During the month of October, Tioga County Rural Ministry (TCRM) will be celebrating 40 years of serving the community. Since that time, TCRM has provided food, assistance, and a variety of supportive services to those in need.
On Oct. 12, at the VFW in Owego, TCRM will celebrate their anniversary with a dinner at 7 p.m.; doors open at 6 p.m. for drinks and Hors d’oeuvres.
The event will feature Rick Pedro performing as well as the choir from St. Catherine’s in Ithaca. Lew Sauerbrey will serve as the Master of Ceremonies for the event.
Tickets will be available until Oct. 5 at the TCRM office in Owego, and cost $20. TCRM, located at 143 North Ave. in Owego, is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and on Friday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
TCRM will also begin their holiday signup on Monday, and will continue until Oct. 15. The sign up, according to the Executive Director, Sister Mary O’Brien, includes the Thanksgiving Day food baskets, and the Christmas food baskets and holiday wish list.
Sister Mary explained that residents can sign up for these programs, and that last year they served 64 families. Through the “Adopt a Family” program, nine families were served, ensuring a gift under every tree.
Residents can also participate in the toy distribution at the VFW, planned for Dec. 20 this year from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be toys, acquired through the “Toys for Tots” program as well as books, distributed by the Family Reading Partnership for children up to age 12.
“Area residents can also adopt any option; food, gifts, and other items are always requested,” Sister Mary added.
To learn more about the signup or to adopt a family, you can contact TCRM by calling (607) 687-3021.
To help out with their efforts, The Owego Pennysaver, located at 181-183 Front St. in Owego, will be collecting non-perishable food items and toiletries for TCRM throughout the month of October. You can drop them off Monday through Friday, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
And as they prepare to celebrate their 40th anniversary, Sister Mary, along with Debbie Howard, vice-chair of the TCRM Board of Directors, emphasized that the programs offered through TCRM go beyond the services of a traditional food pantry.
“When I moved here 20 years ago,” said Howard, “I thought that Tioga County Rural Ministry was just a food pantry. It’s so much more.”
Sister Mary discovered the needs of the community when she arrived at TCRM six years ago, just one year following the flood of 2011.
“When I arrived, there was still debris on the curbs and people were still cleaning up,” Sister Mary stated.
She knew, at that moment, that the needs of the community would be great.
Just last year, between July 2017 and January 2018, TCRM saw 454 new families utilize the food pantry. And the residents that use the pantry are mostly working families, according to Sister Mary.
“What we have is income disparity,” she added.
To help families further, Rural Ministry offers a wide variety of other programs, and involves the community in their efforts.
For example, Norm Westervelt refurbishes bicycles to be given away through the ministry. Bill Kauczka helps to build wheelchair ramps. According to Sister Mary, he travels around the county looking at projects, and works completely on a volunteer basis.
Another effort at TCRM that is teaching youth to appreciate what they have, while serving a need, is the back to school program in which teens, ages 13 to 18 get $200 for school clothes. The youth are accompanied to buy the clothes, and then they have to bring back the receipts.
And as a stipulation of the program, the teens are then required to write thank you notes. If they don’t write the note, they don’t qualify for the program again, according to Sister Mary.
And Sister Mary herself remains humble, as a generous community has supported the efforts of TCRM over the years.
“It helps when people give so generously,” stated Sister Mary, adding, “It’s about a community that cares.”
And this caring attitude is reflected in TCRM efforts, to include the Spring Cleanup offered, in which over 50 Lacrosse members helped out this year.
Other examples were given by Howard, to include student projects involving senior homes, specifically around Easter; the back to school program; the free food giveaways; scholarships to Mapleridge Ranch; free bikes; the Farm Market initiative; and financial assistance, to include help with gas, utilities, rent, and prescriptions.
Most importantly, anyone in need of assistance is welcome to contact TCRM for more information by calling (607) 687-3021. You can also visit them online at tcrm.org.
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