Air Assurance In The Spirit of Giving
In the spirit of giving
By LYNN JACOBSEN World Sports Writer
Published: 12/24/2008 2:26 AM
Last Modified: 12/24/2008 2:40 AM
Forty-three families will awake to a brighter Christmas on Thursday thanks to the efforts of a small midtown Lutheran congregation.
AscensionLutheranChurch, through its Helping Hands program, has been providing food to those less fortunate for 40 years through its association with Westside Family Services, now operating under the name of Family and Children Services.
Ascension, 4803 S. Lewis Ave., is sole provider of meals for the organization throughout the year.
"Every week Ascension has been so kind to furnish food for families," said Linda Rockney, administrative assistant for the early childhood program at Family and Children Services. "Our families are poverty level or below. In addition, they supply us with holiday baskets for families. Ascension supplies it all e_SEmD canned goods, turkey, pies e_SEmD everything for a holiday meal.
"Their generosity allows us to free up funds for other projects. If we have an emergency need we know that Ascension will take care of it."
Barbara James, a member of Ascension for 25 years, and Eileen Imwalle, who joined the church 12 years ago, oversee the Helping Hands Ministry.
"We have a relatively small congregation, and each year we spend probably $3,000 to $5,000 on our regular weekly orders," James said. "In addition, we filled 68 orders between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
"We also adopt families from Family and Children Services, and this year we adopted 10 families, providing Christmas, including food and presents, from profiles we receive. We sold 40 pies to raise money for holiday food and sold 500 jars of ready-to-make meals and desserts, which we use toward the Adopt a Family, providing Christmas to those families."
The Helping Hands project receives its funds from donations, bake sales and other fundraising activities.
In conjunction with sister congregation Joy Lutheran, Helping Hands raised more than $2,200 for the holiday baskets, said Imwalle.
"We normally only do 25 Christmas dinners, and this year we were able to do 43," Imwalle said.
Ascension is just one of many organizations in the area helping the needy with food baskets during the holidays.
Air Assurance, a Tulsa heating and air conditioning company, is among several companies donating baskets and gifts to needy families for Christmas.
Through the Community Action Resource Association, which provides after-school programs for children and other social services, Air Assurance received about 57 names and addresses to deliver baskets full of food and other holiday comforts on Christmas Eve, said Mike Rampey, president of Air Assurance.
"We do something every year," Rampey said. "This year we wanted to come up with a way to help many families."
Pastor Lewis Bumpers, spokesman for the Community Action Resource Association, said the association works with organizations that want to help others.
"That's what it's all about," Bumpers said. "It's all about networking and helping people."World Staff Writer Jarrel Wade contributed to this story.
1301 SW Expressway Dr, Broken Arrow, OK 74012