From single mothers to young families, the elderly on a fixed income to working poor, the Father Fred Foundation helps people bridge temporary shortfalls of food, clothing or funds. Striving for more efficient as well as expanded service, the organization kicked off the public phase of a $1.9 million dollar capital campaign last week.
The campaign began last March and will boost the foundation's footprint in the community. A combination of grants and special gifts plus donations from area businesses and churches have provided nearly a third of the goal. The 16-year-old organization is now turning to the community for the funds needed to acquire additional property, renovate two adjacent buildings, support programs and boost the foundation's endowment.
For an organization that daily distributes $2,000 of food, clothing or household items to up to 100 clients, the capital campaign is key to sustaining Father Fred's vision of "Listen, Care and Share."
"When people come here it is the last resort," said Martie Manty, executive director of the Father Fred Foundation since June. "[The current facility] is totally inadequate for the people we see, many times a whole family comes."
The foundation serves residents of Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska and Leelanau counties and is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. All items are provided free and non-food donations are screened before distribution following Father Fred's mandate: if you would not want it in your home, we will not have it here. The foundation also keeps a closet filled with linens and other household items to help people after a fire.
As a snapshot, on August 22, 76 adults and 83 children visited the foundation and volunteers distributed $2,175 worth of food. The daily figures vary with the season and years, but the Father Fred Foundation has served a consistently growing number of clients since 1990.
"I'd never seen poverty to this extent as a priest, serving 46 years by the time I came in," said Rev. Edwin Thome, who took over spiritual leadership of the foundation after Father Fred's death in 2000.
Thome, who came out of semi-retirement to step into his former classmate's shoes, talks with each person who requests financial assistance. At his discretion, the foundation can provide emergency funds for utilities threatened with shut off or with gas money needed for a medical appointment. Every year the Father Fred Foundation grants $425,000 in emergency aid.
"We fill in the cracks left by society," he said. "It helps even if it's a stop gap and that's what we do often because for people who are suddenly out of job for any reason — accident, illness — it takes so long to get compensation, to apply for Social Security. And the people still have to be fed."
One of the two new Father Fred Foundation properties houses Angel Care Daycare, the St. Michael's Lutheran Church operation that moved into the larger facility in May. The other property will help store the extensive inventory of items the Father Fred Foundation receives in donation and distributes to the community. The capital campaign will provide funds to renovate the daycare, the original building and the former Lighting Center, streamlining operations for staff, volunteers and clients.
"We really need to have most of the money in the bank before we start a renovation," noted Manty, one of the organizations three paid staff members.
The Father Fred Foundation relies on an extensive network of volunteers whose efforts minimize overhead and allow 95 cents of every dollar donated to serve clients. These 115 people help with everything from daily operations to managing the twice-yearly garage sale, which can net the organization as much as $19,000 in one day.
"We have some volunteers, about 50, who specialize in putting on this garage sale," said Manty.
The Father Fred Foundation garage sale will be held on Saturday, September 16, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. at 826 Hastings St. For more information on the sale, the foundation's programs or the capital campaign, call 947-2055.