I saw a growingly familiar sight on the off ramp today. A disabled “begger” who was clearly in a bad way. He had this eerie million-mile stare on a very downcast face. As he leaned on his crutches there was no way…
Blog
Addressing Spiritual Poverty
When we hear the word “poverty”, the majority of us think of individuals who are facing severe economic struggles. This could be accompanied by preconceived notions of what they look or smell like - their background, ethnicity, or how they…
An Incomplete Understanding of Poverty Leads to Solutions That Don’t Work
What is poverty? Merriam-Webster defines poverty as the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. Our government’s own definition (all 184 words of it) is rooted in income thresholds based on…
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Why People of All Abilities Volunteer at Salt & Light
If you ever volunteered or visited at Salt & Light during the years we were an emergency food pantry, you would have found many people with various types of disabilities standing in line for food. This is a reflection of…
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Volunteer Spotlight – Patti Hand
Patti has been a valuable member of our volunteer team for the last nine months. Starting in our clothing processing area, Patti has moved into a volunteer administration role, helping our team with scheduling, reports, and so much more. Patti…
How Your Dollars and Cents Help Salt & Light Make Change
The changes we have undergone at Salt & Light have drawn a ton of attention because of our unique approach to access to basic to resources like food and clothing. For many, our developmental model is all they need to…
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Faithfully Standing in Prayer for Our Community
Violent crime is nothing new to our twin cities, here in central Illinois, especially the last 5 years. While we may grow calloused to being bombarded constantly with news reports of tragedy, it hits a nerve when a child or…
Two Reasons to Volunteer as a Group at Salt & Light
At the beginning of Salt & Light’s existence as an organization, we were a typical food pantry and clothing closet. This type of operation functions as a large, assembly line style business, and so for the first ten years of…
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Stewarding Your Donations Through Recycling
With a spent Pepsi can in hand, a customer asked, “Do you recycle?” I quickly responded, “You have no idea. Yes, we recycle. I won’t say we have a recycling program; it’s more that we are a recycling program. Every…
Volunteer Spotlight – Chris Harrison
Chris has been volunteering at Salt & Light for about 2 years. He performs multiple tasks including working in the admin office, handing out locks and vests, makes copies and keeping the copier filled, restocking the restrooms, cleaning and organizing…