GraceWorks Ministries

December Neighbor Story

Katy was scared. 

Her job had been downsized to only a few hours, and bills were coming due. More than due, actually. The day’s mail had brought a final notice from a utility company, and she knew she wouldn’t make her rent. 

Her mother had died a few years ago after a lifetime of poverty, and Katy had no one else to ask for help. Katy had grown up determined not to live her mother’s life, and yet here she was going down that same downhill path. 

Her mother – the thought brought back a memory of a large room with Christmas carols playing, lots of people and lots of toys. She held her mother’s hand and gazed at all the dolls and toy trucks and gleaming bicycles. 

The next day, she and her mother went to another building and came out with sacks of groceries. She was 8 years old that year, and it was the best time she could remember. They had food and they had Christmas. 

Katy Googled food pantries and found it – GraceWorks. The event she remembered was The Manger, GraceWorks’ annual Christmas gift giving event.  

“I am on my own now, trying to do better in life, but I need help,” Katy told a GraceWorks staff member. “I knew GraceWorks would give me the help I need. They helped us before.” 

Besides giving Katy food, GraceWorks helped her with her rent and utility bill. She also needed a bed but chose a couch instead with a voucher to the  GraceWorks Thrift Store because it would take up less room in her small apartment. 

The Manger began this week. Last Christmas season, 1,538 children ages 0-18 of low-income families received gifts. 

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