Tables to Go
After several months of listening to those living with HIV and one another; learning what is and isnÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂt working for the HIV-affected in Tulsa; assessing our resources and sharing our passions; praying for guidance; and reflecting on what weÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂve learned through the years from our saints and teachers who have lived in our midst with HIV . . .WE HAVE GIVEN BIRTH to an infant ministry that for now we are calling "Tables to Go" Angel Baskets.
What Is It?
Angel Baskets are boxes of food that we purchase once each month through Larry Hutton Ministries Angel Food Program for $25.00 each. Each box contains about $60 worth of food. Beginning with 4 clients chosen in consultation with case workers from Tulsa C.A.R.E.S. and R.A.I.N., COH companions will order and pick up 4 food boxes each month.
Each of these food boxes will be personalized and enhanced with special items for that client,--homegrown tomatoes or fresh flowers or homemade cookies or scented candles, etc -- and then delivered by a two-person team.
What's the Purpose?
What we heard over and over again as we listened to those living with HIV and those serving the HIV community was that FOOD is an increasingly urgent need for many. We also heard that the isolation and alienation that often accompany living with AIDS chips away at a person's sense of dignity and community. So the purpose of Tables to Go is to extend the kind of dignifying, communal experience we have around our Communion Table into the homes and lives of our clients by providing both food and companionship to clients who run short of both most months.
We have no idea how each relationship with each client will develop, but we anticipate that with time and as trust develops we may be able to offer assistance with various life tasks and other kinds of support. We also anticipate that the relationships will bless and challenge us in ways we cannot even imagine yet.
What Can I Do?
There are several ways to participate now, and more will open up in the coming months. We need people to pledge to pay for all or part of a food basket each month for 3 months ($25 per basket). We need people to think creatively about ways to turn a simple box of food into a treasure chest of things that says we care about you . . . and then donate those items. We will need volunteers to order and pick up the boxes, and volunteers to decorate and enhance them. Then we will need teams of two people to sign up for about six months at a time to deliver the boxes and develop a relationship with a particular client.
SIGN UP TODAY for something specific or just to be part of what develops along the way!
Call Gary at COH 747.6300 or contact Karl or Ty, our Tables to Go Coordinators.
The Tables to Go program is funded in part by a generous grant from the George Kaiser Family Foundation.
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