While the majority of families stay bundled up inside a warm house with plenty of food to eat during this winter cold snap, there is a shocking amount of those in the community with not only no place to go, but nothing to eat as well. Housing Opportunities is working hard to address this issue and thanks to a recent donation from Don Quijote Restaurante, the food pantry is stocked for the next month.
Through fundraisers held in the fall through early winter, the restaurant was able to raise $2,800, all for purchasing food for the pantry, a fundraising campaign held annually at Don Qujiote. “It’s all I choose, Housing Opportunities. I choose this every year,” stated restaurant owner Carlos Rivero. His reasoning for choosing Housing Opportunities as the recipient? “Most of the reasons are the little kids that make me be a part of it,” he shared. “They [Housing Opportunities] do a fantastic job over here with the clients that they have.”
“We let the customer know we were taking donations for them [Housing Opportunities], this is what they do, would you help us support them? Easily about nine out of ten of our clientele were more than supportive," shared Brad Sorrells, server at Don Quijote. “How can you not do what you can to help?”
The pantry currently serves an average of 100 homeless families a month, who are all a part of the homeless program at Housing Opportunities. Each client works with a volunteer on distribution days, who helps them to make well-rounded choices and ensures they receive what they need.
“This donation from Carlos is so impactful to our community, especially our clients,” Caren Furdeck, Development Coordinator at Housing Opportunities, emphasized. “It’s going to help ease their mind, ease our minds so we can focus on the core problems of budgeting, life skills, getting them into a safe home, and knowing we don’t have to supply the food for at least the next month or two.”
The money raised was able to purchase a great amount of food, yet there were some gaps remaining when all the funds were exhausted. “We started talking about the need for the pantry and we started ordering food. When the person taking the order told us we’d reached our goal, Carlos said, ‘Yeah but we didn’t get this and this and this and they said they need that so add that, add that,’” shared Furdeck, talking about how Rivero and his business partner Elena Jambrina donated more money from the restaurant in order to cover all the needs.
In addition to helping on the monetary side, Rivero, Jambrina, and Sorrells showed up with several bags of toys, to help stock the toy closet which helps struggling parents purchase gifts for their kids on birthdays and holidays.
“I’ve never met anybody like Carlos. He’s giving to a fault. He cares so much,” said Jambrina. Yet Rivero is quick to direct the spotlight elsewhere.
“If my customers are not there to help, nothing happens. It’s not me or Don Quijote, it’s an effort by everybody that cares,” he said. “It’s a collective effort in this community and this community, for everything I’ve done, has been great. The participation, it has been incredible.”
When the truck pulled into the lot, excitement filled the faces of the volunteers and staff, gathered to help unload. An assembly line running from the parking lot to the basement, where the pantry is located, formed quickly and in roughly 20 minutes, the semi was unpacked. And despite the truck arriving a few hours behind schedule, everyone was happy to be a part of serving others.
“I love it!” exclaimed volunteer Darlene Perry. “It makes me feel like I’m doing something worthwhile and makes me appreciate what I have in my own home life and how blessed I am.”
Another volunteer, Diane Zato, echoed Perry’s sentiments. “I like volunteering here because I feel like I’m helping people. It makes you feel very good at the end of the day.”
“We’ve been so blessed,” said Furdeck, sharing how various community groups are able to give as able and keep the pantry stocked. “We used to get large donations like this once a month when we were part of the Northwest Indiana Food Bank. Since we are no longer a part of that group, we have to rely solely on donations. Carlos’s donation will help fill the gap that occurs in the winter months after the holidays.”
Items needed that aren’t as popular among those donating include milk, meat, cooking oil, and larger diapers for toddler ages. Toilet paper and other toiletries are also in demand. “Food stamps don’t cover toiletries, cleaning products,” Furdeck stated.
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