The Diocese of Lansing's Diocesan Services Appeal or DSA is an annual appeal which is used to sustain the ongoing, day-to-day work of the Church across our 10-county diocese. Your donations to the DSA helps to fund Catholic Charities across the Diocese of Lansing. Thank you. God bless you. Here's just one example from Flint of the difference you are making, as writer Denyse Shannon now explains. Denyse writes:
A chorus of volunteers lines up waiting to dish up lunch to anyone who wants a hot meal; a meal provided this particular day by a group from the Bristol Road United Methodist Church, their pastor and others with a heart for service.
The North End Soup Kitchen at 735 East Stewart Avenue in Flint doesn’t turn anyone away; from those in need of a hand up, to those who feel called to be the hands and feet of Christ.
Over the last four decades, the North End Soup Kitchen and Catholic Charities have been a refuge, starting with just a simple soup and sandwich meal, to this year serving over 200,000 meals and providing a safe, warm place to sleep for men, women, and children.
“We have some big, big numbers this year, a lot more than normal,” says John Manse, community service director for Genesee and Shiawassee County Catholic Charities. And, just what does “normal” look like?
He started working for Catholic Charities in 1995, and has seen a lot of changes, not only in the needs of the people in the community, but also in the ways they’re able to serve them. In the early days, there were no young people and only a handful of seniors helping out.
“I came on board in ’95, and when I came in, it was funny because there was all seniors, churches, usually Catholic churches, and there were no kids, no youth groups.” He questioned the staff about why there were no kids, and he was told no one wanted to deal with them. That was one of the first things he wanted to change.
“I said, ‘get used to it, they’re our future donors and volunteers.’” In the years since, those staff have moved on but Manse has continued to bring in and train up the next generations of leaders.
Through the last three decades, he’s seen hundreds of sixth-graders from Genesee County schools. “We ended up with 90 different schools that would come, and they learned a lot. They were future owners and future volunteers, but they were able to do things that we all couldn’t do.”
There are still student and youth groups coming in, and he and the staff plan things for them, like a recent box-lunch initiative. “They’re helpful, in fact, because of the youth groups, I started a second shift here, and that’s why we do dinners.”
From a beginning with middle-school youth, Manse has been able to expand into high schools, youth groups, and now colleges. “We have so many Catholic Schools,” he says. During Catholic Schools week, Powers High School, but also Catholic Schools from out of town and out of state, brought their students in.
“Community service has changed over the last 10 or 15 years,” Manse says, which contributes to the number of students offering to help from the local middle-college culinary arts program. “They want to come here and cook for these clients.” And Manse doesn’t turn away the help, neither does his staff.
“You have to learn to be a volunteer coordinator,” Manse says of his staff. In the days when he took over the position, there were a lot of people who didn’t want to work with the kids. “So I've told them that they're all volunteer coordinators. Yes, you're the cook, but you're a volunteer coordinator. Your maintenance, and you're volunteer coordinator, even the secretary, I said you got to work with volunteers, especially youth groups.”
Manse says he is always looking for ways to make sure the people he serves get what they need, and tables set up inside the dining room are lined with sundries from a surplus at CVS, or the refrigerator is usually stocked with extra food anyone can take home for another meal. He has agreements with some vendors who give donations but also purchases a lot.
Although some groups bring in their own food to make the meals and lend a hand, Manse says he has a budget to buy produce, meat, and all the supplies to provide the over 15,000 meals a month. Part of that budget comes from the Diocesan Services Appeal.
Katie Baxter is Chief Executive of Catholic Charities for Genesee and Shiawassee Counties and says she’s grateful for all of the help they receive from the DSA every year. The funds are used to support not only two soup kitchens, but a community closet and the two warming centers, the counseling program, and help for medically fragile people.
She says supporting the DSA helps make sure that no one gets turned away, and that Catholic Charities can “fill in the gaps where we see a need.”
Along with the soup kitchen, Catholic Charities offers a warming center at both the North End Soup Kitchen and at Catholic Charities Center for Hope. On an average night during the winter months, there are between 25 and 30 adults, and 25 children who stayed in the warming centers.
“You see, the price of groceries and the cost of living just keep going up and that creates such crisis for people. It really makes it difficult. So, we feed them every day, with coffee on Sundays, and we're going to have hot food,” says Manse. And for those who needed it, there is a mat and a warm place to sleep.
Whether they are youth groups, community volunteers, or staff members, Manse says it’s important to him that people come together to meet the needs of the community, and “put yourself in their shoes sometimes.”
* To donate to this year's Diocesan Services Appeal, go to https://www.dioceseoflansing.org/DSA
