“More, Better, Together” – Ministries Serving Low-Income Neighbors – Fall 2024 Newsletter
We are the ELCA congregations in and around the Texas capital city—and that includes you. Since its inception in 2011, ACL has sought ways to fellowship and minister in Austin following the simple moniker that we can do “more, better, together.”
Bread For All’s Busiest Year Ever
2024 is shaping up to be BFA’s busiest year ever. The good news in that statement is that our incredible volunteer and donor bases continue to fuel this important ministry. The bad news is that food insecurity continues to increase in Austin. We are projected to serve 3,000 unique individuals and families this year. Compare this figure with our previous highs of 2389 in 2023 and 1465 in 2022. The pandemic year of 2022 was busy—you can do the math—this year we are projected to serve more than double the persons we served in 2022.
Let me repeat my thanks to wonderful supporters who continue to provide financial and prayer support, in-kind donations of food and diapers, and rent assistance funding. BFA carried out its fourth rent assistance program this past summer, helping 73 individuals and families maintain their housing. Fifty-four of these families are with children, and of these, 23 are led by single mothers.
Donations of peanut butter, canned and dried beans, pasta, and diapers (sizes 4, 5, 6) are always needed. We’re also supplementing our distributions through a wholesale purchasing option at the Central Texas Food Bank. Financial donations earmarked for BFA go toward these needed purchases.
Thanks be to God and thanks be to supporters who help spread a greatly needed community table of sharing every Monday evening in SE Austin.
Pastor Tim Anderson, Director of ACL
ACL’s Move-In Ministry
We’ll come and pick up the following items, store them, and then deliver them to provide a sense of “home” for people exiting homelessness:
Kitchen tables and chairs Coffee tables Pots, pans and other basic kitchen items Bed frames (and lightly used mattresses) Dressers Towels and bed sheets
Living room chairs and sofas (free of pet dander, no sleeper sofas)
Contact Pastor Tim – tca.blueocotillo@gmail.com
Mariposa Family Learning Center
Mariposa Family Learning Center provides high-quality, nurturing, and comprehensive early childhood care and supportive family programming, regardless of a family’s ability to pay. www.mariposalearningcenter.org.
JOIN US ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27!
Mariposa’s Fall Fundraiser and Gathering!
Move-In Ministry Update
Earlier this year, the Move-In Ministry served its 100th recipient with furniture and household items. The Move-In Ministry was initiated in 2022 and ramped up services in 2023. This year, the team of a dozen volunteers is projected to serve more than 100 individuals and families. This will bring the total number of recipient households close to 200.
The majority of folks the team serves are in client relationships with various homelessness service providers—Sunrise Navigation Center, Foundation for the Homeless, and Foundation Communities. We also partner with organizations serving refugees, like Casa Marianella, and those serving young adults transitioning out of the foster care system, like Lifeworks.
Homelessness and vulnerability to it are on the rise in Austin, for individuals and families. The Move-In Ministry endeavors “to do something about homelessness.” The furniture and household items we provide serve as a financial boost to recipients and also as an emotional support to help create a sense of “home” in a new housing situation.
More info at www.breadforall-atx.org and www.austincitylutherans.org