By Bill Archer
BLUEFIELD — Times are hard, but according to Craig Hammond, executive director of the Bluefield Union Mission, local contributors, churches and civic organizations have stepped up their contributions to the mission’s food pantry, and their overall support of the mission.
“Last year at this time, I looked at our cupboards and they were bare,” Hammond said. “This year, we are stocked up. From the standpoint of contributions to our food pantry, we started picking up in the last quarter of 2008 when the local Realtors held a major food drive. That quarter made 2008 our best year ever for food collections, but the level of giving has continued through this year.
“The giving has been so strong this year that we’re expecting that this year’s amount of giving will exceed last year’s,” Hammond said. “We really need it too because our need keeps growing every day. The local Realtors really came through for us last year, but so did Food City, Sam’s Club and Grants that have all just been fantastic. We are blessed though, because when our shelves fill up, the food moves right out.”
Dr. Johnie Linn, an economics professor at Concord University said that traditionally, when the economy goes down, the level of charitable giving goes down as well.
“The fact that the Union Mission’s charitable giving has increased may be because the Mercer County economy is influenced by the coal industry. Coal and energy prices have done well. But it could also be the level of awareness in the community and the people who are donating the food,” Linn said. “The people who donate the food may know personally how difficult it is to get by during hard economic times.”
Hammond said the “union” in the Bluefield Union Mission’s name originated because of the union of eight Bluefield churches that came together to help feed needy families in 1931. “We are now connected to 71 churches, several civic organizations and our board members are out in the community serving in many ways.
“The reason we attribute to our bounty is due to our creator,” Hammond said. “He knows our needs and He fulfills them. In every aspect of the mission’s work, the need has never been greater. Along with a greater need for food, we have more people coming to us who need help with transportation to hospitals, more people who need shelter and more who need help with their bus transportation needs. It is wonderful to watch the way God works through the mission to help meet the needs.”
Hammond said that the shelves of the food pantry that are stocked today, may be emptied in a short time. As a result, he expressed his hopes that people will continue to donate food to the mission.
“The First Baptist Church of Bluewell just dropped a van-load of food here,” Hammond said. “Even though we have been receiving food to distribute, the demand has been record-setting too. We encourage people to keep giving and we welcome anyone who wants to volunteer to help,” Hammond said.
– Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com
