at ICSS.
Anna Zenk serves as the Stake Website Administrator for the Hurst Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She’s a professional graphic designer specializing in design for print. During her free time she works on personal design projects, blogs and enjoys bookbinding by hand.