Valley’s needy are given gifts of Grace
Volunteers hand out prepacked meals and clothing items
LANCASTER — Volunteers at Grace Resource Center distributed about 100 prepacked meals and clothing items including socks and gloves on Friday for Christmas.
Grace Resource Center typically serves about 400 people on Christmas Day. Volunteers bring a food and serve guests seated at tables in the parking lot. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced the center to switch to a walkup and go method of distribution out of concern for public safety.
Guests wore masks and waited in a socially distanced line in the patio area at the northern end of the center property to collect their bags.
“This year we’re trying to do more than just feed them so we are putting socks and putting gloves and extra water bottles in the bags. We’re trying to meet as many needs as we can right now,” said Matthew Buck, Grace Resources’ director of operations.
Lancaster couple Esther and Bill Crowell said the bags are helpful.
“It’s great; it really is,” Esther Crowell said. “We’re in the middle of the desert. You can’t grow your own food. It really helps. I’m going to go through the line again to get one for my brother. He’s handicapped and so when I go through I’ll get one for him too so he can have a merry Christmas also.”
The Crowells are not homeless but they are struggling.
“We can’t really afford the bills,” Esther Crowell said. “We come out here and it helps us keep the utilities down so that we can afford the house.”
Like many Americans, Esther hopes President Donald Trump will sign Congress’ $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill. The bill includes a $600 stimu
lus check for most Americans. Trump criticized the bill and urged Congress to increase the stimulus checks to $2,000 from $600. However, House Republicans on Thursday blocked an attempt by Democrats to pass a standalone bill to raise the direct payment to $2,000 from $600.
“I hoping it’s more than the $600 that they said because the house payment’s more than $600. There’s a lot of people out here that lose their homes,” Esther said.
The Christmas Day event typically includes a visit from Santa and distribution of toys. Grace Resource Center clients received toys from the Antelope Valley Transit Authority. The center set up a special time for parents to come to the center by appointment and pick up toys for their children.
They distributed more than 2,000 toys for children of all ages, and 300 coats.
“We’d like to get back to the way we did it before but this was a great way for people to come and a safe way to pick out toys,” Buck said. “And they could pick out toys, which I think is important.”