Members of St. John’s, Grace and St. Peter’s Wisconsin Synod Lutheran churches raised $4618.00 to purchase food items for families in need this Thanksgiving. Having prepared 35 gift boxes last year, the congregations hoped to donate 50 this year. The funds raised allowed them to far exceed their goal and deliver 120 meal kits.
The project was spearheaded by Grace member, Nancy Dahling and her mother, Edith Buck of St. John’s. Many local businesses and individuals donated money or products including Lodermeier Implement, 1st Farmers and Merchants Bank, Voth Insurance, Carrie’s Day Care, Shirley and Tim Voth, Knoblesdorff Electric, C&G Hardware, Rich’s Auto Body, Goodhue Market, The Bake Shoppe, and the Country Station. Other area donations came from Nilssen’s foods, Family Fare, Aldi and Target. Major sponsorship came from the Goodhue Lion’s Club, a Wal-Mart grant and Thrivent Choice Dollars.
Boxes were set out across St. Peter’s church basement where approximately 25 volunteers from the three congregations gathered on November 18th to assemble and deliver the provisions. The boxes were packed with everything needed for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner including either a turkey or a ham, canned vegetables, stuffing mix, instant or whole potatoes, a jar of gravy, cranberry sauce, fresh buns and a pie. Each box was filled according to a hand-written list Buck attached to best serve each recipient based on family size and perceived cooking skills.
Names of possible recipients were submitted by church members and solicited from local outreach organizations. The gifts were delivered to folks in the Goodhue, Red Wing and Zumbrota areas and the Mazeppa area food shelf. Boxes were presented not only to those in need of food but people that have been dealing with illness or injury. Those involved in the preparation are already thinking of ways to improve the process and reach more people in need next year.
Dahling thanked her mother and other volunteers through a social media post stating, “The Lord truly blessed us this year. Again, without the donations and volunteers this wouldn’t have been possible.”
For more information on the area WELS churches, contact Pastor Martin Weigand at 715-441-5086 or stop by their booth at the upcoming German Christmas Market in Goodhue on December 2nd.
