food pantry

Papa’s World – VIBES – thinking positive!

/ Tom / Leave a comment

I have always led my life with –

“Do the small things in life – mostly – it will take care of the bigger things”!

When talking about the volunteer work we do for the food pantry –

I was asked – “Can they work”?

Now – the people who came and waited for food –

Most were elderly – on fixed incomes.

A few were homeless –

Others – you could tell had emotional problems.

A few were living in their cars.

Different diseases you can not tell by just looking through a window.
I did not know these folks –

And I thought – why would you ask that question?

We were there to help –

And that question – well –

I hope that they never are in that position-

of the people –

who came for food –

Giving – helping – caring –

The little things in life that make the difference!

Near dusk from our driveway –

We caught a glimpse of a space rocket launch –

Going across the sky!

Sherry had been watching the news and it was announced the direction of the flight-

was taking in the night sky!

The wonders of space – rockets – exploring the outer limits –

A good vibe was shared from the driveway.

Routine – for me – going to bed when I am tired – fall asleep –

And without an alarm clock –

wake up between 5 and 6 am. every morning.

Then a half hour of preparing for the day to come-

Getting dressed –

And making my one and only cup of coffee for the day.

Sipping it as I read the paper online.

Skipping the absurd from either the left or the right.

World events – looking for the positive to start my day.

Following sports and checking my emails and notifications.

Then writing my daily blog.

ROUTINES that I enjoy.

Let the new day begin!

Today is a blog on good vibes –

A blog that gently leads you into a day of your life.

I want to thank everyone who reads this.

You can SUBSCRIBE to get it daily.

IT’S FREE!

PAPA’S WORLD –

my site: livinglifedoingitmyway. blog

Papa’s World – Our life – volunteering!

/ Tom / Leave a comment

Today we are in our “SENIOR” years.

Moving to a warm climate- almost no snow or ice.

Is it “HOT” in the summer? “YES”!

But I would rather live in that than the cold of “WINTER”!

So – you might ask – “What do you do being retired”?

Many things – when asked that question –

I sometimes reply ” I DON’T KNOW – BUT IT TOOK ME ALL DAY TO DO IT”!

In my case – keeping track of what day it is –

I know when the garbage day is – Wednesday – so there for on Tuesday late afternoon –

I put the garbage can to the curb!

Other days I look at my watch and then my calendar on my desk!

Isn’t that wonderful?

I know when Sunday is because it is “GO TO CHURCH DAY”!

Speaking of church – we recently have volunteered for the county FOOD PANTRY!

The second Saturday of every month is when our church volunteers to operate the FOOD PANTRY!

Everything is so well organized –

You know ahead of time what your assignment is.

Sherry is a “SHOPPER”!

I have been “TRAFFIC CONTROL” and “LOADER”!

She gets a form and a cart and inside the building – she goes from station to station-

And shops for what is on the list – much like you see in food stores with employees with a cart!

She then takes the cart out to the front and here is where cars are waiting –

They have a number that corresponds with the “SHOPPERS” cart.

Here is a loader – they ask the person in the car where their number is –

And compare it to the SHOPPERS paperwork.

The loader then asks where to load the food.

The person in the car does not have to get out.

As soon as they are loaded – they can pull out and leave and the next three cars are then

told to move up.

When the cars first come in – they are given a number to be put on the dash.

Then you ask them if they can walk to the table.

Where registration is.

If not –

they are given a colored sticker and someone will come to their car and talk to them and they can sign in.

They are told where to park and to back in.

They must register to receive food from the food bank.

Other people are food stockers –

making sure each station is stocked and the bags with food in them are there.

People at the table outside record all the information on how many families are served-

How many individuals or seniors are served.

In 2022 – 4142 Families and 13701 Individuals were served from just this food pantry.

In 2023 – 5160 Families & 17100 Individuals were served.

In 2024 – 6819 Families & 23,477 Individuals were served.

Total volunteer hours – 8121 – or 203 40-hour work weeks!

You can see the need to feed people is increasing yearly!

It is something we intend to commit to as long as we can do it.

Inside the pantry are volunteers who record everything and enter it into a database.

People are in charge at the table in front to weigh all donations –

People are in charge of buying food from a huge wholesale food bank in Wilmington.

Other people go to local grocery stores to pick up donations.

It is well run and our church – Saint Luke Lutheran Church has the second Saturday of each month.

We also volunteer at Coastal Living for seniors.

I maintain the library while Sherry helps with the monthly “SHOPPING” for residents.

These are shopping set up by donations for residents to spend their vouchers

and give them the feeling of once again some control in their daily living.

Life as a senior – while we still can help others less fortunate than ourselves.

Thank you for reading my daily blog PAPA’S WORLD!

my site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

PAPA’S WORLD – OUR LIFE – VOLUNTEERING!

Papas World – Good thoughts – give – pray – the World turns.

/ Tom / 2 Comments

In this time – Day#58 of Sheltering –

The World turns regardless –

Try not to read the bad news – or listen to the negative

Give of yourself – food to the hungry – clothes to the poor.

Even though you see and hear all things –

filter them out – for it is up to you and me

To make this a better place.

In our time of silence – in our time of isolation –

Think how the normal is now the abnormal

and how to bring the sanity back into our lives’

The World turns regardless –

Put your faith into whatever you believe in

and make it a better place.

Positive thoughts – positive well being – positive actions

The news is full of the negative – channel it out

there are good things out there

We are humanity –

Give of yourself – help less fortunate –

Those in need – those that are hungry

donate time – collect food – and help deliver it.

Laughter – zooming – tic – tock – video – messaging

stay in touch – drive by honk your horn

Sunday streamed service

walk – ride a bike – say hello from a distance

Faith – hope -charity – love and kindness.

Sheltering Day# 58

The little ones depend on us –

“Now I lay myself down to sleep “-

Thank you for reading Papa’s World

“Pray to the Lord my soul to keep”

WHERE FRIENDS MEET THE FAMILY!

Papa & Bode

MY SITE: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

Papas World – Salvation Army – Link – Food – Give!

/ Tom / 1 Comment

In these days – make your path one of giving.

Can you deliver food from your food pantry or church?

It is coming to the weekend –

People are running out of food

The little ones – the children – oft times –

the only food they have come from school provided lunches.

In our area – schools are still providing that lunch during the week.

BUT THE WEEKEND LOOMS!

Sometimes – you just look around and it is alright to sit and reflect

have your coffee – a beer – a drink – zoom with friends

maintain your life as well as you can

when you can not hug a loved one

Sometimes – the MIND needs comfort!

Take those extra clothes to a charity – a place for hope for those in need.

Salvation Army – Goodwill – area drops for the needy.

I do not need to let them collect on the chair in the corner.

Give what you can – and let thanks come that you do not need.

The World needs us now – as good – kind and giving.

We only have one life – live to give – give to live.

Thank you for reading Papa’s World

WHERE FRIENDS MEET THE FAMILY!

MY SITE: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

Papas World – Dentist – collect food – deliver to five families – Sheltering.

/ Tom / Leave a comment

The days go by – routines set in –

then the unthinkable – at least to me – happens!

The front tooth crown – number 8 to be exact –

BREAKS off and I had bitten into a piece of bread!

Now – here I am holding it – looking into the mirror –

SHELTERING DAY # 49 – DENTIST!

So – Sherry went onto the dentist site –

They have closed for all except emergency’s!

But – it lets me schedule – 9:30 AM. Next day!

I arrive – 20 minutes early – door locked – no lights

It is pouring out – so I decide to wait – ten minutes

and both dentists show up.

Thank goodness – I would not have to smile missing my front tooth!

I went in and they greeted me – they officially open tomorrow

as per the Governor Ralph Northan of Va.

But – they are caught between a rock and hard place.

They have three employees – of which only one

said they would come back –

The other two say they are making more money staying home!

I believe in the stimulus – but to me this is wrong.

If the state is opening up slowly and your job is there

then you should go back or risk your job is gone.

So – they give me two different ways to fix this.

One – replace the crown – but – because the walls of the tooth

are narrow – it just might break off again – but maybe not!

Two – have a implant – bone graft – and it would be months long!

We do not have dental insurance

Had it when we worked – but always ended up paying a lot!

So – I looked at cost for each and they would give me a discount on both!

I did not want to go through a implant as I have had two of those done.

I selected the crown – without novocaine as the root was gone.

After it was done – he told me he was surprised

at just how strong it was! WIN FOR ME!

Now – today – we will drive to LINK – our County FOOD PANTRY!

Tammy dropped off food she had collected from her neighborhood.

Still Social Distancing – I opened garage door and the trunk.

She filled it up along with what we had already gathered!

We also volunteered for the month of May – to deliver food to families.

Today – we have FIVE FAMILIES to deliver to.

We have our instructions – texted then ahead of time –

We just leave the bags at their door!

These families – this is the only food they have.

And we have been collecting for three weeks.

The list of families has gone at least five times as high

since no jobs!

We need to help these people and make our great country

GRATEFUL in GIVING.

We have done all this while Sheltering – except for the dentist

I have not come in contact with anyone for 49 days!

I am praying that my dental appointment

will be okay – they both were covered

head to toe – masks – shields gloves.

I feel grateful to them and also saddened

in that they also are struggling

and haveing to go through this with their employees.

These times require some strength –

Maybe a drink or two –

But also a time of gratitude –

to be able to help those less fortunate

Giving – sharing and praying

Just another 24 hours in my life!

Thank you for reading Papa’s World

WHERE FRIENDS MEET THE FAMILY!

MY SITE: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

Papas World – SHELTERING Day# 39 – GOOD DEEDS!

/ Tom / Leave a comment

In these times – we have found that the smallest of deeds

bring the biggest rewards!

There is a lady – I call her the CAT LADY!

Simply because she recuses cats!

But – she is in need of newspapers –

so every two weeks we save up our Washington Post

and make the 8 mile drive to deliver them to her front door!

Texting her that they are on her door step!

In the past – we have delivered groceries for our food pantry

called LINK!

Now – we are reaching out in this time of need for donations

to this food pantry – which is aided by the churches in the area.

Usually once a month each congregation collects food

at their services and takes it over.

Since there are no physical services

ours are streamed on line –

The food is not being collected.

Last week we put out a appeal

and Sherry and I took four bags to the drop off site.

We are doing it again this week – people drop off at our front porch

and we in turn take it to the food pantry.

With the shut down – more families need this food!

Staying in touch with local friends

Taking a hot meal to a neighbor who has had a bone marrow transplant

exchanging puzzles with friends and neighbors

Exchanging a onion or face masks with friends

dropping face masks off at the church mail box

for the youth leaders aging grand parents

It all has to do with small deeds – kindness –

giving what you can and knowing how it makes you feel

in this time of SHELTERING!

And then at the end of the week –

Social hour ( hours) with friends who are apart by hundreds of miles

Seeing the smiles – sharing the laughter –

GOOD DEEDS come in small packages.

SHELTERING
Day# 39
We shall beat this

Thank you for reading Papa’s World

WHERE FRIENDS MEET THE FAMILY!

MY SITE: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog