posted on Sunday, July 1, 2018
“This is the people that love center,” chuckled Karen Linhart of Jesus’ Right Hand in New Virginia. “We unintentionally coined that phrase several years ago and now we even have it on a poster inside. We’re just here to lend a helping hand.”
For 32 years, Jesus’ Right Hand has been helping families in New Virginia and surrounding towns get back on their feet. Since they’re a non-profit, they’re even able to serve families outside of Warren County.
“Whether it’s through food-assistance, prayer, song or presents for kids at Christmastime, we help out any way we know how,” explained Karen. “We just want to make people feel loved, especially when they’re going through difficult times. It’s nice to know that someone cares for you.”
The center serves 50-70 families every Monday with fresh food donations, including fruit, vegetables and now, pork loins. They also open as-needed Monday through Friday and on weekends through their emergency food pantry.
“We rely on 12-13 volunteers every week to make it all happen,” said Karen. “But the reality is that we are a small, rural town with a lack of resources. So this donation is just such a blessing for us. Such a blessing.”
As she wiped tears from her eyes, Karen explained that the meat we donated today (180 pork loins to be exact!) is protein families would otherwise go without.
“Meat is essential not just for nutrition, but also dignity and self-worth,” she said. “Most of our clients say that meat is one of their greatest needs, but we’re not always able to provide that. This donation is definitely a game-changer for us.”
Our Haul Out Hunger crew couldn’t quite believe we’ve missed Karen and Jesus’ Right Hand all these years, but we are certainly glad they made it onto our donation list this year because they are doing incredible things for their community. We’re already looking forward to next year’s visit and to see how much the organization continues to grow.
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