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Matthews Ministry

Matthew’s Ministry Weekend Food Backpack Program:

2024

Thank You From The Old Dominion Dames & ORCA

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Our wonderful neighbors have again demonstrated their enormous generosity in support of our Weekend Food Backpack Program for Matthew’s Ministry.

You donated 66 backpacks filled with weekend food items for students in Brunswick County who receive free or reduced price school lunches during the week.

And we also collected $1,535 in monetary donations for a total cash & commodity value of $4,835!

Thank you to all who donated and to those who served as neighborhood collection points.

These backpacks are being delivered to Jessie Mae Monroe and Union Elementary School

We thank you... 

On behalf of the Old Dominion Dames & ORCA,

Cathy Benton, Andrea Gallucci, Lisa Vest & Kathy Sanchez

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Matthew’s Ministry Weekend Food Backpack Program:

2023

THANK YOU from the Old Dominion Dames, Ocean Ridge Charities Association & Matthew's Ministry

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Our wonderful neighbors have again demonstrated their enormous generosity.  You donated 109 backpacks filled with weekend food items for students in Brunswick County who receive free or reduced price school lunches during the week.

 

Thank you to all who donated and to those who served as neighborhood collection points.

 

Special thanks to Jim Ellenberger and also to Carol Wakefield's visiting grandsons (Austin and Landon) who all helped deliver the donations to four local schools.

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Matthews Ministry Gift Drive : 2022

Thank You For Supporting the Matthew’s Ministry Christmas Book Drive

A BIG thank you to the Ocean Ridge Community for your support of the Mathew's Ministry Christmas book drive!  162 books were collected and almost $200 was donated!  The Pelican Bookstore also donated to our book drive. 

The books and money were greatly appreciated by the Mathew's Ministry. 

Thank you for helping the elementary students of Brunswick County!

 

ORCA

Old Dominion Dames

The Ocean Ridge and Matthews Ministry Backpacks Program:

2022

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What a caring and giving community, we live in.  This year Ocean Ridge donated 166 food filled backpacks to Matthews Ministry. Just under a third of the 550 backpacks Matthew’s Ministry fills weekly to provide weekend food for this year’s students in need.

 

Matthews Ministry began in September 2010 when Kristie Disbrow learned from her son that one of his first-grade classmates didn’t have any food at home. She and husband Jason reached out to the teacher with an offer to provide food and learned there were many families that were struggling with food insecurity. That was the beginning of Matthew’s Ministry.

 

It is estimated that 27% of Brunswick County school children face food insecurity. This means there are some who do not know where their next meal will come from. Matthew’s Ministry works with school personnel who identify these students and enroll them in the weekly “take a backpack home” program. The ministry does not know the identity of the students being served, leaving that process up to the school, and sends the school officials the number of refilled bags each week that are requested.  Each of the bags contains 11 food items totaling 2200 items per week. 50% of the food is donated. The remainder is purchased and the post Covid cost of purchased items has risen from $5.50 to $10 per refill.

 

Ocean Ridge Charities Association Inc. (ORCA) and the Old Dominion Dames have partnered with Matthews Ministry almost since day one, providing backpacks filled with food. On Thursday August 25th members of the Old Dominion Dames, ORCA, along with Ocean Ridge Volunteers delivered our 166 food filled backpacks to 4 of the 16 schools in the program. 80 went to Town Creek Elementary, 46 to Jessie Mae Elementary, 20 to Town Creek Middle School, and 20 to West Brunswick High School.  $600 in donations were also forwarded to the ministry for future food purchases. Monetary donations can be made to Matthew’s Ministry PO Box 10761 Southport NC 28461. Headquarters are located at 8500 Oak Island Drive, Oak Island NC where there is a drop-off window (on the side of the building) where food can be donated.

 

The Ocean Ridge community’s continuing generous support of this worthwhile program, helping to feed Brunswick County’s children in need on weekends is simply amazing.  Kristie and Matthew’s Ministry sends a big thank you to all who donated the backpacks filled with food for this year’s Adopt-a-Backpack campaign and those who made monetary donations. ORCA also says thank you to the Old Dominion Dames and the Ocean Ridge community for your ongoing support of our charitable events.

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Jessie Mae Elementary

  • Sharyn Morrison - Jessie Mae, Parent Involvement Coordinator

  • Carol Wakefield – Old Dominion Dames

  • Jim Ellenberger – Ocean Ridge Volunteer

  • Ron Sorice – ORCA Adopt a Backpack Coordinator

  • Jeanne Gray – Old Dominion Dames

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Town Creek Elementary

  • Jeanne Gray – Old Dominion Dames

  • Ron Sorice – ORCA Adopt a Backpack Coordinator

  • Carol Wakefield – Old Dominion Dames

  • Jim Ellenberger – Ocean Ridge Volunteer

THANKS TO ALL WHO MADE IT HAPPEN!

2021 “Adopt a Backpack” Program

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Thank You Ocean Ridge Residents For Adopt-A-Backpack Program Success

 

The Old Dominion Dames and the Ocean Ridge Charities Association (ORCA) would like to thank the residents of Ocean Ridge for their support and aide in helping us in our effort to collect backpacks of food for Matthew’s Ministry www.matthewsministry.com. The Ocean Ridge community’s generosity in support of this worthwhile program was simply amazing.

The team delivered 55 backpacks to Virginia Williamson Elementary School where Ellen Frazier, the Parent Facilitator helped, and delivered 56 backpacks to Jesse Mae Monroe Elementary School, where Sharyn Morrison, Parent Facilitator/Secretary, also helped.  

Matthew’s Ministry collected over 550 backpacks to start the school year. You can continue your support by donating food or money directly to Matthew’s Ministry which will help them continue to fill backpacks each week for the children in need here in Brunswick County.

It is great to live in a community as giving as Ocean Ridge.

 

 

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2020 “Adopt a Backpack” Program

The Ocean Ridge Charities Association Inc. (ORCA) thanks Ocean Ridge residents who stepped up again this year and donated a record 347 backpacks for the

2020 Matthew’s Ministry Adopt-a-Backpack Campaign. 

In addition, residents contributed checks totaling $450, which included $125 in ORCA Memorial Matching Funds.

Residents also donated used computer equipment worth $2500 to Computers4Kids. 

Both charities were very grateful for the donations.

Running Children

2019 “Adopt a Backpack” Program

Matthew's Ministry sends a great big

"Thank You" 

to the Ocean Ridge Community

for Adopt-a-Backpack Program

Success

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WOW!!!!! What a caring and giving community, we live in. Well Ocean Ridge you proved me wrong again, as I never thought we would reach last year's total donation. This year Ocean Ridge donated filled backpacks for an astonishing total of 295 backpacks. This is well over half the amount Matthew's Ministry needed to start the school year. The amount also beat last year's total of 290 by 5.   Overall, Matthew's Ministry collected over 550 backpacks of food for schools here in Brunswick County.

 

Ocean Ridge Charities Association Inc. (ORCA) along with the Old Dominion Dames and Matthew's Ministry sends a big thank you to the Ocean Ridge Property Owners who donated the backpacks filled with food for this year's Adopt-a-Backpack campaign. The Ocean Ridge community's continuing generosity in supporting this worthwhile program which helps to feed Brunswick County's children of need on weekends is simply amazing.

 

On Tuesday, August 20th, and Thursday, August 22nd, the Old Dominion Dames, ORCA, and Ocean Ridge Volunteers will deliver 100 backpacks to Town Creek Elementary, 80 backpacks to Jessie Mae Elementary, 100 backpacks to Virginia Williamson Elementary, and 15 backpacks to West Brunswick High School. This could not happen if not for the generosity of the residents here in Ocean Ridge.

 

You can continue your support by donating food or money directly to Matthew's Ministry www.matthewsministry.com enabling them to continue to fill backpacks each week.

 

Once again, thank you to all of Ocean Ridge for your generosity. It is great to live in a community as giving as Ocean Ridge.

2018 “Adopt a Backpack” Program

Matthew's Ministry sends a great big

"Thank You" 

to the Ocean Ridge Community

for Adopt-a-Backpack Program

Success

 

WOW!!!!! What a caring and giving community, we live in. This year Ocean Ridge donated enough food and filled backpacks for an astonishing total of 290 backpacks. This is well over half the amount Matthew's Ministry needed to start the school year. The amount also beat last year's total of 252 by 38. Overall, Matthew's Ministry collected over 550 backpacks of food for schools here in Brunswick County.

 

Ocean Ridge Charities Association Inc. (ORCA) along with the Old Dominion Dames and Matthew's Ministry sends a big thank you to the Ocean Ridge Property Owners who donated the food and backpacks filled with food for this year's Adopt-a-Backpack campaign. The Ocean Ridge community's continuing generosity in supporting this worthwhile program which helps to feed Brunswick County's children of need on weekends is simply amazing.

 

On Tuesday Aug. 28th, Wednesday Aug. 29th, and Thursday Aug. 30th the Old Dominion Dames, ORCA, and Ocean Ridge Volunteers will deliver 100 backpacks to Town Creek Elementary, 75 backpacks to Jessie Mae Elementary, 100 backpacks to Virginia Williamson Elementary, and 15 backpacks to West Brunswick High School. This could not happen if not for the generosity of the residents here in Ocean Ridge.

 

You can continue your support by donating food or money directly to Matthew's Ministry 

www.matthewsministry.com 

enabling them to continue to fill backpacks each week.

 

Once again, thank you to all of Ocean Ridge for your generosity. It is great to live in a community as giving as Ocean Ridge.

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2017 “Adopt a Backpack” Program

 

Matthew's Ministry's sends a great big

"Thank You" to the Ocean Ridge Community

for Adopt-a-Backpack Program Success
 

WOW!!!!! What a caring and giving community, we live in. This year Ocean Ridge donated enough food and filled backpacks for an astonishing total of 252 backpacks. This was over half the amount Matthew's Ministry needed to start the school year. The amount also shattered last year's total of 172 by 80. Overall, Matthew's Ministry collected over 550 backpacks of food for schools here in Brunswick County.

Ocean Ridge Charities Association Inc. (ORCA) along with the Old Dominion Dames also want to send a big thank you to the Ocean Ridge Property Owners who donated the food and backpacks filled with food for Matthew's Ministry. The Ocean Ridge community's continuing generosity in supporting this worthwhile program which helps to feed Brunswick County's children of need on weekends is simply amazing.

 

On Monday Aug. 21st and Tuesday Aug. 22nd, the Old Dominion Dames, ORCA, and Ocean Ridge Volunteers delivered 85 backpacks to Town Creek Elementary, 75 backpacks to Jessie Mae Elementary, 77 backpacks to Virginia Williamson Elementary, and 15 backpacks to West Brunswick High School. This would not have happened if not for the caring residents here in Ocean Ridge.

You can continue your support by donating food or money directly to Matthew's Ministry www.matthewsministry.com enabling them to continue to fill backpacks each week.

Once again, thank you to all of Ocean Ridge for your generosity. It is great to live in a community as giving as Ocean Ridge.

Matthews Ministry 2016 Backpack Program

 

Matthews Ministry has a mission. They are working to eliminate childhood hunger in Brunswick County through partnerships made with individuals and entities in Brunswick County.

 

The efforts of the Ocean Ridge Community are helping them do just that. Old Dominion Dames, along with the Ocean Ridge Charities Association Inc. (ORCA), for the past 4 years, has been collecting backpacks filled with food from community residents, and delivering them to local elementary schools to distribute to needy children.

 

Why? Because in Brunswick County, 27.6% of children are food insecure. This means they do not know where their next meal will come from. While they can get meals in school during the week, what happens on the weekend? This is where the backpacks come in.

 

This year’s program collected and delivered a record high number of backpacks…172. This total was 34 more than last year's total of 138. The Ocean Ridge community's continuing generosity in supporting this worthwhile program which helps to feed Brunswick County's children of need on weekends is simply amazing. Overall Matthew's Ministry was able to collect over 500 backpacks of food for the schools here in Brunswick County. On Tuesday Aug. 30th, the Old Dominion Dames and ORCA delivered 80 backpacks to Jessie Mae Elementary, 80 backpacks to Town Creek Elementary, and 12 backpacks to West Brunswick High School. This would not have happened if not for the caring residents here in Ocean Ridge.

Over and above the annual Backpack Program, every month, Matthew’s Ministry purchases a large food order at a reduced cost, using their account with Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC. Volunteers pick up the bulk food where it is then separated and packed into plastic bags. These plastic bags are sent to Brunswick County schools each week to be placed in the backpacks of identified children. Food is sent home every Friday to help supplement the children over the weekend. In fact, Ocean Ridge’s own Old Dominion Dames help them every month by picking up food at the pantry on Oak Island and delivering it to Jessie Mae Monroe Elementary school.

 

Children are identified for the program by a teacher, coach, guidance counselor, or social worker. Children receive a separate backpack at the beginning of each year to use to transport food.

 

What has Matthews Ministry been able to do towards their goal of reducing childhood hunger? Today, they provide weekend food to 500 children in 13 Brunswick County schools. They are a 100% volunteer organization with less than 1% overhead, so donations can be used to purchase food for the children. It costs $5.50 to feed a child for a weekend, $22 to feed a child for a month, and $220 to feed a child for a 40 week school year. All of the food and backpacks that are used for the program are purchased with money raised from grants, food drives, community fund raisers and donations.

 

You can continue your support by donating food or money directly to Matthew's Ministry www.matthewsministry.com enabling them to continue to fill backpacks each week.

Once again, thank you to all of Ocean Ridge for your generosity. It is great to live in a community as giving as Ocean Ridge.

Special Thanks

to our 2016 Donors!!!

Backpack Delivery to Jessie Mae Elementary School

Pictured L to R:

Larry Gray (ORCA), Sharyn Morrison (Parent Facilitator @ Jessie Mae), Barbara Ellenberger (ORCA & Old Dominion Dames), Miss Otto (Principal Jessie Mae), John Vita (ORCA), Jeanne Gray (Old Dominion Dames), Judy Cunningham (ORCA), and Claudia Piccarelli (ORCA).

Backpack Delivery to Town Creek Elementary School

Pictured L to R:

Larry Gray (ORCA), Claudia Piccarelli (ORCA), Brittany Wilkins (Parent Facilitator Town Creek), and John Vita (ORCA)

Mission: To eliminate childhood hunger in Brunswick County through partnerships made with individuals and entities in Brunswick County.  

 

Need: In Brunswick County, 27.6% of children are food insecure. This means they do not know where their next meal will come from.

 

Methods: Each month, Matthew’s Ministry purchases a large food order at a reduced cost, using their account with Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC. Volunteers pick up the bulk food where it is then separated and packed into plastic bags. These plastic bags are sent to area schools each week to be placed in the book bags of identified children. Food is sent home every Friday to help supplement the children over the weekend. Donated food is also accepted at many sites throughout the county. This donated food offers some variety and extra food to the “set menu” that the children currently receive. Through the efforts of The Old Dominion Dames with The Ocean Ridge Charities Association Inc. (ORCA) and especially the generosity of the property owners of Ocean Ridge, Matthew’s Ministry also received back packs filled with food.

 

Children are identified for the program by a teacher, coach, guidance counselor, or social worker. Children receive a separate backpack at the beginning of each year to use to transport food.

 

Results: Today Matthew’s Ministry provides weekend food to 500 children in 13 Brunswick County schools. They are a 100% volunteer organization with less than 1% overhead, so donations can be used to purchase food for the children. It costs $5.50 to feed a child for a weekend, $22 to feed a child for a month, and $220 to feed a child for a 40 week school year. All of the food and backpacks that are used for the program are purchased with money raised from grants, food drives, community fund raisers and donations.

 

Through the efforts of The Old Dominion Dames with The Ocean Ridge Charities Association Inc. (ORCA) and especially the generosity of the property owners of Ocean Ridge, they received 87 food filled backpacks in 2013 and 123 food filled backpacks in 2014 and 138 in 2015.  These donations have helped Matthew’s Ministry start up the 2014/2015 school year for approximately 25% of the children we service each year.

 

On March 1, 2015, they were blessed with a 3,000 square foot building in Oak Island, NC. This new space and a large community of volunteers allows them to serve children in the area who are suffering the effects of food insecurity.

 

Personal Story – How The Program Got Started: In August 2010, a teacher submitted a prayer request to a local Moms’ in Touch group. The prayer simply stated, “Please pray for a child in my class that does not have food at home to eat.”

 

Kristie Disbrow, a local mom, went back to the teacher and asked if her family could donate food to help this child. She quickly learned that many other children in the school did not have food to eat at home. Kristie emailed her friends, told them about this need and set a collection bin on her front porch. Many donated food to this cause and teachers, guidance counselors and social workers distributed food to hungry children and their families. More and more schools heard about this program and in December 2010, Matthew’s Ministry became a 501(c)(3) non- profit agency.

A Special THANK YOU to our

2015 Donors!!!

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