The Bancroft-Carlow Pastoral Charge wanted to give more, but supplies were running low.
The Charge gives out $250 a month in grocery gift cards to people in need. The cards, which are $20 in value, often go quite quickly, according to Judy Edgar, Administrative Assistant with the Charge. Often, she says, by the end of the month there are no more left to give. When this happens, the Charge puts a sign on the back door saying that they have run out of cards. In April, the Charge posted a photo of the sign on their Facebook page.
Since that photo was taken, Edgar says donations have increased substantially. While during the month of April the monthly gift card budget was $200, the budget has now increased to around $500 a month. Should the donations keep coming in at the rate they have been, Edgar thinks they will be able to increase the value of the gift cards they give so that people can buy more groceries for families in need.
Edgar says that this is all possible because the community has a huge heart. The Charge wouldn’t have been able to do this without the generous contributions of donors. Edgar says whenever they hear about a need, they are always there to fill it, and because of that, the Charge is very grateful.