By 8:30am on October 16th, hundreds of people stood inside the lobby of Southland Church in Steinbach waiting to receive free food and clothing setup on over 130 tables.
The Church reports that 27,000 lbs of clothing, shoes, toys, bedding, and household items were given away in addition to 33,000 lbs of food and 1,400 hampers. “Over 2,300 people attended the event this year up from 1,700 the previous year. It was so wonderful to see the smiles on people’s faces and to know that we were able to make a difference in their lives”, co-organizer Grace Hiebert explained. “Our goal is to show love to one another as God has loved us. We want the community to know we care.”
This was the 10th annual Food and Clothing Drive for the local church involving over 950 volunteers. “It was great to see young children assembling the hampers, the young adults and young married couples putting the bags of fresh vegetables together”, Hiebert said. Hiebert also noted that all age groups, including many seniors were filling the tables with clothing and household goods.
Every year, our church looks forward to helping people in need. Most came from Steinbach and surrounding areas but many came from Winnipeg and from as far away as The Pas. ~ Grace Hiebert
The 11th annual Food and Clothing Drive will be held at Southland Church on Friday, October 14th, 2016 which is the Friday following Thanksgiving.
