Jim Meagher
Food provides strength for tomorrow. Water is survival today.
When you are thirsty and perhaps dehydrated, you are at serious risk of heat stroke and may feel weak and very compromised. You just want to survive. That’s what is front and center now when survival revolves around securing sufficient water and respite in an air-conditioned space during the dangerous times of the day. This is the dilemma of the working and unemployed poor during July and until October in our climate here in the low desert. The goal is to find air-conditioned spaces to allow our body to cool down and to drink sufficient water to maintain a safe level of hydration. You and I serve these neighbors in the East Valley by being a link in the survival chain that provides food and water to Matthew’s Crossing Food Bank. You help by providing the food, water, and funding that Matthew’s Crossing requires.
Here is one example of our Sun Lakes Community “reaching out” to Matthew’s Crossing through Reach Out Sun Lakes that I want to share with you: Early last month, a resident of Palo Verde called me and said that she had food they planned to take with them on their trip back to their summer residence in the Midwest. Their vehicles were overloaded, and there wasn’t room for food. They decided to donate that food to Matthew’s Crossing and had previously read in the Splash that they could call Reach Out Sun Lakes and that we would pick up the food at their home and deliver it to Matthew’s Crossing. That’s exactly what happened. They made the donation that they wanted to make easily at their home.
Matthew’s Crossing has a nice selection of food items that they would not have otherwise had. That’s a win-win situation. Let’s make a lot more of them happen this summer. Why not pick up a few extra cases of water and either bring it to one of our locations listed below or call me and we’ll pick it up at your home.
The organizations that partner with us and provide days in July to donate are as follows:
• Sun Lakes Country Club in their clubhouse at the service desk during their working hours
• Democratic Club of Sun Lakes at Sun Lakes Country Club in the covered parking area of the parking lot. The July date is Monday, July 8, between 6:30 and 7 p.m.
To schedule home pickup, schedule a visit to Matthew’s Crossing, or if you have questions, please contact Jim Meagher of Reach Out Sun Lakes. My email address is [email protected], or phone me at 630-346-1966. Financial donations to Matthew’s Crossing are tax deductible.