BY BARBARA-ANN GULOTTA
Lent is a time of self-reflection and hope; a time of preparation for Easter. During this past Lenten Season the members of Desert Foothills Lutheran Church & Pre School (DFLC) together with the Outreach and Assimilation Team began a project to supply our Veterans with “Necessity Bags.” These Veteran men and women are currently homeless and living on the streets in Phoenix.
Congregation members shopped for certain hygiene items and/or donated money so others may do the shopping on their behalf. On Sunday March 20, tables were set up in our fellowship hall. Everyone present was asked to help fill a bag. These bags contained the daily hygiene items we take for granted every day. Through the generosity of our members DFLC was able to create 100 “Necessity Bags”.
These bags were delivered to the MANA House on Willetta Street and subsequently sent to the Veterans Outreach Center on 11th Avenue in Phoenix for distribution.
MANA House was formed in 2008 by 14 Veterans who were at the time living homeless on the streets. It is not government funded. Instead it runs off donations from other organizations and people like us.
MANA House is Veterans helping Veterans. Its objective is to help these men become useful productive members of the community again by providing support, social services, medical, educational and social opportunities.
Barbara-Ann Gulotta, Outreach & Assimilation Team
Desert Foothills Lutheran Church & Pre School, Scottsdale
