A Gift of Mercy: Grant Received for Food Emergency Program
Come Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let these gifts to us be blessed, and may there be a goodly share, on every table everywhere, and may we help to put it there.
If you were to join Rev. Dr. Karl Heimer for a meal, whether a casual lunch or a quiet dinner, this is the prayer you would hear him say. What’s truly beautiful is YLM works hard to ensure there is a goodly share on every table of every family seeking help to feed their families.
YLM’s food distribution has been going on for over 37 years. Back in 1982, when Rev. Dr. Karl Heimer and his family were placed at San Pablo Lutheran Church, which is smack dab in the middle of what is now known as the YLM campus, they were surrounded by dirt roads and what was known as the projects.
“It was a low-income community,” Heimer shared as we discussed the food distributions taking place and its humble beginnings, “There was so much poverty, and dangerous gangs all around –this was their turf. In fact, at that time, you couldn’t get a pizza delivered anywhere near here. They’d be, yeah, we don’t go to Schutz.”
Heimer’s first step in connecting to the community back then was conducting a community needs survey along with his then assistant, John Williamson, which resulted in the first two of many human care programs now supported through YLM by hundreds of donors and volunteers. “This was John’s idea,” Heimer gave credit where it was due, “It worked out for the best, even thirty-seven years later.”
“I remember the first Christmas service we held in 1982,” Jeanette Heimer, Rev. Heimer’s wife of 53 years, shared with me as we enjoyed a casual lunch, “We were giving out these food baskets with just the essentials -like rice, beans, and such -there were over 100 people in our small little church building.”
The distribution of food baskets has grown to such proportions in the last 37 years, YLM is truly grateful when help is received from others, such as the $20,000 grant given by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
Rev. Heimer, CEO of YLM since it became an official non-profit organization back in 2005, likes to call this grant a gift of mercy. “For the last 37 years, we’ve continued to do the work we started in 1982, despite many challenges,” he smiled as he listed the many ways this grant will make it possible for YLM to continue it’s mission of changing lives, “Thanks to this grant, we can continue a portion of the many acts of mercy we provide.”
From covering weekly invoices from the El Pasoans Fighting Hunger to fixing a flat-bed truck donated last year, which will be very useful to have for food pick-up from the local food bank where large quantity of food items are on pallets, those $20,000 will help feed many families in the coming summer months.
“The great thing is it’s not just helping those who live here in El Paso,” Alonso Gonzalez, Project Facilitator for our Servant Event program, shared as he pulled out 72 prepared food baskets for Rosy Lira, Deaconess at La Santa Biblia and Cristo Rey (two of our nine mission-partner churches across the border) to take with her to distribute to needing families in the Anapra and Juarez neighborhoods.
Elvira Viramontes, Program Director at YLM, was one of the key people in the process of putting this grant in motion. “We had originally applied for the LCMS’s Kaleidoscope Grant, but it wasn’t approved. We re-applied under their Domestic Emergency Grant and we received the first half just this past April.”
Those first $10,000 have already been put to work. Over 300 people traipse through the YLM campus every Saturday morning to pick up their food baskets, with 10 to 20 new people registering every week. Thanks to the Mercy Grant, and outside donations from individuals, churches and businesses, the food baskets include fresh produce, sometimes meat, eggs, dairy, and occasionally, sweet luxuries such as cookies and bread.
“Many non-profits provide food here in El Paso,” Elvira grinned as she pointed out what makes YLM’s food distribution stand out from many other food pantries in the city, “We work hard to respect and dignify those we serve…we secure high-quality food that meet nutritional needs of their families.”
Thanks to this gift of mercy, YLM will be able to continue focusing its services, staying consistent with its mission despite past and present difficulties such as funding and need of volunteers.
“We’re changing lives through simple acts of kindness,” Heimer emphasized once again, “In everything we do, we will continue to find acts of mercy, simple acts of kindness, and change lives through them.”
