YOUR VOTE IS NEEDED....

...and not just for the upcoming Presidential election! On some Monday mornings, when my kids are in school, I will head down the road to High Plains Helping Hands Food Pantry and fill boxes and grocery bags with food & supplies for area needy families. I like going here- the people are nice and it's fun knowing I can help someone who really needs and appreciates it. The Colorado Springs Hub ( a small local newspaper) is taking a survey on local charities called the "YOUR HEART COMMUNITY FUND". The winner will receive a write-up and recognition for their charity, making it more visible to the community. I am not sure at this time if there is any monetary contribution to the charity itself. So anyway, please be a friend and VOTE for Helping Hands and read the article below about the pantry.


High Plains Helping Hands, Inc. a 501(c)3 Organization exists to feed the poor in Falcon and to the north and east. We will accomplish this by providing hope through presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ, through food distribution, and through resources and educational opportunities for those in need. We desire an environment of unconditional acceptance & peace where all can be empowered and equipped to allow God the opportunity to better their circumstances.
Out here on the eastern plains, the views are unobstructed and vast. Large parcels of land with old homesteads are quickly disappearing as progress and large developments swallow what is left. It seems progress cannot be halted.
Most that move out to Falcon are looking for those wide open spaces and less congestion. More will buy homes and land farther out. Most that have lived out here for a number of years know that the majority of residents do not live in homes in these developments and instead prefer to live with little or no neighbors. Some have no choice.
What is not known is that many of those residents live in absolute poverty. The elderly out here have set pensions and their choices involve paying for the ever increasing cost of gas, propane, food, and medicines. Single parent families that have to try to balance the necessities and keeping warm. The families involved in domestic violence and abuse due to isolation. The lack of jobs have left more with no funds at all. The homeless in Colorado Springs are more visible than those out here!
Jean and John Woolsey have dedicated their lives and money to helping those in need. They are sponsored by the Mountain Springs Church and together they have created the Helping Hands Food Bank. Jean and John have donated a large portion of a building on their property to this task and spend a large portion of time toward gathering food, donations, clothing, and other necessities and sorting those items. Jean estimates they have approximately 300 families currently being served with almost 33 new requests a week asking for help. Thirty-five percent of those are elderly, some with diabetic needs. The food bank is in desperate need of eggs, milk, any type of meat, canned fruit, baby needs including formula, diabetic foods, and toiletries including toothbrushes, and gas cards. For all you hunters out there. Do you have any game to donate? It must be professionally processed because of the health laws, but it would be a treat.
As I stood talking to Jean and her volunteers, a steady stream of donations came in from Daisy troop 1195, Brownie troop 1229, and Girl Scout troop 61. These young ladies proudly told me of how they had collected food items for Thanksgiving and had even used their own hard earned money to buy many of these items.
People in need of the basics walked in, some in such depression. A 75-year-old woman entered in tears. She feared losing her home as she had no money for taxes. She had no propane as it was too expensive and she couldn't pay her bills. She has no way to heat her home or buy food. She has no family and is feeling desperately alone. Jean and the others gave her hugs and supplies. They also referred her for other assistance. I was told of another family where the mother had been abandoned by an alcoholic husband and hadseven mouths to feed. She has no funds, no transportation, and the kids are expected to go to school and be able to learn. Domestic violence is a great concern. How do you call for help when there is no phone? Isolation can be deadly and devastating to the younger generations of witnesses. Some families live and sleep in their cars to stay warm as their trailers have missing windows or deteriorating walls and floors. Some out here simply don't have a structure to live in so the car is important. No electricity out here means no water. Wells require electricity to pump it out of the ground.
Most out here are proud and have a hard time asking for help. Some just need a little boost. How lucky do most of us feel? How many of us could be one paycheck away from this same situation?
The food pantry is located off of Hwy 24 just east of Big R between Falcon and Peyton.
Jean and her husband have been able to get seven freezers and refrigerators donated to preserve perishable foods. The pantry itself is about 15-by-20 feet and they are trying to expand. Upstairs in a room they have set aside for seniors meetings or classes in nutrition, safety, and anything else that's needed, they have boxes of clothing. There is a great need for blankets, coats for all ages and sexes, hats, scarves, and mittens. There is a woman in Alaska who is knitting and sending 50 sets of hats and scarves to Jean and the Helping Hands Food Pantry.
Care and Share donated with 130 turkeys last year but it still falls short. Care and Share does not have enough supplies to provide assistance to families out here on the plains. Care and Share does buy food stuffs at a discount and those supplies are then paid for with donations to Mountain Springs Church and placed in the food bank. Other donated contributions come from Safeway. The Wal-Mart in Falcon has food donation boxes right now set up near the entrances and all those donations will go to families out here. Woodman Hills Elementary and the Lion's Club are in the process of food drives too.
Jean Woolsey and the Helping Hands food pantry supply an area far greater than Colorado Springs. People come from as far as Limon and Rush, as there is nothing out there. Jean even has a family coming in from near Elbert County.
They need your help. The need is not just for the holidays, but for all year round. With the ensuing winter coming on, the need will be great just to keep warm. Christmas will come all too soon and children will need "something" from Santa or whatever their beliefs allow. If you can deliver a new, unwrapped toy for at least one child, you have done a great deal for that child!