Greater Eastside Chamber Donates Food, Funds to Shepherd's Staff Ministries

A $1,000 check and a thousand food items were donated to the Shepherd's Staff Ministries at the Greater Eastside Chamber of Commerce's December luncheon last week. 

Located in Loganville, Shepherd's Staff Ministries is a non-profit organization that assists families in need by offering food, clothing, housing and financial assistance. 

"This is God's ministry, but it takes our hands and feet. It takes people doing the work that's there, and it's you all bringing this food in. Thank you so much for this. This is amazing," said Megan Herndon, the director of the organization. "I was shocked when I came in."

"It comes back to, 'Am I my brother's keeper?'" said Jamie Dempsey, the president of GECC. "Greater Eastside Chamber of Commerce, even being a small chamber of commerce, has been very blessed this year, and it is our privilege and our honor to be able to give back to our community. 

Dempsey continued: "We just want to thank you guys for what you do for our community. We live here. It's because of people like you all that we're able to have the businesses that we do, that we're able to serve the people that we can serve in our own businesses and in our own personal lives."

Herndon said the ministry will serve about 13,000 this year, up from 10,400 people in 2012. 

And the ministry just wants to keep growing: The goal for 2014 is to help 15,000 people, and having placed 13 families in permanent housing in 2013, Herndon wants to place 15 families next year.

Shepherd's Staff also grew in its facility, too: It's Bay Creek Road location has grown from 3,000 square feet last year to 9,000 square feet this year.  

For 2014, the ministry also is partnering with First Baptist Church of Loganville for its food program. FBC has identified 19 homeless families, equaling to 32 adults and 59 children, who are homeless in the area and are in need of food. 

Sandy Owens, who leads the program, said that these kids, who attend Walnut Grove High, Loganville High, Loganville Middle and Youth Middle, were eating only breakfast and lunch because it was offered at their schools. They were going hungry in the evenings and weekends because there was no food at home. So the church decided to pack grocery bags every week with meals: two breakfasts, two suppers, a snack, juice or another item that the family may need. 

Owens said they've grown to giving the families laundry detergent, too, since they saw there also was a need for it.