Spoiler alert: I am bragging. I am reviewing the last year and thinking about the amazing things that happened through LifeLine CDC. We are a small nonprofit working in Merced County and really around the world and I am so impressed with our staff and the community members who are participating. And before I gloat more, know that there are many other nonprofits in this town that do amazing things and would have similar stories!

Here are just a few things that happened:

During COVID, when kids were not in school, we provided weekly care packages (learning pages, fun activities, coloring stuff, etc.) to over 100 children in the Loughborough area. We also partnered with the school to bring 60+ lunches daily to the kids in the Loughborough area. We made sure that the seniors were not forgotten and made a special effort to help them in Merced and in Winton. We provided hundreds of food boxes to our communities (thanks again to partnerships), we had community gardens, provided summer fun activities for the kids in both communities and partnered with the school to provide safe spaces. We helped with VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) to do over 400 tax returns for low income families to our neighborhoods, bringing $800,000 back into the community, saving them about $65,000 in preparation fees. And there was so much more! We were even able to start a literacy program at Rivera Elementary.
BUT the most important help we were able to provide was a listening ear, a heart that is open to help people who often are on the margins of society. Our staff has amazing passions and they could have any job they wanted, but they choose to work to empower communities to thrive. Their own stories represent what we see in our neighborhoods. Their hearts are so open and willing to take the extra step, helping, providing resources, moving people forward. We love when community members help each other to move out of poverty.
There is so much more going on in our neighborhoods, but I wanted to give you a snapshot of what we do. I told you it is a shameless plug, but know that there are so many nonprofits in this county that make things happen.
There is a beautiful story in the Bible about Jesus preaching to over 5,000 people and it is getting late and the disciples want to send the people home to eat, but Jesus tells the disciples to feed them. Of course they have no idea on how to do that, until a small boy shows up with his lunch and shares it. Jesus prays over it and the boy’s small lunch feeds all the people and there is plenty left over.
I love that story, it reminds me that we all have something to offer, no matter how small it feels to us, in the right place, at the right time, it is just perfect!