Local Citizen Champions Master’ s Manna
The Record Journal’s article, [pg. 2, August 2] concerning Wallingford’s Masters Manna, and its impending loss of leased space, was an all too familiar tale. “Financial reality trumps societal benefits.” Masters Manna is much more than a “food pantry” which serves over three thousand clients, on an ongoing basis. It provides meals through its marvelous kitchen, clothes and laundering facilities to those in need of those services, and most of all, a place where the clients are respected as human beings who might require help and emotional support during a difficult period of their life. Whole families are often beneficiaries of Masters Manna’s menu of services, whether it might be Nutritional Counselling, Preventative Medical/Dental instruction, and Vision services. Many of the clients at Masters Manna fall outside of the conventional government-sponsored benefit programs, due either to income level or the transient nature of that population.
Masters Manna is not a Government sponsored agency, and relies solely on contributions from the Community. Masters Manna integrates its volunteer base with training opportunities for area Training School members, Boy Scouts, and referrals from the Courts. As a Faith-Based, non-denominational enterprise, it recognizes the strength of family values in a society such as ours, and strives to impart that respect in the minds of those it is dedicated to serve. But all of the above requires money, and more importantly, a place to exist and continue services. Masters Manna’s leadership has weathered any number of Storms in its short existence, but this one, loss of appropriate location, is the most serious. Please stay tuned.
Lawrence Singer
Wallingford
