Latest / Our Community, Our Mission / Ep #232 Back to School and Beyond: Community Efforts to Combat Hunger.

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Ep #232 Back to School and Beyond: Community Efforts to Combat Hunger. · Our Community, Our Mission

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Father, you're good to us.
• 0:00
  Speaker 1: God, we're just so thankful for this time.
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Thank you for everyone listening.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: God, I just pray that these students, going into this new year feel refreshed.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: God, that you would give them peace in the struggle of school.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: God, we're just so thankful for your grace, your mercy and your provision.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: It's in Jesus' name I pray, amen.
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: Hello everybody.
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: You're listening to Our Community, our Mission a podcast of the Topeka Rescue Mission.
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: You're listening to Our Community, our Mission a podcast of the Topeka Rescue Mission.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: My name is Barry Feaker, your host today.
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: It's Friday, july 26th of 2024, podcast number 232.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Hello, marian Crable.
• 0:32
  Speaker 3: How are you?
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: Deputy Director.
• 0:35
  Speaker 3: Is that what I am today?
• 0:36
  Speaker 3: Yes, you are, you are yes 232.
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: I know, and you've been around for most of them, yes, that's dating you.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: Well, that's dating you.
• 0:42
  Speaker 3: Well, I've been around as long as it's been going on, I just haven't been on every one.
• 0:46
  Speaker 3: I know Me either, actually I know, but anyway, two and 32.
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: Sometimes they give us a break.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: We're headed towards 250, which is pretty cool.
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: I can remember when it was 50 the other day and we thought that was cool.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: One thing that we do know is that, being in July, towards the end of July, it's hot yeah it is.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: And one of the things that we find when we need hot is to really help people with relief from the heat.
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: And we're going to be talking to our guys from the distribution center today, but one of the things you mentioned that we really could use is water.
• 1:16
  Speaker 3: Water, gatorade, anything like that, you know, any of those things that can help people replenish that hydration.
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: But there's been some great things going on around the community.
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: There's different places that have hydration stations, you know, and that kind of thing.
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: Even our church did something, you know, putting out a cooler that was packed with ice and drinks just for people that are all over, because we know, with all of the things that have gone on, people have scattered and so they really are all over the city.
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: So coming to TRM or being found by our outreach team, is sometimes a little bit of a challenge.
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: It is now because of recent ordinances that cleared camps and for those who are experiencing homelessness.
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: Right, and so I think anything obviously bringing stuff to us will be great because we'll be able to get it out to people, but even just to remember as they're seeing people that might be on corners and stuff that offering people a bottle of water is a really wonderful thing, wonderful thing, and could possibly keep them out of the hospital today.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: Miriam, have you noticed?
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: It seems like there's more individual groups and churches that are kind of stepping up to the plate and doing what they can.
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: now than there used to be.
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think so.
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: It seems like there is, it does it seems like it, it does it seems like it, and I don't know, barry, if maybe it's because this is such a hot topic, right, you know, it's been discussed in the media, and not just locally but nationally.
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: I think there's better awareness and I think it tugs at the heart of people, especially those people who are, well, really any people, people that just have a compassionate heart.
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: But I think the churches, too, are just trying to figure out ways.
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: How can we really be the hands and feet, um, and so it's wonderful.
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: It's wonderful that they're doing that.
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: Too bad, we have to do it, but it's great that we have people stepping up.
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: Absolutely.
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: So, Mary, I know that you are aware of you had a mom and a dad right.
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: Yes, know that you are aware of, you had a mom and a dad right.
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: Yes, yes, I did.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: That's awesome.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: Did you ever celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day?
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: We did.
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's pretty cool.
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: I understand there's a Grandparents Day too.
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I bet, yeah, I'm.
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: Didn't catch on.
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: I'm a little older than that.
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: Well, did you know?
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: that there's a National Aunt and Uncle Day.
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: No, but I know that my nieces and nephews have been slacking, if there is.
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: Well, you need to call them today because today is National Aunt and Uncle Day, so just help them to get a little cultural update there.
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: I'll tag them on Facebook.
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: You know I don't know why they picked July 26, but you know it's a great time to go out and have a barbecue, do some outdoor activities or just stay in air conditioning and let somebody else do that.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: But yeah.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: So if you didn't know, it was that.
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: Do you know that it is National Coffee Milkshake Day?
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: No, because, barry, the only way I would have known that is if you had brought me one.
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: Uh-huh, okay, well-, but you didn't.
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: Next year we will put that down.
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: No, actually I love coffee, coffee, coffee coffee and I need some right now.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: Um, no, actually I didn't used to like coffee, but I do kind of like it in those smoothies type milkshake kind of things.
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: Well okay, milkshake, that means there's ice cream.
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: How bad can it be?
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: so, uh, so, so right so I'm looking at your face and I see.
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: You see the error.
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: I made the error, yeah.
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: In regards to repeating yourself yes, so I'm looking down here for why it's National Coffee Mug Day, and he has repeated why it's National Latin Uncle Day.
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: This is our research department.
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: That was just talking before.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: We went on record here that the guy who's pulling the switches down there doesn't have enough to do, right?
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: But what he does do yeah.
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: Well apparently.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: I do have the description.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: They describe it as a product of sheer human culinary ingenuity.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: You know you love ice cream and you can use a caffeinated sugary boost.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: To your rescue Comes a delicious coffee milkshake.
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: So then you can crash really hard.
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: Yeah, not just the sugar crash, but the caffeine crash as well.
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: I don't really understand it, because I'm thinking of like a blended drink, but I guess it's that, but with ice cream, oh, Well, that's what a milkshake is One's stirred up, one's not stirred up, okay, but anyway, it all goes in the same place and has some similar effect.
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: But anyway, miriam, next year, I promise.
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: You promise.
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: I will get you your nieces and nephews or whatever.
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: Contact you and make sure that you get a national milkshake.
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: A coffee, yeah, Okay.
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: National Bagel Fest Day yeah, I do like bagels, okay, all right, but I'll tell you what.
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: Now, bagels are a really special thing, barry, and sometimes people say they're making bagels and it's not exactly what I think of as a bagel.
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: No, no, you know it's an art.
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: Let's just say that it's an art, and sometimes the artists are novices.
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: So what do you need?
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: To have a really good recognition of National Bagelfest Day.
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: A bagel.
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: No, you need an empty stomach, some caffeine.
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: Oh, from that milkshake that you didn't bring.
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: Endless interest in bagels.
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: That way you can celebrate it well.
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: You've already probably had one today, so next year we will have a recognition of these three areas and maybe, you know, some of the relatives will send you some stuff.
• 6:29
  Speaker 5: I'm seeing a theme here, because my last appearance on the podcast was National Bagel Day.
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: Not Bagel Fest.
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: No, oh see, there's specialties all around.
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: That wasn't me that time, when he was here, we were both about that.
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: That wasn't me.
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: That wasn't you, that was you.
• 6:43
  Speaker 3: That just means they're running out of things to celebrate if we have two kind of bagel days.
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we found that out.
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: So, anyway, for those who are listening for the first time, we are very sorry about this, but for those who repeat offenders, I mean listeners.
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: This is why we always have these particular, very important aspects.
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: In case the rest of our podcast is not of interest to you, but this one is going to be, because it's going to be talking about kids in such a powerful way, because you know kids are out playing right now but pretty soon they're going to be going back to school.
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: We have Andrew Lucas, who's the director of our distribution center, Scott Bright, who's the assistant director, and guys, welcome to our community, our mission.
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: You both have been on the podcast before.
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: Andrew, lately you've been kind of a movie star.
• 7:27
  Speaker 5: I've been on the news a lot.
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah, talking about back to school.
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: But before we jump into that, guys, what is the Topeka Rescue Mission?
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: Distribution Center or distribution services?
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: What does that mean?
• 7:39
  Speaker 5: Well, we primarily, I think, receive the donations.
• 7:43
  Speaker 5: Of the material donations that come into TRM, we disseminate them across the campus.
• 7:52
  Speaker 5: So if there's anything from office supplies to kitchen supplies to you know, just needs around the facilities.
• 7:55
  Speaker 5: But our primary mission, I think, is to feed people, to be the eyes and ears of Jesus to the community as they come to us.
• 8:02
  Speaker 5: We run a food bank twice a week.
• 8:04
  Speaker 5: We can feed anywhere from 150 to 200 families.
• 8:08
  Speaker 5: Four to 6,000 meals by weight come out that door.
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: And that's in addition to what's being fed to people who stay at the kitchens or even the what we call Schenkel Stutzman Park, where people have a meal to go.
• 8:22
  Speaker 5: This is just a food pantry.
• 8:23
  Speaker 5: Food pantry In addition to the kitchens and all the food that they give out, we're able to feed those who are experiencing homelessness or who are in a poverty situation, where that becomes necessary to supplement their food stocks.
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: How many is that per time on a Tuesday or Thursday?
• 8:39
  Speaker 5: now, I think, about 100 families on average.
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: Families.
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: A family could be one person or several in a family Five, six, seven, 12.
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: 12.
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: Okay, and you don't give the same amount to one person versus 12.
• 8:52
  Speaker 5: We try to prorate it as much as we can.
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: So how long do those food baskets typically last?
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: An individual or a family, based upon what you put in them.
• 9:03
  Speaker 5: Not a tremendously long time really.
• 9:05
  Speaker 5: We do what we can.
• 9:06
  Speaker 5: We try to bless people with what God has blessed us with.
• 9:10
  Speaker 5: We would love to give as much as we possibly can, but we try to do it as much, you know, as fairly as we can, with as much thought towards what we can do to serve those who come to the door.
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: Have you seen any increase so far this spring summer?
• 9:24
  Speaker 5: Absolutely.
• 9:24
  Speaker 5: Oh, and people coming to the door?
• 9:26
  Speaker 5: Yes, I think.
• 9:29
  Speaker 5: Economically, we have seen a large increase, or at least a steady increase, in those who are coming to us with need, and, in communication with other agencies that do similar ministries, we're seeing the same thing.
• 9:41
  Speaker 5: They're calling us, we have a higher need, donations are down pretty much across the board, and so we're seeing a major shortage of goods to go around, not only with just TRM, but with the other agencies so people can't find it over here.
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: They may come there.
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: And that's so.
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: So I think, barry, to the thing that has impacted us the most is truly the fact that folks that used to be able to give have found themselves in difficult, difficult, more difficult economic situations, so their ability to give to us is less than it was before.
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: Um, with harvesters moving, that's been a big deal.
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: We're seeing them have less supply for us to be able to access and so I would say this food access situation for organizations that are trying to help people is at a much higher critical rate than it ever has been.
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: And I think maybe in the future we want to kind of unpack food scarcity as well.
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: You know what's the cost.
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: Today there's a significant increase in groceries and everything else, and so people are in greater need Right, combined with a lot of different things, and the organizations that receive those items are having less.
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: So we have a greater need of people in need Right and less resources Right To do you know, and in a conversation with harvesters a couple of weeks ago, we heard something interesting from their CEO in terms of why some of their product is not as available as it used to be because businesses, since COVID, have gotten better at keeping down their margin of overage Right, so now that means they don't have as much to donate, so they're being more cautious in the amount that they produce, which produces less overage, which then, means there isn't as much to go to harvesters, to then come to organizations et cetera.
• 11:32
  Speaker 3: So while it's a smart business decision, obviously for those businesses- not to have this overage.
• 11:38
  Speaker 3: It has had an impact on those of us who are trying to assist people who are experiencing hunger.
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: When you have a perishable product that you make and put in a grocery store, historically, what you want to do is put more in there than you probably were going to sell, just so you'd never run out, and places like Reesers used to do that, and so organizations like the Rescue Mission would benefit from the overage.
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: But then today, when you go to a grocery store, there's a lot of times they're out of things.
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: In midweek they just don't have the same, and that's part of the reason is that they have to do cost savings themselves, and it's one of the lingering effects of what happened during the pandemic right.
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: Because they found organizations or companies found themselves with during the pandemic right.
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: Because they found organizations or companies found themselves with way too much right.
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: So now they had to do something different.
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: And so it's interesting when we think about the pandemic, we're X number of you know, months, a year, two years past it.
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: We don't even want to think about it.
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: And yet we're still feeling the effects of that in different kinds of ways than maybe what we even anticipate.
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: We really are.
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: Andrew, how long have you been at the Pico Rescue Mission?
• 12:50
  Speaker 5: now I have been here or I'm guessing 90 to 120 days.
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: I don't go back and look at the.
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: He's still a baby.
• 13:04
  Speaker 5: Still, you're still a baby, still new, still new.
• 13:06
  Speaker 5: But I'll tell you, barry, in the time I've been here, I have seen God show up unexpectedly multiple times.
• 13:08
  Speaker 5: We've been talking about some of the corporate donors who are incredibly generous and have done so much for the mission and helping us do what we do.
• 13:17
  Speaker 5: Some used to give dozens of pallets a week, every other week, and they're down to one or two every month or so, and so our needs are growing and our income, the incoming donations, have gone down, but God has still shown up every time, still meeting those needs.
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, go ahead.
• 13:35
  Speaker 5: It becomes an exercise in faith just to say we have just enough, which is very biblical.
• 13:40
  Speaker 5: We're waiting on God for this and we've done prayer walks, we've called executive management meetings on Zoom and the next day I have to call back and say you know what Problem solved.
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: We had a crisis.
• 13:51
  Speaker 5: God didn't, but we had a crisis.
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, that keeps us pretty much talking to him.
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: A lot, it does.
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: It does Scott.
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: On the other hand, you've been here for a number of years.
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: You're assistant director now of distribution services.
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: How many years have you been working at DC?
• 14:04
  Speaker 4: I have been with the mission in total of five years in total.
• 14:07
  Speaker 4: I've been with the front desk.
• 14:08
  Speaker 4: I've been all over the mission.
• 14:10
  Speaker 4: So I've worn a lot of hats since I've been here.
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: You sound like the next executive director.
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: So there you go, scott.
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: Scott, you've seen how long have you been at the distribution center?
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: Four years going on Five.
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: In that amount of time, this is pre-pandemic, during the pandemic, and now have you noticed a significant increase in people in need coming?
• 14:31
  Speaker 4: to the DC.
• 14:31
  Speaker 4: Oh yes, the need has grown, but the donations are just down greatly for every area, with the food, with the clothing, everything.
• 14:38
  Speaker 4: It's just always a great need.
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: Miriam, you're a numbers person.
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: I'm kind of putting you on the spot here.
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: But do you kind of remember what it was like pre-pandemic, as far as number of people that would come on a Tuesday or a Thursday for a food basket?
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: Compared to what it is now, it seemed like it was maybe 30 to 60 families, and now it's 200 and some 80 on a day would have been a big day, big day a big day, and now it's not unusual that they would have a hundred plus um on a day household.
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely so.
• 15:09
  Speaker 3: No, it's, it's definitely gone up.
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: It's definitely gone up.
• 15:13
  Speaker 3: And I think, barry too, you know, I think it's the who we're seeing coming for food.
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: That's changed a lot too.
• 15:19
  Speaker 3: Now I think it's the who we're seeing coming for food.
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: That's changed a lot too.
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: So not just folks that are experiencing extreme poverty, but people who are at that lower, even lower level, middle class or lower class that are finding themselves having to make those really hard decisions Do I put gas in my car so I can continue to go to work, or do I get food for my family, or do I buy this medication or that medication?
• 15:47
  Speaker 3: So I would just say the economic levels or the income levels of the folks that we're serving, I think has changed.
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: The face of who we serve has changed.
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: It's changed for all of us in some degree or another.
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: If you're a homeowner, property tax has gone skyrocketing.
• 16:04
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: And if you're not a homeowner and you're a renter, the person that owns the home that you're renting.
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: Their taxes have gone up and now your rent's gone up.
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: That's exactly right.
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: It's why we're seeing such a huge increase in homelessness.
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: True, and more so.
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: More on that later.
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: I mean, that's something that we're watching, that we're trying to meet the needs, but also we're trying to prepare for what may be coming, because I think that, while the Topeka Rescue Mission has always been on that kind of cutting edge of trends, nothing changed as dramatically as it did in the pandemic, and so we had to really learn quick and adapt quick, and we're still doing that Right, and so are other organizations.
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: However, the good news is, um, um, there's always good news, but uh, fun stuff.
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: Good stuff is we have kids who are getting ready to go to school here really soon, even though they're probably regretting that because they're having so much fun unless they're just chilling inside, and they can't wait to go to chill inside in a school place.
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: But oftentimes because of the economic challenges and it's very expensive to get the supplies to go to school, there are families in our community that really don't have the resources to be able to do that and, once again, I don't know how many years, but it's been many years Topeka Rescue Mission has stepped up to that plate to take care of the kids who are staying at the rescue mission, to be able to get supplies and then also many more in the community.
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: So you've got a back to school plan for supplies, you've got a list, you've got volunteers, you've got days of distribution.
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: So talk to us about this Again.
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: Andrew, this is your first back to school.
• 17:37
  Speaker 5: This is my first back to school.
• 17:39
  Speaker 5: I just worked with the first three volunteers today filling backpacks.
• 17:43
  Speaker 5: We have a goal of serving 450 people, which is an ambitious goal, but we've done it in the past and we trust God we'll do it again this year.
• 17:53
  Speaker 5: I don't think we've ever missed the goal?
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: I don't think so.
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: I don't think so.
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: It's sometimes last-minute stuff.
• 18:00
  Speaker 5: I remember Barry talking to the gentleman I replaced Holton, and I was trying to get a sense of my job and I said so when do I order things or when do I trust in faith?
• 18:11
  Speaker 5: He says I don't know, god will.
• 18:13
  Speaker 5: You'll do it, you'll order sometimes, sometimes you won't.
• 18:16
  Speaker 5: And the example he gave one time was a back-to-school distribution.
• 18:19
  Speaker 5: He said we were out and minute by minute, things came in and we ended up with just a few extra by the time it was done.
• 18:27
  Speaker 5: It was we prayed for this, we bought a few things, but most of the time people came with another 50 of something that we were looking for.
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: Talk about the nuts and bolts.
• 18:35
  Speaker 2: What do we distribute?
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: What are we trying to do for these families and these children?
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: And I want to get into a little bit more of the why, okay, and what you still.
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: You're pretty new at this, scott.
• 18:49
  Speaker 2: I want to hear from you what you've seen over the years with these kids and how it changes things.
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: Miriam, you've been around in this too, but let's talk about the nuts and bolts, okay.
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: Talk about the system, talk about distribution, talk about what you give and what you still need.
• 19:03
  Speaker 5: Okay, well, we've been collecting over the year and some leftover backpacks, and then the items to go in those backpacks to include paper pens, erasers, markers, sharpies, highlighters, crayons, scissors, glue sticks.
• 19:17
  Speaker 5: I mean, there's a list.
• 19:18
  Speaker 5: I think what 15 items there.
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean you add all those up.
• 19:21
  Speaker 5: there's some money there, yeah there's some money there and we try to allow the students to pick their backpack that most suits their personality.
• 19:31
  Speaker 5: So if somebody comes in, they sign up, they go get the backpack, we give them the paper that's necessary for their age group, and then we have some other things to give away.
• 19:41
  Speaker 5: We've got some drinks, we've got some new clothes for school, we've got shoes.
• 19:47
  Speaker 5: I believe the Lions Club will be there to do some hearing checks or eye checks.
• 19:51
  Speaker 5: In the office there we're going to try to do a furniture giveaway, some things that aren't suitable for us to use elsewhere, and so we're just really trying to make it kind of a central spot for pickup and the dates will be August 1st and August 2nd and if somebody's interested in signing up for their student, they can go to trmonlineorg backslash back to school.
• 20:12
  Speaker 5: They can sign up on a form there and that process will then assign them a time to come and pick up their backpack.
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: So we have different ages here?
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: We do, and I assume that there's some different things that are handed at different ages.
• 20:26
  Speaker 5: Yes and no.
• 20:26
  Speaker 5: A lot of the things are the same.
• 20:28
  Speaker 5: We do, however, distinguish between college and wide ruled paper, and so depending on the age of the student that comes in, they will get a different stack of notebook paper, which is an item we are in need of.
• 20:39
  Speaker 5: We're running low.
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: So talk about the things you really are in need of right now.
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: Okay, I know we've got a list.
• 20:44
  Speaker 5: I'm looking at we do Some things.
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: You've got the yellow areas in need and there's quite a few of those still.
• 20:49
  Speaker 5: Yes, and there there's really.
• 20:50
  Speaker 5: The red ones are the ones we're most in need, so we're our stock is very low on spiral college and wide-ruled notebooks.
• 20:58
  Speaker 5: We're also low on the composition, like the little, I call them college things, Compositions, pad things or notebooks.
• 21:08
  Speaker 5: Yeah, we're really low on rulers.
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: Things you know, that really technical term.
• 21:13
  Speaker 2: Well, the things I had, but I never used them.
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right.
• 21:16
  Speaker 2: So rulers.
• 21:18
  Speaker 5: We're also low on pens black pens and these are things that we will end up having to buy if they're not donated, which is money we can use for food or elsewhere, and so it really is something.
• 21:31
  Speaker 5: We're trusting God to come in and supply us with the list.
• 21:35
  Speaker 5: The complete list is on the website there, along with the sign-up forms.
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: Okay, so somebody can go there and see that People can go and look there.
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: Okay, absolutely so.
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: The goal here is to outfit these children with everything that the schools tell them they need.
• 21:49
  Speaker 5: As much as we can yeah.
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, and so schools put out a list of things that we want kids to start with when they come to school.
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: You know, one of the goals that this started many years ago is if you have a child and they're living in a shelter for the homeless.
• 22:09
  Speaker 2: That's kind of a stigma.
• 22:09
  Speaker 2: You know kids don't like wow, I get to live at the rescue mission.
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: Now, some of the grade school kids they think it's kind of cool.
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: Middle school, high school, not so much.
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: But if you show up at school and you don't have the supplies the other kids have, whether you're homeless or not, you feel pretty bad.
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: And to have new equipment, so to speak.
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: To step into that classroom is a game changer for a lot of folks and many people in our community that aren't necessarily experiencing homelessness.
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: They still their kids need to go to school and fit in with the other kids, and maybe many of the kids in that classroom are going to be the same kids you know that came here.
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: We don't know that at this point, but what are we doing in regards to clothing?
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: Is there clothing that's going to be available to?
• 22:52
  Speaker 5: Yes, we have set aside through the year new clothing.
• 22:53
  Speaker 5: Is there clothing that's going to be available to?
• 22:54
  Speaker 5: Yes, we have set aside through the year new clothing, so we have clothing that's.
• 22:58
  Speaker 5: We try to make it as suitable for school, back to school as we possibly can.
• 23:03
  Speaker 5: So that's something that the volunteers are doing today was unboxing those and laying them out and folding them.
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: Mary, you know when you and I were kids.
• 23:09
  Speaker 2: Remember when we got the new sandals and the new robes to go to school in.
• 23:13
  Speaker 3: No, barry, I don't.
• 23:14
  Speaker 3: That must have been before my time.
• 23:17
  Speaker 3: But thanks for that, you're welcome.
• 23:19
  Speaker 5: Stone tablet and chisel.
• 23:20
  Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah we did.
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: What's a tablet?
• 23:22
  Speaker 2: You know what's a?
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we had rulers, but no, I remember the one time a year that I got clothes was right at the beginning.
• 23:30
  Speaker 2: My parents would take me and we'd get some clothes.
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: And so when you went to that first day to school now by the end of school you're same clothes, you know.
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: So they better be good shape.
• 23:38
  Speaker 2: But but to walk into that classroom you're excited and everything, and the last thing you want a kid to do is not have Right, it's not, it's not feel like his peers.
• 23:47
  Speaker 3: Yeah, right, yeah, and Clothing too, but especially those supplies, because then what's going to happen?
• 23:54
  Speaker 4: You know how do they do their work.
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: Kids are tough anyway, you know, because they people, kids can be a little bit cruel to other kids.
• 24:02
  Speaker 3: So if we can prevent that because they get to have what they need, that's, that's a good thing.
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure, scott.
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: Again, you've been around some back to schools before.
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: Yes, definitely.
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: What's your experience in regards to these families coming in?
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: Sometimes the kids are with them when they're coming, and what's it make you feel like?
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: Now you're a big guy, you throw refrigerators around, like some people throw boxes around, and so you move a lot of stuff.
• 24:32
  Speaker 2: You're tough and all that, but what does it mean to you to see these families?
• 24:35
  Speaker 4: I think it's just a great way to connect with the community and show them that that love that maybe they're missing, to be able to give them this stuff.
• 24:42
  Speaker 4: It might be even a little bit more important just to be able to communicate with them a little bit and show them some respect and just just love on them and be able to just show them that we're there for them on them and be able to just show them that we're there for them.
• 24:55
  Speaker 2: What do you remember about any particular scene that you can recall where a kid sees this new backpack or these new clothes?
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: Does anything stand out in your mind?
• 25:03
  Speaker 4: I'm sure it just means the world to these kids.
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, miriam, you have been involved directly with this at some points in the past.
• 25:10
  Speaker 2: What's it do for you?
• 25:13
  Speaker 3: Oh well, it's wonderful to excuse me, it's fun.
• 25:17
  Speaker 3: It's just wonderful to see their faces light up.
• 25:19
  Speaker 3: Right, and I think it used to be when I was still over.
• 25:23
  Speaker 3: There was a little bit different, I think.
• 25:25
  Speaker 3: Now what they do in terms of letting children pick their backpacks and that kind of thing is really special because now they really feel like it's their ownership.
• 25:33
  Speaker 3: They're not just getting something, but for a kid to be able to kind of choose what they want on that backpack.
• 25:41
  Speaker 3: You know, if they're little girls it might be this, if they're little boys it might be that all these different kinds of things that just Make it feel more like theirs.
• 25:49
  Speaker 3: And to watch faces light up and watch their moms and dads enjoy seeing their kids doing that too right.
• 25:57
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's beautiful.
• 26:01
  Speaker 2: If we put ourselves in the position of a parent right now and things are tough they may be trying to get food assistance or they're not sure they're going to be able to keep housed.
• 26:11
  Speaker 2: There's a lot of that going on right now in our community as well as the whole country.
• 26:15
  Speaker 2: Now I get this letter from the school that says I've got to have all this stuff and then to learn.
• 26:21
  Speaker 2: Hopefully, through this podcast and other means there may be some help here that we can take that off your plate right now because of the generosity of this community, andrew being the kind of in-charge guy in all this right now because of the generosity of this community, andrew being the kind of in-charge guy of all this right now has the impact you still knew has the impact of how important this is to people's hope that you get to be a part of as directing distribution.
• 26:46
  Speaker 5: There is so much awareness that I did not have before I came to TRM about the community and the impact that economic hardship was having, that I'm still learning exactly just how dire the situations are and people's lives can be.
• 27:05
  Speaker 5: And so, as we are able to reach out and anything from providing a meal out the door to a set of clothes to now school supplies and even being able to bless them with a choice, we learn in our trauma education choice is everything.
• 27:19
  Speaker 5: So, we're not only enabling them to pick out their backpack, but maybe a couple outfits or clothes and some shoes that maybe is a different color, you know and just provide as much choice as possible so that not only do they take ownership but they feel that it's a new start for them, that they can get a.
• 27:35
  Speaker 5: You know, because when you're in a situation where you don't have a lot, education can mean everything and having you know an educational start, a fresh start this year.
• 27:46
  Speaker 5: People care, you know, and we can never forget that we're about showing the love of Jesus to people and we do that through food and clothing assistance and back to school and Christmas and all the things that we do.
• 27:57
  Speaker 5: We always, when we pray in our morning, we always make sure that we talk about you know, we're here to be Christ to others.
• 28:04
  Speaker 5: Let me be an instrument of your love and mercy, right and whenever we can.
• 28:07
  Speaker 5: You know, we're trying to show Jesus to people and we can do that this time of year through back to school.
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: I'm really looking forward to, when this is over, miriam, and see how it's impacted him to realize, oh my gosh, right now, it's very academic.
• 28:22
  Speaker 2: It is, it's very academic.
• 28:23
  Speaker 2: We've got to have this much.
• 28:24
  Speaker 2: We've got to do it on these dates.
• 28:24
  Speaker 2: We've got to make sure we do this.
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: We've got 250 that we're targeting.
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: You have have 277 that have signed up so far, and so more may be coming at the very last minute, which is the way that works sometimes.
• 28:35
  Speaker 3: It absolutely is.
• 28:36
  Speaker 3: You know, I think Scott said something really important though, that sometimes it's not the stuff that we give them, it's just how we get to interact with them.
• 28:44
  Speaker 3: You know, having the conversations.
• 28:46
  Speaker 3: I think, Scott, that's so powerful, because sometimes we do get really focused on the stuff and kind of forget that it's about the building relationships, it's about the people, yeah, yeah, absolutely, and and recognizing them.
• 28:59
  Speaker 3: You said some things about respecting them and and that I think that's that's a big part of it.
• 29:05
  Speaker 3: And when we're just when we're so focused cause we don't want anybody to go without, I think we can miss that, that piece of it.
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: So I appreciate Scott bringing that up If you're helping one person and you've got plenty of time with them, it's one thing.
• 29:18
  Speaker 2: If you're helping 250 different people or families or whatever, it's another thing.
• 29:22
  Speaker 2: And you add on everything else you guys are doing, then it choice that a child will get to pick out their own backpack and Christmas time pre-pandemic.
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: They started these great.
• 29:56
  Speaker 2: You know about this, miriam.
• 29:56
  Speaker 2: You were in charge of this, of shopping, right, I mean, but it took a lot of work, but um helping um.
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: Uh train a volunteer then to walk through the store, so to speak, that people could pick out what they uh wanted for their children, for their family members and a gift for themselves.
• 30:04
  Speaker 2: Um was um just a game changer, um, not only for the person receiving, but the person helping.
• 30:11
  Speaker 3: Oh, absolutely.
• 30:12
  Speaker 2: And so, Andrew, you've got volunteers going to be on part of this.
• 30:14
  Speaker 2: Do you have enough yet?
• 30:16
  Speaker 5: Oh, I don't know that we'll ever have enough volunteers, but I know Susie is eagerly looking for not only back to school but volunteers throughout the mission.
• 30:26
  Speaker 5: We have volunteers this week and next week leading up to the back to school event, and then volunteers the day of the two events to make sure that those get taken off smoothly.
• 30:37
  Speaker 5: And that's really, I think, where we can touch not only the students coming to us but the volunteers to be blessed to see and to be a part of what we do.
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: So there's not a whole lot of turnaround time here.
• 30:46
  Speaker 2: Today's the 26th of July.
• 30:47
  Speaker 2: We're getting ready to distribute on the 1st and 2nd of August, so it's coming right around the corner, but people still could maybe sign up to volunteer.
• 30:55
  Speaker 2: What would they do to volunteer?
• 30:58
  Speaker 5: Ben's on what time.
• 30:58
  Speaker 5: What's open Right now?
• 31:00
  Speaker 5: We have volunteers that will fill bags during the event, prior to the event.
• 31:05
  Speaker 5: We'll have volunteers that will sign students up as they come in.
• 31:09
  Speaker 5: We'll have some that are consistently restocking things At the moment.
• 31:13
  Speaker 5: We're having volunteers go through and set up the event itself the tables and the supplies we have.
• 31:18
  Speaker 5: We might even need some to go shop on our behalf to get items.
• 31:21
  Speaker 4: We really couldn't do it without the volunteers.
• 31:23
  Speaker 4: Oh, absolutely.
• 31:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, that's for sure, scott.
• 31:26
  Speaker 2: The volunteers you know, for some people they're like I don't want to get too close to helping people directly, so there's an opportunity for them to be able to work with the stuff.
• 31:35
  Speaker 2: And then other people you really need to actually work with the folks coming in, the kids and the parents that are going to be there with them, to kind of be that personal touch in there.
• 31:44
  Speaker 2: So you know some people they want to help.
• 31:46
  Speaker 2: They want to help too close.
• 31:48
  Speaker 2: That's fine, because we need all kinds of help.
• 31:50
  Speaker 2: That's fine because we need all kinds of help.
• 31:51
  Speaker 2: This is like you have people that are when you distribute food.
• 31:53
  Speaker 2: You have people right there on the sidewalk or the delivery area.
• 31:58
  Speaker 2: People pull up in their cars.
• 32:00
  Speaker 2: That's people-to-people contact.
• 32:01
  Speaker 2: You have people in the back room.
• 32:02
  Speaker 2: There's stuff in the bags, sure, and some both, yeah, both on that.
• 32:06
  Speaker 2: So you got a short amount of time.
• 32:11
  Speaker 2: You got a lot of of people could still possibly sign up.
• 32:12
  Speaker 2: Still need a lot of supplies.
• 32:14
  Speaker 2: People can still volunteer.
• 32:15
  Speaker 2: Still probably need some more on that.
• 32:17
  Speaker 2: Um, if people you mentioned um, um, a list on the website trmonlineorg it's the back to school area.
• 32:24
  Speaker 2: Um, they see something on there, they decide to go buy it because it's on your needs list, how can they get it to you?
• 32:30
  Speaker 5: Well, they can bring it to 401 Northwest Norse and we have a distribution door there.
• 32:35
  Speaker 5: We'd be happy to take that.
• 32:36
  Speaker 5: What time?
• 32:38
  Speaker 5: We're open from 830 to 330.
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: What if it's August 1st and all of a sudden I first listened to this early this morning.
• 32:44
  Speaker 2: I got up.
• 32:44
  Speaker 2: I missed it earlier.
• 32:46
  Speaker 2: I want to listen to this.
• 32:47
  Speaker 2: Do they still have time that day to go get supplies?
• 32:50
  Speaker 2: What if?
• 32:50
  Speaker 5: you get more than you need.
• 32:52
  Speaker 5: What are you going to do?
• 32:52
  Speaker 5: We would put them in a box and we would save them for next year, because I have a feeling this will come around again, and keep in mind too.
• 32:59
  Speaker 5: A lot of these supplies we use as part of our function and the mission throughout the year Because kids go to school all year long Well, Miriam uses a pen or two throughout the year.
• 33:09
  Speaker 3: Well, these pens really, this stuff really goes, because we have students that stay at the Hope Center.
• 33:13
  Speaker 5: It's not the one time of year that's right, right.
• 33:16
  Speaker 3: So they'll need supplies and different kinds of things all year long.
• 33:19
  Speaker 5: Good point.
• 33:21
  Speaker 3: And so it goes just beyond what they need to start school with, because we'll have to help them maintain what they need.
• 33:27
  Speaker 2: You know, there's some families, even from the Topeka area, that for a lot of circumstances, their children have dropped out of school for a bit, and so when they go to school it's like first day, and so it's even harder because those kids are already rocking and rolling right.
• 33:40
  Speaker 2: So that new kid who's going to that school, or even a new school um, when they walk in the first day they don't have to stand out like I'm poor and I'm homeless.
• 33:48
  Speaker 3: Right, that's huge.
• 33:49
  Speaker 3: Right, that's huge yeah.
• 33:50
  Speaker 3: And just knowing that they can ask, that moms and dads can ask if we have stuff that can help their kids, is a big deal Right.
• 33:57
  Speaker 2: Throughout the year so I don't have time to go out and shop.
• 33:59
  Speaker 2: I want to help.
• 34:00
  Speaker 2: I can't volunteer, but I might want to give financially.
• 34:03
  Speaker 2: How can people do that?
• 34:05
  Speaker 5: They can contact the mission at the front desk and arrange that they can drop off a monetary donation there at the distribution center.
• 34:11
  Speaker 2: We can get that over and it can be translated into they can earmark it for back to school.
• 34:16
  Speaker 3: They can go online and hit the donate now button at TRM online.
• 34:21
  Speaker 3: It's right up there in the right hand corner.
• 34:23
  Speaker 2: It's kind of a pretty good place to find it, absolutely.
• 34:26
  Speaker 3: Absolutely, and we can take care of it too.
• 34:28
  Speaker 3: And if they want to do overnight stuff on Amazon, they can do that too.
• 34:32
  Speaker 2: Okay, how does that?
• 34:33
  Speaker 3: work.
• 34:33
  Speaker 3: They'll see our list and they can go online order the things.
• 34:41
  Speaker 3: Have them shipped directly to us.
• 34:42
  Speaker 3: It can get to us quickly enough, that that's.
• 34:43
  Speaker 3: There's just no way that we won't accept stuff, right.
• 34:46
  Speaker 2: You're not making it very hard to give.
• 34:47
  Speaker 3: No, no, we don't.
• 34:49
  Speaker 3: Whatever, whatever works, we're going to make it happen.
• 34:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah Well, guys, thank you for what you're doing.
• 34:55
  Speaker 2: Scott, you've been doing this for some time now.
• 34:57
  Speaker 2: Miriam, you've done this before, Andrew, again, this is your first rodeo, so to speak.
• 35:01
  Speaker 2: It's going to be hard, it's going to be crazy, very last-minute stuff, but it's going to be such a blessing, not only to the people who are receiving the help, the people who are helping, like you guys and so many others.
• 35:11
  Speaker 2: It's such a blessing and know this that, as you are investing in these children today, it is a tool that God uses.
• 35:21
  Speaker 2: Community comes together to help that young person know that they matter, to help their parents know that other people believe that their kids matter and they do too.
• 35:29
  Speaker 2: It's no small thing.
• 35:31
  Speaker 2: It's like when somebody is hungry and they get a chance to eat and somebody cares about them.
• 35:36
  Speaker 2: It's just not a mass distribution, it's actually a personal touch to it that is a game changer for that moment in that person's lives.
• 35:43
  Speaker 2: You have enough game changers like that.
• 35:44
  Speaker 2: You might think differently about life and being able to want to move forward in life, and that's what the back to school gets to do.
• 35:51
  Speaker 2: Everybody loves kids Well, maybe not everybody, but they should love kids and kids are depending upon us, and so we're just thankful that there are efforts like this going on through the community Topeka Rescue Mission.
• 36:02
  Speaker 2: Again in many years forgot how many we've been doing this, but it's changed a lot of lives.
• 36:06
  Speaker 2: Some of those first kids that were getting back-to-school help are probably working here now.
• 36:11
  Speaker 2: They might be they might be, and so they might be, and are doing things through the community because they were helped in so many different ways, guys.
• 36:19
  Speaker 2: Thank you, anything else.
• 36:21
  Speaker 5: It's just a privilege to be here.
• 36:22
  Speaker 5: Okay, all right, can't wait to see what God does.
• 36:24
  Speaker 2: Yeah Well, thank you all for joining us here on our community, our mission 24, podcast number 232.
• 36:30
  Speaker 2: We've talked about the back to school program for this year.
• 36:34
  Speaker 2: Getting ready for school.
• 36:39
  Speaker 2: Right around the corner Again, it's the 26th of July.
• 36:42
  Speaker 2: There's still time to help out.
• 36:43
  Speaker 2: You can go to the trmonlineorg that's trmonlineorg and find out how you can help make a difference in a child's life.
• 36:48
  Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to Our Community, our Mission.