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While churches could not come together in their sanctuaries for Easter, they decided to come together in sharing Christ’s love with those in need in San Marcos.
In an effort to come together as the larger church, to create community among members and to build friendship among the community of faith, a group of local churches have launched the Easter Impact Matching Gift Campaign. This fund will be used to match gifts that come in through various church participants and the broader community in Hays County. The churches within the Easter Impact Campaign have promised to match dollar donations to Hays County Food Bank up to $18,550 during the weeks of April 12-April 26, in response to the urgent food needs in the local community during the Coronavirus crisis.
“Christians are a resurrection people,” campaign organizer Rev. Joshua Sutherlun, of First Presbyterian Church of San Marcos, said. “We believe that life comes from despair, from hopelessness, from grief, from death. This Easter we wanted our community to know that we believe that hope and life will rise from this crisis and not just for our churches, but for everyone who lives here."
Recently, the Hays County Food Bank was forced to modify distributions and operations in order to accommodate the new protocols enacted from the COVID-19 response. Food rescue has halted because of the lack of food at grocery stores, volunteers are fewer due to the restrictions of gatherings and shelter-in-place order and food donations in general have been down. Distributions have also been reduced to one per major city in Hays County and clients are allowed to pick up only once per week. But the demand the food bank has seen has more than double from the previous months.
“The food bank is working tirelessly to continue providing food assistance to anyone in need in the Hays County area, both those affected by the shelter-in-place order and those who rely on our services regardless of the current situation," Hays County Food Bank Executive Director Eleanor Owen-Oshan said. "Your donation can help us continue to do good work here and keep our community fed. We are so grateful to our community for their generosity and support.”
Churches Involved: First Presbyterian Church of San Marcos, First Baptist Church of San Marcos, United Campus Ministry at Texas State, First United Methodist Church of San Marcos, Sozo Church, Solid Rock Church, Promiseland Church, Wayfinders Church, San Marcos Community Church, Sinai Pentecostal Church, Hill Country Christian Church.
Rev. Todd Salmi of the United Campus Ministry at Texas State said, “Every dollar makes a huge impact in feeding our neighbors. Our students donated matching funds raised earlier in the semester to encourage other students to make an Easter donation to the food bank.”
Donate at the Hays County Food Bank's website. Click “Donor Intent” and select "Easter Impact." For more information contact Sutherlun at [email protected], Salmi at [email protected] or Celeste Ceniseros at [email protected] or 512-392-8300 x230.
