Demand for Helping Center grows; Burnet County 4H Club helps
The Helping Center director joins members of the Burnet County 4H Horse Club, which donated $300 to the charitable organization. In front, from left to right are: Addie Moomaw, 5, Reese Moomaw, 10, Emily Moomaw, Brooke Miller and Macie Mayes. In back, left to right are: Courtney Burrows, Sam Pearce, and Jarrett Haydon.
By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula
The $300 the Burnet County 4H Horse Club donated to the Helping Center in Marble Falls Tuesday was spent before the check was even in the director’s hands.
“I don’t have definite plans for the money yet, but I will probably spend it on rice and cereal tomorrow,” said Sam Pearce, Helping Center director. “Those are our most pressing needs right now, and we’ll get good bang for the buck.”
Needs are mounting as the Hill Country community grows.
The Helping Center helped feed 375 families in June; in September, 597 families used the charity’s services. Pearce said he’s on track to help 625 families by the end of the month.
The organization has far surpassed what it was giving during the 2008 recession, Pearce said.
Because of the continual growth, the charity needs donations of food or funds and volunteer help in the store room or garden.
The Burnet County 4H Club donated part of its proceeds from a horse show in May, said Candi Burrows, a member of the club and the artist behind the big check presented to Pearce. Proceeds came from entry fees and concessions at the show, she said.
The Helping Center is primarily a food bank for Burnet County citizens, although it never turns anyone away.
“We do what we can, with only help from the community,” Pearce said, explaining that the organization does not receive funds from any government agencies. “That’s by choice: it’s less red tape and we can be more available to people.”
The goal of the Helping Center is to “give short-term assistance,” ideally less than a year, he said. People who have been helped out of tough times routinely volunteer their time or donate food, he said.
“We want to get them back on their feet,” Pearce said. “Our goal is to have no hunger in Burnet County.”
