Viewfinder: Church Groups Provide A Helping Hand

What can one lunch, a supper once a month, pencils and a free bag of groceries make for one family? It can make the differences between having money to pay the rent or going to the emergency room and having to make it without, according to volunteers of the Attleboro Area Council of Churches.

The big difference is when many churches work to feed and impact a group of people you start to see smiles appear. Before Tropical Storm Irene hit Attleboro, families were already going through a difficult time because it was the end of the month and a time when supplies and clothes were needed to go back to school.

The  extended their food programs to the . Twice a week the Council packaged up lunches for all the children at the playground. As the summer came to an end the  hosted a pizza and pool party at the Attleboro YMCA, Thursday Aug. 15 for the families of the children who benefited from the lunch program.

The  offered space and pool time for the event and 10 pizzas were donated by  in South Attleboro and  helped subsidize some extra pizzas.

Tim Killion, Sr., program outreach director, coordinated the efforts with Pam Tarallo, director of the Food n' Friends Program for the AACC. "We were happy to partner with the AACC for this event" Killion said. "We are always looking for ways to reach out to those families who need help especially with their scholarship programs."

With the impending storm,many people where out buying supplies but the members of the in North Attleboro and the went ahead with planned Back-to-School events at just over the Attleboro border. Both were offering back-to-school supplies, games and a free lunch.

The Saltshaker Ministry group, organized by ,  and , set up once again at the Briggs Playground. Only that time they were equipped with 250 backpacks filled with appropriate school supplies. They provided lunch, games, a bag of food and a special visit from the .

The Waters Church offered residents a bag of school supplies and treated them to carnival games, a live band and provided them with digital identification kits. There was also a basketball tournament and the opportunity to sign up to be a Bone Marrow Donor.

That same night, Waters Church also hosted its monthly Family Cafe, sponsored by the AACC with food donated by the in Norton.

The  took it's turn and hosted their Family Cafe on Wednesday, Aug. 31st and celebrated their one year anniversary of hosting a Family Cafe.

The Family Cafes are open to families with children under the age of 18. They are designed to be a safe place to bring the children for a free meal at the end of the month.

Each cafe serves approximately 50-60 people each month.