Warming the Heart as Well as the Home

Certainly one of the largest outreaches of the Eblen-Kimmel Charities is our heating and utility assistance.  For the past few weeks we have been preparing for what we expected to be the busiest weeks of the year.  There is something about our heating outreach that seems to garner attention that other programs don’t always do.

It is not that it is any more important than housing assistance, medication, eye glasses, food, clothing or any other of the services we provide for those in times of need in our community, But I think it is, in part, because cold weather is a great equalizer.  Not everyone knows what it is like to be hungry and not able to afford food.  Not everyone knows the fear of losing their home with no place to go.  And not everyone knows what it’s like to be ill and not able to afford the mediation they need to regain their health.  But everyone knows what it is like to be cold.

I believe it is in that knowledge that we come together to make sure that no one has to face the cold temperatures of winter without being able to find warmth in their own home.  But this week has brought so many together to reach out to hundreds of families to help get them ready for the upcoming winter months.

But it is not only the beginning of heating assistance that brought Eblen-Kimmel staff, volunteers, board members, friends and supporters together this past week, but a chance to offer an extended kindness to all of our clients who waited sometimes through the night for our doors to open.

Thanks to the generosity and caring of our volunteer’s board members, and area restaurants, the clients who came to our office for help last week were offered breakfast and lunch each day and passed out afghans, to make their wait a bit more comfortable and show them that they were indeed our guests and not just our clients.

Our heart-felt gratitude to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Quizno’s, BoJangles, The Biltmore Company, Dunkin’ Doughnuts, Arby’s and McDonald’s as well as Robert Moore, Rich and Denise Guthy, Tony and Isa Fraga, Harry Jackson, Advanced Business Equipment, Dini Pickering, Scott Shealy, Neal Hanks, Joe and Janice Brumit, Deborah Pressley, Friday Staffing Services, FIRC, Inc, Burr and Linda Johnson, Lemuel and Travis Oates, Manual Woodworkers and Weavers and Don Rasnick for joining us and going far beyond the extra mile in providing breakfast and lunch to all our clients and staff.

However, the food and drinks provided, as wonderful as it was, paled in comparison to what was really given out at our office last week.  The food displaced their hunger, but the love, kindness, generosity, and smiles displaced a lot more.  It helped displace that fear, loneliness, embarrassment, and worry as that simple gesture brought a great deal of dignity to some who may have forgotten what is was like not to have to ask for help.

It was a wonderful week as the staff and volunteers of the Eblen-Kimmel Charities worked tirelessly to warm hundreds of homes as they and so many others, who provided and served food, blankets and gave selflessly warmed all our hearts.