THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 23, 1994 TAG: 9411190632
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN MISCELLANEOUS PAGE: 08 EDITION: CITIZEN
TYPE: COVER STORY
SOURCE: BY JODY R. SNIDER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ISLE OF WIGHT LENGTH: Long : 120 lines
LAST YEAR, Isle of Wight Social Services served 253 families with more than $6,000 in food and 912 children with gifts during the holidays in the county.
This year, the county is relying on churches and other organizations to do the work and distribute food baskets or gifts to the needy, Social Services Assistant Director Mary Catherine Foster says.
For years, she says, food was brought to Social Services for the needy during the holiday season, and the county employees would store, sort, make food baskets and then deliver them to families. Last year, 97 individuals, clubs or churches donated $6,325 in food for more than 253 households in the county, Foster says, serving more than 1,000 people with food and gifts. And more than $1,000 in cash donations were made to buy food for families or gifts for children and the elderly during the season.
This year, all that has changed.
Social Services will help identify people who need help, but the agency won't be directly involved in collecting, sorting and delivering to those in need.
``It took so much manpower that we almost did nothing but distribute baskets and gifts,'' Foster said in a recent interview. ``Last year, we distributed to 1,200 people - and two-thirds of that we did ourselves. We can't do that and do what are supposed to be doing here.''
Although Foster said the number of people being helped in the county could decrease without Social Services involvement, she noted that local churches, clubs and individuals have always been there for those in need during the holidays.
``We don't know all the needy in the community because they don't all receive services from us,'' Foster said. ``There's always been a good pool of people to step in during the holidays. We call on many of the local churches to help us with specific needs - and they do help us out.''
Last year, in fact, when Judy Saunders, chairman of the Benevolent Committee at Smithfield Baptist Church, went to deliver a holiday gift basket to a single mother with three children, Saunders noticed the woman's trailer was being heated by her kitchen oven.
``She had the oven door open,'' Saunders recalled. ``It was the only heat they had.''
At that point, she said, the church tried to help the woman and her family.
Smithfield Baptist is one of about six local organizations to have a Christmas tree decorated at Hearn's Furniture in Smithfield this year. Hearn's has held an annual contest where the public can vote on the prettiest tree with food items that will be given to needy people. The tree with the most items wins a cash award from Hearn's, and that award usually goes to charity.
At the end of the contest, the group collects the food, makes up baskets and delivers them to families in the area.
``My trunk and back seat of my car are always filled when I leave with the food,'' Saunders said. ``It's overwhelming.''
The baskets also include a fresh turkey, vegetables and fruit and personal gifts for needy people, Saunders said.
``It's nice because you get to see for yourself that you've touched someone's life. And sometimes, you end up doing more for a family than that. One year, we ended up doing some dental work for one person.''
At Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Smithfield, the parish of 110 people collects food every Saturday throughout the year. During the Christmas season, they also try to buy three gifts each for about 10 children in the county, said church member Dolores Boothe.
``We usually try to stay with clothing, since many of the children get toys from other organizations. This is a very giving parish. When you ask for a donation, they do a super job.''
The Smithfield Kiwanis Club has been handing out toys to underprivileged children since 1979, when Circuit Court Clerk William E. Laine Jr. began collecting toys through the schools and delivering them to children in need, said Kiwanis member Carter Williams.
``He did that for about two years, and it got to be too much for him. So he was a Kiwanis member, and he asked the Kiwanis for help. And that's how it got to be what it is today.''
This year, about 400 children, from 1 to 11 years old, will be able to pick out toys for Christmas, Williams said.
Money to buy the toys is raised by sending letters to county residents in November, asking for a donation to the Isle of Wight Christmas Fund.
The number of children served by the project has dwindled over the years - from a high of about 800 to just 400 this year - because older children are no longer included, Williams said.
``Money is tighter these days, and the discounts we get from the stores aren't as much as they used to be.''
Yet, Williams said, the need for new schools shows more children are coming into the county.
Even though the county's social agency has pulled back on its assistance, it still provides information on people in need to groups that can help them.
The Social Services staff looks at several things before recommending someone to an organization for help, said Foster, the assistant director.
``It depends on the family's income versus living expenses. It depends on what kind of income they have and where they might be living - if they're getting rental assistance,'' for example.
There are 1,100 food stamp households in Isle of Wight County, she said.
``And as each year passes, the number of needy people in the county increases. Every year it's been growing - not by leaps and bounds, but it has been a steady increase.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Judy Saunders puts food donations under Smithfield Baptist Church's
tree at Hearns Furniture.
Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Lois Dustin, left, and Mary Catherine Foster prepare to carry food
to needy families.
Staff photos by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Linda Vance of Brownie Troop 726 decorates the tree at Hearns
Furniture.
Carter Williams checks toys he is storing for the Kiwanis Toy Shop
for needy children.
by CNB