OPEN ARMS

Dear Friends:

As many of you know my sister, Diane McInerny, has been cooking for several years at Open Arms of Minnesota, the only service in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area that prepares and delivers meals to people living with HIV and AIDS, more than 88,000 meals, at no cost to recipients. Recently they have decided, in spite of their tiny staff (nine plus volunteers), to launch a pilot program to prepare and deliver meals to people living with other chronic and progressive diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis as well as the HIV/AIDS community.

THEN last year as part of a Bush fellowship, Kevin Winge, director of Open Arms, spent six months in the township of Guguletu, South Africa. Now back in Minnesota, working through Open Arms, Kevin has started a food parcel project for the 300,000 people of Guguletu.

As we read world news reports I, like many of you, have wondered how in some practical and individual way, we can actually make a difference in world hunger. I was seeking a manner to give directly through a grassroots organization without the overhead or issues of mega agencies.

Take a few minutes to look at the Open Arms website www.openarmsmn.org to acquaint yourself with the organization and their work in the local community. Then view the simple instructions and information regarding the African project.

Your donation of $35 (more is accepted!), will provide enough food for one family for a month plus they are laminating a photo and letter from you, your family or group to the side of the reuseable 5 gallon bucket to show that Americans as individuals care. If you cannot afford $35, they will be happy to put smaller donations together.

Please pass this information on to your friends, co-workers and other family members. Perhaps we can't save 18 million from starvation but one town of 300,000 sounds doable.

Best of all you don't have to be from Minnesota!

Please call or e mail me with any questions.

Sincerely,

Mary Gallagher
703.578.4475
703.578.1328 fax

FROM OPEN ARMS 2003 ANNUAL REPORT

  • Prepared 88,327 meals in the Open Arms kitchen.
  • Delivered meals to 326 people, including 43 affected children.
  • Sent food for 41,652 breakfasts.
  • Made 5,023 meals for Park House, a health and activity center for people living with HIV.
  • Received 108 new client referrals.
  • Delivered to 47 different zip codes.
  • Provided food safety gift baskets to 48 clients.
  • Prepared and delivered 200+ birthday cakes.
  • Worked with an average of 230 individual volunteers every week.
  • Sent 576 cases of Boost to those clients needing extra nutrition or weight gain.