mastersmanna

We know that many of you love numbers (I am not one of those people ~ all Greek to me)!

• 1368 Unduplicated individuals received food through the Food Pantry
• 2 trucks are on the road 5 day a week reclaiming food from local food vendors
• 38,134 POUNDS of food (free that would have been thrown away) was reclaimed, sorted and distributed
• An additional 17,733 POUNDS of food (some purchased) was delivered by CT Food Bank and distributed
• TOTAL FOOD: 55,867 POUNDS
• 6900 POUNDS of clothing donated, sorted and dispensed in the Market
• Enough food was distributed to supply  1,368 individuals with enough food to prepare 49,248 MEALS
• 2750 MEALS were prepared and served through the Family Dining Center
• 2037.75 hours of volunteer time was documented

Your INVESTMENT will CHANGE a life TODAY!!
$25,000 SHORTFALL
(Please~ we do NOT need warm clothing.)

I would like to introduce you to Master’s Manna!
Maring Visuals created this intense, informative video in 2014 for which we are grateful!

What is your PASSION?!? You can USE your PASSION to change a life forever! How? At Master’s Manna we serve over 500 FAMILIES weekly. Come read a book to a child and send that child home with the book. Use the Kitchen to bake a batch of cookies~ and pass them out! Love to GARDEN?? Plant a row of veggies for us! Painting your niche? Teach others. Love to run, swim, workout, walk, jump rope, text??? Get creative, challenge friends, and family! Get “pledges” and see who can text the most words per minute or hour! or how long can you jump rope before your arms fall off! or how many laps you can swim! or how many games of Scrabble can be played in an hour? This time of year our financial resources trickle in~~~ start a FLOOD!!
THANKS!!

SAFETY FIRST for OUR NEIGHBORS!!
Master’s Manna will officially open at 8 a.m today FRIDAY (2/12/16) and will remain open through 2 p.m. Monday (2/15/16) as a WARMING STATION for individuals AND FAMILIES in the Wallingford area. We do NOT have “Beds”, however we can keep you warm and comfortable!
Please call 203-678-3042 for more information
Any donations of toilet paper and paper towel would be greatly appreciated!!

End of the year totals are in for 2015 and are they ever IMPRESSIVE.
Please accept our deepest appreciation and humble THANK YOU for enabling Master’s Manna to provide basic human needs to over 2,650 local individuals! YOU and your gifts MATTER!!
According to Independent Sector (2014) in the state of Connecticut (1) one volunteer hour is valued at $26.79.
Feeding America values (1) one pound of food at $1.60.
In-Kind Donation Value
27,903 VOLUNTEER HOURS were performed in 2015 which equates to $747,521.37
520,875 POUNDS of food was donated (not including food obtained from CT Food Bank) and is valued at $833,400
ONE MILLION FIVE HUNDRED EIGHTY THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED TWENTY ONE DOLLARS and THIRTY SEVEN cents!
$1,580,921.37
WELL DONE!!

How can we, as a community really left untouched by mass tragedy, come to the aid of our fellow Americans in San Bernadino? PRAYING for those effected by this needless violence, certainly… The families that walk throu these days in fogs of disbelief, anger and numbness… The pain comes soon. The first responders who train for such occurrences, but once having experienced the carnage will NEVER be the same. Those health care professionals who used their skills to treat and begin the healing process for those wounded, the children who look to adults for answers and neither find any. VIOLENCE WILL NOT QUELL VIOLENCE!
Having said all of that… How can we, as a community across the country bring some comfort and/or relief to our distant shore neighbors?
I am open to all suggestions and willing to do whatever I can to help those in need! I have Lots of yarn at Master’s Manna~ anyone care to make prayer shawls to send? I am sure we could partner with a faith community in the area and build a bridge from coast to coast! ANYONE? Other ideas? How about parking passes for families with relatives in hospital????

It is Official! The greater Wallingford/Meriden Community is FABULOUS!
359 Children 234 Seniors and 674 Adults (1267 INDIVIDUALS) were provided with THANKSGIVING EVERYTHING and then some… during our 8th Annual Turkey Tossing Tuesday! A RESOUNDING success!
To all who invested of their time to actually serve those coming and going, their talents to make soup, sandwiches dispense food and SMILES, ensured a steady flow of turkeys, chickens and hams….. we are humbled by your support of Master’s Manna’s mission, your enthusiasm and your encouragement.

Saturday, December 12th is a MUCH looked forward to day at Master’s Manna. It’s ALL about the KIDS!!
KIDS ONLY are allowed in the “Christmas Store” (stocked with donations galore. We specifically need TEENAGE gift selections!!). VOLUNTEERING KIDS escort KIDS that are shopping. VOLUNTEERING KIDS wrap gifts before our shopping KIDS leave the “store”. VOLUNTEERING KIDS make soup, coffee, hot cocoa, cookies and serve the adults as they wait for their KIDS! (Okay… we do have three or six adults that oversee and untangle tape~ but they are KIDS at heart!)
KIDS can not just come and shop. As much as we LOVE KIDS we are also responsible for teaching some life lessons. For a KID to be able to shop for OTHERS (never themselves) they have to accomplish a task. The task is not as simple as it sounds and we have learned to “tweak” as we go along.
Each child that would like to shop MUST write a letter to someone in the military before they are given a shopping appointment. Adults have written letters for children. NOT!!! This is something the child MUST do. If the child can not write~~~ draw a picture. This step is about someone else… not them. Once the letters/pictures are presented a “shopping” token is given for the child to shop for a SIBLING and two adults. If there is no sibling the child may shop for adults. The letters and pictures are then presented to the West Haven VA Hospital for distribution.
While the KIDS are shopping the adults select from donated coats, hats, mittens, NEW socks, NEW underwear for their families. They also eat cookies and/or soup, drink hot coffee/cocoa and RELAX!!
If you are a KID at heart~~ This event is for YOU!! Would love to see you here!

Tuesday, Nov. 24th is a day if CELEBRATION, JOY, HOT SOUP, VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES and… TURKEYS! HUNDREDS of TURKEYS!!! Master’s Manna coordinates with local food pantries and social service agencies that distribute Thanksgiving food, baskets and/or turkeys. We compare lists. Why? So that EVERYONE gets what is needed. If one of our “shoppers” is receiving food from another pantry that week but no turkey they are able to receive a turkey from us. Some folks receive a turkey elsewhere and come here to “shop” for their weekly groceries. For the majority of our families, they receive weekly groceries, Thanksgiving fixins’ and TURKEY (chicken available upon request if a TURKEY is too large). Over 450 FAMILIES will be served on this day.

Volunteers arrive at 7 a.m. and festivities begin at 8 a.m. Since everyone “shops” by appointment there is a steady flow of traffic ALL DAY. The shelves are restocked throughout the day, sandwiches and hot soup are distributed to volunteers and “shoppers” alike. HUNDREDS of turkeys are already on site and more come in throughout the course of the day. Volunteers direct traffic, carry groceries, answer the phones, make more soup, and COFFEE, help “shoppers” select pies, carrots, potatoes, onions, stuffing, gravy, meals in a can, cereal, pasta, etc. (NOT EVERYONE HAS THE MEANS to prepare a Thanksgiving meal) You can also find folks making and sharing S’Mores at our little mobile fireplace while they warm their hands from literally TOSSING TONS of TURKEYS!!!!!
Come be part of this adventure!! Call 203.678.3042 for volunteer information!