Ministries and nonprofits that serve at-risk and other communities are benefiting from a huge blanket donation effort in Springfield, Mo.
Evangel University recently donated an overstock of blankets to several nonprofit and aid organizations in the greater Springfield area. The donation included approximately 800 blankets originally intended to provide bedding for guests staying in EU’s residence halls.
Walker
“Evangel is pleased to offer these blankets to organizations in our community who help the unsheltered population and address housing needs across the greater Springfield area,” said Autumn Walker, director of conference and event services at Evangel.
To this date, Evangel has donated 200 blankets to the Veterans Coming Home Center, 200 to The Kitchen, Inc., 100 to Hope Homes of the Ozarks, and the remainder, approximately 300 blankets, to the International Institute.
Both Veterans Coming Home and The Kitchen plan to give their blankets to local unsheltered citizens. Hope Homes, a residential discipleship and recovery program, will use the donation to update the bedding for students in their programs. The International Insitute, a refugee and asylee resettlement and employment organization, will provide the blankets to indhomelividuals using its services.
Springfield, like many cities across the nation, faces a growing homelessness problem. The Connecting Grounds, a church with a special focus on the community’s homeless, estimates there are about 2,500 people who meet the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) definition of homelessness.
According to KY3 News, the problem is evident to residents and visitors, reporting, “Panhandlers along many major thoroughfares, homeless camps popping up at various locations and even signs saying ‘No Camping’ underneath a railroad overpass just north of Commercial Street on Lyon.”
For Evangel, they hope the blankets can assist those organizations on the front lines.
“We are so glad they are going to be put to good use,” Walker states.
The university will be present at the March 4 Midwest Christian College Expo in Kansas City.
–Metro Voice