Just Your Average Tuesday Morning at Patchwork

It’s a quiet morning at Patchwork. I happen to be working in the main office.

A couple is taking showers. The man is looking for work and says he has submitted applications everywhere. He asks to charge his cell phone in the office while he takes a shower so it will be ready in case a potential employer calls him back for an interview. A second couple comes in to take showers and to get food from the food pantry.

A woman sorts through our small collection of free clothing. She’s happy to find some clothes that she can wear to church. She’s on a fixed income and tells me she’s had other expenses that were higher than usual, so good, free clothes are a blessing.

A grandmother comes in to thank Patchwork for giving her grandson Christmas gifts. The gifts were given thanks to a partnership with Aldersgate United Methodist Church. She says a Monopoly game was among the things he received and it has helped him practice counting money. She’ll be back at Patchwork this afternoon to bring her grandson for tutoring.

A steady stream of people come through our doors to visit the food pantry, to pick up some bread and fresh produce, or to drink a cup of coffee. They say thank you to me as they walk past the main office.

Some of our guests are still struggling with the aftermath of last week’s cold weather. Many people who come to Patchwork have housing but live on fixed incomes or work at jobs where they are regularly laid off during the slow times. In good times, they are barely able to get by. While most of us turned up our heat or let our faucets drip during the cold snap to keep our pipes from freezing, many of these families looked at dripping water or a few extra degrees of heat as luxuries that they could not afford. One family had just managed to put together the money to get their water turned back on only to have their pipes freeze and burst in the cold. Now they’re back for showers at Patchwork.

Recently, we were grateful to receive funding from the Vanderburgh Community Foundation to help us provide this kind of Neighborhood Hospitality.

You, too, can help us cover the cost of providing Neighborhood Hospitality. We’ll host our annual Soup, Salad, & Style fundraiser on February 27, 2014 from Noon-1:30. You can make a reservation today by sending $40 per person of $300 for a table of eight to Patchwork. All proceeds will be used to support Patchwork’s programming, including our Neighborhood Hospitality.