New director introduced

NAPPANEE — The new executive director of Family Christian Development Center was introduced at the relief service’s annual breakfast Wednesday at Dal Mar Catering in Nappanee.

FCDC board president Mark Mikel introduced the new executive director, Karen Sherer Stoltzfus.

Sherer Stoltzfus was named after several months of searching when former director Jeff Steuve resigned in July. Mikel praised the FCDC staff for its work in the interim.

“We’re very proud of our staff. During the time when we had no director — from July until just a couple of weeks ago — they were judicious with money, compassionate with care and they did an excellent job filling in while waiting for a new director,” he said.

Mikel said they looked “long and hard” for a new director and said, “We found Karen almost by accident.”

He said while the board was impressed with her experience, it was her passion and concern for the poor and for the mission of FCDC that led them to believe she’d be the right fit.

“We look forward to hopefully having a long and fruitful mission together,” Mikel said.

Sherer Stoltzfus spoke briefly before turning the program over to her staff to speak about their individual programs.

She said that she had recently met with the ministerial association where they discussed that it’s “in times of crisis that we’re given the opportunity to grow. Especially in times of economic crisis when you cannot pay bills and there’s worry about putting food on the table for the family and relationships are strained. Sometimes folks need help finding their way out of chaos, they need support and some don’t have family to turn to.”

“I’ve been seeing and hearing stories of how Nappanee has pulled together and been creative in looking for solutions. Wa-Nee Economic Recovery Committee (WERC) is one group that has come up with a lot of good ideas,” she said. “In my short time at the center I’ve observed genuine compassion and an element of caring for each individual’s needs and I’ve been so impressed with that.”

Stoltzfus read a thank-you letter the center received from a client who benefited from last year’s Christmas jubilee, thanking FCDC for the opportunity to shop for free and bless her children.

“No one really likes to ask for help, but it’s nice to know it’s there when you need it,” she said.

Programs

Ken Woodcox, food pantry director, talked about how he’s seen a 40 to 50 percent increase each month in the number of people coming to the food pantry for assistance.

“People are flowing in. There’s a real need,” he said.

Clients can go twice a month to the pantry and Woodcox said about 56 percent only come once, stating that the need for others is greater than theirs. He said he loved his job. When asked by the former director how long he’d stay, Woodcox replied, “I promised him 20 years. I’m 75 now, so I think I can do that.”

Kay Miller, rent and utility assistance director and WERC case manager, spoke about those programs. Miller explained the interview process with clients and how she strives to direct them toward other means of assistance, too, including township trustees.

Clients can receive rent assistance once in a 12-month period and utility assistance once in a 12-month period. She used the example of calling a utility company for a client and finding out how much interest had been built up on a deposit and then using that interest to pay the clients rent or utility bill.

She explained that WERC was a committee headed by the mayor and local pastors. At first the committee met weekly, but are now meeting once a month. The committee will be kicking off a new program, “Food Fridays,” this week.

Miller said when she began, she used to help one to two clients a day, now it’s one to two clients long before noon.

Meredyth Wollmann, medicine assistance program director (also known as MAP), spoke of the qualifications for clients to receive medical assistance and how far some come looking for help.

“One of the hardest parts of my job is telling a client he or she doesn’t qualify for assistance,” she said.

From January to October of this year alone the medical assistance program saved clients $456,981 of the retail cost of prescription drugs, according to Wollmann.

Clients pay a $10 annual fee application, but if they are unable to pay they are not turned away. It takes a couple of weeks for the applications to go through so Wollmann told group, “One of our greatest needs is emergency funds so we can send a client to a local pharmacy with a check to get their prescription while waiting to hear.”

FCDC also has a clothes closet program and a well-baby check program.

The breakfast is held annually to update and educate the community on the services provided by the organization and is also a fund-raiser. After the breakfast, Sherer Stoltzfus spoke about how the organization is going to continue to meet needs.

She said she was still assessing all the sources of income the center has received in the past, but was confident that there was enough funding out there for special grants to assist with programs, including the rent and utility assistance.

“We’re cobbling together various packages of funding, but we do count on individual donations. Churches in the area have been very generous, mostly with food and clothing,” she said. “We’re really concerned about the time nearing when government assistance from unemployment will be running out and how we’re going to meet those additional needs in the new year. We continue to be creative and take it one day at a time.”

As Mikel ended the morning program, he said, “Jo Ann Andrews founded FCDC with a vision; Jeff took us another step and as we continue to work with the community I ask you for three things: 1 — Continue to pray for everyone — the staff, board and clients; 2 — Pray that those we serve have their needs met; and 3 — Pray that those who can give of their resources.”

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