By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer
Paying bills, purchasing food, and taking care of the necessary parts of life allow us to live in a comfortable manner. But what happens when we can’t pay the bills, or even afford the appropriate amount of food to feed ourselves or our family?
Those misfortunes were magnified over the past year, as copious numbers of people lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In stepped the Autauga Interfaith Care Center, a non-profit organization designed to help meet the physical and spiritual needs of individuals and families facing urgent situations. Founded in 1998, the organization accepts donations from churches, individuals and groups, and, in turn, gives food and supplies back to the community.
Urgent situations seemly were found at every corner over the past year, and the AICC was there to help quell them. In fact, they gave away more food than Denise Brown, the AICC Executive Director, has seen in her 15 years with the non-profit.
“The community has been so, so supportive of us, and we saw that really manifest over the past 12 months. We had a huge number of donations from our churches and people across Autauga County, and that ultimately allowed us to give away over 100,000 pounds of food during the past year,” Brown said.
Typically, the AICC will do screenings with individuals to make sure that they meet the necessary requirements for the type of assistance they are in need of.
That wasn’t the case for food over the past 12 months.
“This past year, if people called and told us they were hungry, we would ask them, what time do you want to come pick up your food? No screening needed,” Brown said.
The AICC has approximately 15 refrigerators/freezers in their building that help store all the food, and they are currently in the process of obtaining a generator to provide electricity to them in case of a power outage.
Moreover, their clothes closet was recently re-opened, so eligible individuals will be able to once again be provided with necessary apparel.
The Adult Leadership Autauga Class of 2019-2020 also partnered with the AICC to help renovate the top of their building, a project that was recently completed. The room would allow space for other groups and organizations to meet. The AICC has acquired a grant for tables and chairs and is currently in the process of buying those necessary items.
When it boils down to it, none of what the AICC does would be possible without their generous supporters, says Brown.
“We have such a great support system. The churches are our backbone, and we currently have about 25-30 of them supporting us in some form or fashion,” Brown said.
“When the fire hit 6th street back in October, we had droves of people coming out from the community and donating to us. About 22 families were affected, but people donated more than any of them ever could have needed. We still, to this day, have supplies left over from that. And it makes it that much easier to give those goods away when another family is affected by a similar circumstance,” Brown said.
Typically, the AICC needs 10-12 volunteers per day, but have fallen short of that number lately. Brown says that they are always looking for people who want to volunteer.
Right now, the AICC is open Tuesday through Thursday from 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Those wanting to volunteer can do so at https://autaugainterfaithcarecenter.com/?fbclid=IwAR23yZNYprTHqGwHlHK15MMgvK-o1C7PBc5HYXTFMagRlJQsB75DRBwhz_w
