ASHLAND - Bountiful Blessings has come to Ashland, and, for those who can use some help in these financially strapped times, the organization is a definite blessing.
The First United Methodist Presbyterian Church in Ashland is working with Bountiful Blessings, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Cumberland County. It is a Christian-based charity giving hope through serving families of all faiths by assisting working families and senior citizens during their financial hardships and supplementing them with nonfood items.
A group of volunteers were at the Ashland church from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday to assist in the distribution of items. One of the volunteers was Bountiful Blessings' Director of Operations Ron Orendi, who conducts the corporate training, handles scheduling for delivery personnel at the warehouse and organizes the receiving of materials at the warehouse and their distribution to the 25 Bountiful Blessings sites in Pennsylvania and Maryland, with additional sites coming to West Virginia. He is also involved with social media on Facebook.
Saturday was the third time that the church hosted Bountiful Blessings, which comes twice a month. The next visit will be May 24.
"I've been here (with Bountiful Blessings) since the beginning in January 2001. My wife (Terry) was founder," Orendi said. "I took on bigger roles as it grew from one location to 25."
On the website, a message from Terry Orendi, who is the president of Bountiful Blessings, states, "Bountiful Blessings is a charity called, developed and nurtured by God. He laid out the format, and we, God's servants have followed. This program is founded on the Biblical principle 'I am my brother's keeper.' "
Ron Orendi said the basic mission is "Growing churches, giving hope and changing communities."
"That is our six-word slogan that we use all the time," he said. "The program started on a calling from God. My wife is a visionary. God speaks to her in visions. It was birthed out of Lemoyne, just across the river from Harrisburg. It took about six years to work out all the bugs, and we were fully operational. It was a calling from God that we were to reach out and help people in need."
Orendi said that he and Terry know what it is like to need help.
"At one point, not long after we were first married, Terry and I were in that position, and we always said back then that if we ever get out of this, we would help people so that the pain and sting of it would not be as bad. Looking back, that made sense," Orendi said.
Orendi said that the program is doing "wonderfully well."
"What separates (us) from the 1.5 million charities in the United States is that we have no paid staff. Everybody is volunteer, which goes from our board of directors to our warehouse staff and delivery people," Orendi said. "Secondly, we receive no government money. It's been offered to us, but with the condition we drop the third component that makes us different."
Orendi said the third component of the program is based on a Biblical principal from a Gospel letter by St. Paul.
"We require all the recipients to volunteer time back to the host church or to the program," he said. "That follows 2 Thessalonians 3:10, which says that if man does not work, he does not eat. And we translate that if you don't volunteer time back, you can't receive next year. So people have a whole year to give a little bit of volunteer time. It's more or less a thank you for the items they receive, but it is also a chance for the recipient to interact with the church people, to get to know them and share their stories back and forth, to laugh and cry and pray and build a relationship. Once that relationship is built, that's what helps grow the church, helps them change their situations, and gives them hope."
Basically, nonfood items are distributed to fill in the gap left by government and other aid programs. They include personal care items, such as shampoo, bath soap, bath tissue, paper towels, toothpaste and cleaning items for struggling families. The program receives the items through item donations or monetary donations used to purchase what is needed.
"We provide things that are not covered under food stamps, which is a niche that we found," Orendi said. "You can buy pretzels and caviar with food stamps, but you can't buy toilet paper and shampoo. We provide those items. When food items are made available to us, sure I'll take them and farm them out. Today, we have popcorn. Next time, we may have something else. We don't focus on the food, but because we serve 1,200 to 1,500 families a month, I can move product pretty quick."
Orendi said that what Bountiful Blessings provides is a "hand up," not a "hand out."
"That's also based on the verse in Thessalonians. We have a lot of brand new people who come to us for the first time and they feel bad about asking for help," Orendi said. "I tell them not to feel bad because I've been there. I know where you're at and there is light at the end of the tunnel, but we ask to volunteer time back, so you're not actually taking, you're exchanging. We're not an entitlement program. We're a supplement program. What we offer you can help enables you to channel your money to pay a utility bill or a medical bill or a copay on a prescription."
The struggles that some people are going through may be from something they had no control over, such as an illness or job loss, or from poor decisions they have made.
"I tell recipients that I'm not here to judge you. We can't change your past. We can change today and we can change tomorrow. So we live with the past, but we also know that tomorrow will be a brighter day because we're going to make it a brighter day," Orendi said. "A lot of people like to come for the positive, upbeat atmosphere."
When a new person comes for the program, they are greeted inside and asked to fill out a form, then go into a second room where the items are stored for distribution. There are also books and Bibles available. At one table, some people do craft projects as part of their volunteer time. A person's talents can also be volunteered. Orendi spoke of a professional painter who received help from the program and offered to do painting on the church property.
The program also helps churches to grow and become more active within the church and outside community.
To learn more, go to www.bountifulblessingsinc.org or the Bountiful Blessings' Facebook page, call 717-802-1222 or email torendi@comcast.net.