TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO)– A number of organizations around Terre Haute spent the days leading up to Christmas giving back to the community.
Four Square Gospel Church held a candlelight vigil on Sunday to celebrate the holiday. Lat week, they hosted their annual “Christmas food giveaway,” that helped over 300 families in the area.
Pastor Thomas Smith said the need in the area has been increasing over the years.
“10 years ago, if we had 100 people come through in a month to our food pantry, we thought we were doing something tremendous,” he said. “Now, there’s 40-45 families that come through. And every week, there is a new family, if not one new family, there’s 10.”
Catholic Charities hosted a similar event on Dec. 17th, at their monthly bread and produce distribution. For Christmas, the organization also gave out over 300 hams. Development manager Jessica Murphy said these events are even more important given how inflation has impacted local families.
“As many as 1 in seven of our neighbors are experiencing food insecurity. We’re not as high as during the pandemic, but we’re experiencing inflation, we’re experiencing increased grocery costs, and especially around the holidays, we don’t want people to have worry about if they’re able to buy presents for their children,” she said last week.
That same day, the Prince of Peace Missionary Baptist Church hosted their 2nd annual “Toy Extravaganza” in Terre Haute, which helped over 200 families receive toys ahead of the holidays. First lady Asira Evans said she was happy to help be a part of the Christmas experience for hundreds of children.
“Every child wants to wake up Christmas morning to receive something awesome from Santa Claus,” she said on Dec. 17th. “We just wanted to be sure we can be a part of that, showing genuine love and cheer this holiday season.”
Smith said on Sunday he always looks forward to this time of the year.
“It’s the joy of giving,” he said. “At Christmas time, everyone’s wanting to get a gift. For us, we can’t wait until this time of season because we actually get to give back more than we could ever get in return. That’s exactly what Christmas is about.”
The church hosts a food pantry on Mondays, from 6-7 p.m. It will be closed the next two weeks, before picking back up on Jan. 9th in 2023.
