Generous Winners

When Barry, Manna's food service manager, saw the barrel of cookies, he knew what he had to do... have a contest. He counted the cookies then posted a sign for all our guests: whoever guessed the number of cookies would receive a custom-prepared meal for two, plus the jar of cookies. One entry was allowed per dining session, and the competition was held for one week.

In the end, JT came the closest to the actual number (guessed within two of the 972 official count). And when it came time for JT to claim his prize, he asked for a bowl to share the cookies with everyone at the table. He also said that since he lived by himself, he only needed one meal, not two. JT's generosity really reflects the spirit of giving at Manna, be it from volunteers, staff or guests..

Be My Turkey Valentine

Sarah, Annie and Paul were supposed to serve a meal at Manna on Saturday the 6th, but they were snowed out. So, to make up for the time they missed, they brought in Valentines goodie bags and flowers to go along with the Thanksgiving/Valentines food baskets that were distributed this past Friday.

In the past, Sarah made Rosary beads and sold them to benefit Manna. We are always inspired by what the young people in our community do to help care for people in need...

Caring... but Calculating

As a nonprofit soup kitchen, it is natural that we are a caring organization. We welcome anyone who is hungry, and provide a safe place for people to come together and be fed. At the same time, we are very methodical in how we run our business. There is a budget in place; we never spend more than we take in. The surplus at the end of each year is invested conservatively, so that we have a guaranteed reserve in the event of an emergency.

When an individual or family asks for financial aid, we perform a thorough background check to validate the need. The checks are never paid to the individual, but to the landlord, utility company or health care provider. We even calculate our success rate of keeping people in their household (last year it was 94%).

In our partnerships, we align ourselves only with the best organizations in the community - agencies like the North Penn Boys & Girls Club, the Lamb Foundation, the North Penn YMCA, Keystone Opportunity Center, Laural House - those who have proven to make a positive impact on the people they serve. By working with and learning from our partners, we improve our operating methods.

We are indeed very calculating... because we care.

More Alike Than Not

We (staff, volunteers, random folks who come through our doors) don't always dress the same, but it seems we do attract a certain type of individual. People who are kind and thoughtful; those who tend not to ask, "What's in it for me?" but, "What's in me for others?" No matter what you wear, perhaps you're the kind of person who would stop in...

Layers

Richie (not his real name) is a young man who eats at Manna on a regular basis. He is always polite and appreciates what we do. Richie is a hip-hop artist and tells us he's on the verge of signing a music contract. He recently passed along a CD of his work for us to listen to. The language used in the songs might be offensive to some, but what emerges from the lyrics reflect the earlier hard times of his life: being a witness to a murder, having a nervous breakdown and a spiraling downward into the world of drugs. What is not so evident in his music is what he carries in his heart after his emergence from a troubled life: his faith in God, love for family and a striving to remain humble and yet focused on his goals.

It is often easy for us at Manna to look at a person as we see them today, and miss the things that have been layered in their lives. That is why we do our best to listen to their entire narrative before we determine how we can serve them. And for those who a reluctant to share their stories, we feed them as best we can...

Cats Sited

Sitecats seems to be everywhere. That's one of the many reasons why they were chosen as the Small Business of the Year by the Indian Valley Chamber of Commerce.

More than eight years ago, John Ralston, Sitecats Chief Excitement Officer, approached Manna on Main Street. He said, "you need a web site, so I'm going to build one for you... no charge." Since then, John and his team has helped us maintain our site and keep us connected to the community. Not only does Sitecats do good work, they do good works.

Fear - Despair - Hope

It would be easy enough for us to speak to the lowest common denominator in what is going on in society today. There is plenty of fear and despair to go around, and it would seem a soup kitchen would want to talk about how bad things are in order to shore up support for their cause.

Instead, we focus on the hope: the goods things that are happening around us, to show that in the midst of difficult times, there are positive events and caring people that lift us up.

Last weekend, the musical trio Braided Rain performed a benefit concert for Manna. It was their debut, and possibly their only concert. Their interest was in doing what they love to do... sharing their voices, and at the same time helping a cause that they believe in. Our hope for Madi, Caris and Erin is that they will find avenues to bring their music to others, but if they decide otherwise, we are certain they will continue to share the gift of themselves...