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Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Open Heart Kitchen, which serves hot meals to people in need, will host an emergency fundraiser Nov. 20 in the hopes that it will raise enough money to keep it from shuttering its doors.
The nonprofit, which serves low-income families, seniors and other vulnerable populations in the Tri-Valley has already begun tapping into its reserve food supply, a victim of the worsening economy. The soup kitchen’s situation is what Executive Director Linda McKeever describes as the perfect storm–less people donating and more people needing hot meals.
More people than ever are turning out at Open Hearts meal programs, which have been offered in Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore since 1995. Demand for meals has increased nearly 25 percent. The nonprofit also provides a children’s weekend box lunch program and dinner service to seniors, such as the Monday program at Ridgeview Commons.
Last year, the kitchen served 160,000 meals, but this year’s number is expected to be much larger. That was accomplished by a small staff of two full-time and five part-time workers and hundreds of volunteers. In addition, contributions from the public have decreased by 45 percent. Food costs have risen by 10 percent.
Because the food being provided is Open Heart’s reserves, that supply is only anticipated to last another four or five weeks at the most if the community doesn’t step in to help.
Last February, Open Heart Kitchen was one of eight designated beneficiaries of the Pleasanton Weekly’s 2007 Holiday Fund and received a check for $18,750 to help meet its costs in 2008. The nonprofit will again be a targeted recipient of the Weekly’s 2008 Holiday Fund, which will launch Nov. 21.
The Nov. 20 fundraiser will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. at Blacksmith Square in Livermore, South Livermore and Railroad avenues, rain or shine. There will be live music by acoustic folk rock singer Roger Kardinal, also known as the “voice of Livermore.” There will also be wine tasting and hors d’oeuvres, according to Wendy Weathers, a volunteer who is organizing the fundraiser.
“A representative from Open Heart will be there to take donations and speak to the crowd a little bit about what’s going on with Open Heart Kitchen,” she said. “There’s no cost for the event and we just want to encourage people to come and donate their money. It’s serious.”
Cash, checks and credit cards will be accepted forms of donations. Weathers said Open Heart is also looking for local businesses to donate food trays for the fundraiser. For information, call Weathers at 963-8019.
These folks do amazing work. Although they participate in the Weekly’s Holiday Fund, it sounds like they need help to stay around for ‘that’ distribution.
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I’ll be at their fundraiser.. y’all come!
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unclehomerr..
I have worked with Open Heart Kitchen and know that they are a vital part of our TriValley area.
Sometimes we can forget about the individuals and families that don’t always have enough money each day for food. The places that have the meals with Open Heart Kitchen don’t ask for a name, income, or a donation. They let people come in and eat without questions or comments.
Many of the folks that need a place like Open Heart Kitchen are the same people that work the hard labor and unattractive jobs in our cities that keep our lifestyles nice. They wash the dishes, mow the yards, clean the hotel rooms, and do alot of things that we wouldn’t be willing to do.
These families are trying to raise their own children in a place where $110,000 is the average income and they make a third of that amount.
Please donate to this great organization!!
They take credit cards via the internet from their website at http://www.openheartkitchen.org.
If you can’t donate cash, consider volunteering with them. It’s also getting tougher to get people to volunteer their time because more and more are going back to work themselves to help with their own household bills.
If you have a garden or a fruit tree, consider giving an extras that might go to waste to this group. They will use in the meals or give to people to take home.
We see worthwhile organizations such as this practically begging for aid, then, we see on TV, or read in the print media, where the politicians are bailing out crooks in the banking/loan industry with big, big bucks(Now the “Big Three” auto manufacturers have their hands out). Makes one wonder when the “Send me to Washington. I’ll look out for your interest” becomes a reality…
McNerney is supposedly here on weekends walking around “consulting” with his constituency. Anyone with access more than “I hear what you’re saying”??? Let’s see if he’s more than just “words to get elected”…
My family has donated to several “leave it on your steps” food drives, we’ll see what we can do to help this organization…
According to two Open Heart workers I spoke to Nov 11 as they were preparing dinner at Ridge View Commons, they have received money & donations & will not be closing.
Please follow up on this; the news story was alarming to low-income residents.
I spoke with Weathers today and Open Heart Kitchen is also taking donations of canned, dryed food,pasta and fresh produce you can check their web site at http://www.openheartkitchen.org for locations to drop off. We recently had an open house at my home and I asked people to bring food donations for Open Heart.
Nancy, yes, you are correct. Donations have been coming in the past few days with news of the possible shutdown, which has helped Open Heart’s situation, but the nonprofit is still in need, hence the emergency fundraiser.
Too bad Stacey and Julie of Vintage Hills care more about gay marraige than they do about hungry seniors and children. And yes, I have donated my time, money and organizational skills to Open Heart already.
Too bad,
I frankly could care less about gay marriage. You apparently have failed to understand anything I’ve written on the subject.
Good for you for donating your time, money, and skills. Too bad you behave like a narcissist who uses your good deeds as a means to show off in order to put other people down.
Hey Stacey,
He/she got you hook, line and sinker!!!
Didn’t think you’d fall for bait such as that…:):):):)
Bait or not, it is completely false and an attack on people’s characters. It deserves to be rebutted.
Stacey,
If your posts did not sound so high and mighty and condescending you might not be a target for those kind of comments. No one likes a know it all with an attitude.
Resident,
That might be a reason for you to not like me, but I don’t know if that’s Too Bad’s motive.
Julie and I saw the gay marriage issue as one of equal rights and we stuck strongly to the constitutional principles that this country was founded upon that we both highly value. If sticking to a set of principles can be called “attitude”, I’ll gladly wear that badge.