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If a young mother with her two-year-old came to you in the grocery store and asked for your help because her children were hungry, would you say no?
If a stranger told you that his family was soon to be evicted from his apartment because he lost his job and asked you for help with rent, would you say no?
If you were asked to give where you live to support your neighbors who are facing hunger and homelessness, would you say no?
This summer I am asking you to say YES to ACO’s GIVE WHERE YOU LIVE Campaign! ACO’s mission is to say yes to our neighbors facing these struggles, but we need your help.
Say Yes to join hands with the local nonprofit organization with 40 years of proven success in leading families from crisis to financial stability with services and programs designed to meet ACO’s mission: Preventing hunger and homelessness while providing a path to stability.
Our ACO EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE funds for housing and utilities, our ACO FOOD PANTRY for fresh foods, meat and produce, ACO CARES CENTER for household essentials, and the ACO LEARNING ACADEMY for education and employment programs all continue because of your donations.
With your support, we can help that mother feed her children, we can provide support to the family facing eviction, and we can provide the vital programs and services to get them past their immediate emergencies and on a path to stability.
Say YES with a few easy clicks to our website your gift will have lasting impacts on Collin County families who are struggling. We have a challenging goal to reach in the next few months to meet our budget for assistance. With your donations, we can meet that goal and change lives.
A few more things... I just today received word that we have 233 families scheduled to shop the ACO Cares Center for the month of May and we have only 10 containers of laundry detergent! We all know how expensive this can be, which is one reason the families depend items like detergent to be in stock. If you can help, drop off small bottles (we don't need the giant containers!) of laundry detergent to the ACO Offices/Cares Center ASAP. I assure you that 223 families will be so grateful for their kid's clean clothes!!
Also, I recently had the true pleasure of joining our volunteers at a party in their honor! We had a fun night after-hours at the ACO Resale Store just for volunteers to have dinner, get to know each other, and just enjoy a party and private shopping. Thank you to those who I spoke with personally. It was so heartwarming to hear testimonies of the joy and satisfaction that so many of our volunteers gain from their experiences at ACO. As I’ve mentioned in the past, my journey at ACO began as the Volunteer Director, and I have a deep appreciation for what our volunteers do and the time that they give. For 25 years I’ve seen the impact they have made on our community. You all are amazing and YOU ARE CHANGING LIVES!
And, it’s time for the ACO Kids Summer Food Program. What happens when families who have relied on the free and reduced breakfast and lunch programs and their children’s schools when summer comes? While so many of us are enjoying summertime with our kids, vacationing and relaxing with outings, not all families see the joy. Many kids are staring at empty refrigerators and pantries, or their parents are faced with higher grocery bills to provide during those summer months. See our list of needs below or always visit our website for the most current needs.
I recently told a story of my own experience with my son. He’s now 21, but when Marty was school age, I made a point of asking him to choose two items for breakfast or lunch that he liked to eat every time we grocery shopped. We’d bring those items home, and he would put them in a bag we kept in our kitchen pantry. When the bag was full, it was his job to come with me to donate those items to the ACO Food Pantry. The lesson was that kids, just like him, who liked the same foods, were going hungry in our neighborhood. He may have been too young to volunteer at the pantry, but he could still help in a meaningful way.
Get your kids and grandkids involved this summer. Start early with examples of how they can give where they live!
Ok, I just thought of one final thing- check out the beautiful necklace from Kendra Scott below in ACO colors! I am in love with that piece. Not only can you win one in a drawing just by making a purchase by I hear that we can also purchase the necklace- which I will be doing!
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