Sept. 28 Concordia forum tackles Cloud County poverty
The changing face of poverty in Cloud County will be the focus of the next Community Needs Forum at the Nazareth Motherhouse.
“Today when we’re talking about people who need some help, we’re talking about people who have jobs but only limited hours and no benefits,” explained Tonya Merrill, director of the Cloud County Resource Center. “It’s not just the elderly or unemployed or children who may go hungry.”
Merrill and Susan LeDuc, who oversees the Helping Hands food pantry at Manna House of Prayer, will be the featured speakers at the working lunch.
It will be Wednesday, Sept. 28, from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Nazareth Motherhouse auditorium. Lunch is provided without charge by the Sisters of St. Joseph. Everyone is invited, and those planning to come are asked to RSVP to 243-2149 or sisterjean@csjkansas.org. Parking is available in the lot on the east side of the Motherhouse.
Merrill’s presentation will review the demographics of Cloud County, and both women will discuss their food banks and other programs.
The Sept. 28 lunch will be the 33rd in the Community Needs Forum series, which grew out of informal meetings between the Sisters of St. Joseph and community leaders in the fall of 2008. The first working lunch was held in January 2009, and the continuing gatherings have identified what participants see as the greatest needs in the community and have established smaller groups to seek solutions.
The working lunches continue to provide an opportunity for updates on projects and a clearinghouse for new ideas.