Dear Friends, Donors and Volunteers
The Apostle Paul reminds us In Romans 8:28, “And we know in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose”. A reminder that He provides what we need and not what we want and desire.
These words have rung so true for us at Bluffton Community Kitchen this year. We started out this year with a big budget challenge that seemed Insurmountable in January. But then these words kept coming back to us time and time again. Here we are at the end of the year, having had one of the most successful years in our history, both in resources and the reach of our programs. And it came about because of individuals and individual acts, working together for the common good. and perhaps Inspired by God. For this we are Blessed, we are Thankful, and we are Grateful!
2024 saw change and transformation. We cheered for our beloved President, Teddy McCracken as she passed the torch to new leadership. We welcomed three new Board members: Carolyn Stamatakis, Gordon Bell and Kurt Geisheimer. We completed the first full year of Ida’s Closet, providing personal hygiene and household Items to our neighbors in need with over 3600 visits to the Closet. In addition to the tens of thousands of pounds of food distributed through our Food Pantry program, we served over 46,000 meals to the underserved in our community.
For 2025, we continue moving forward to strengthen our mission “to provide assistance and support to underserved families”. We have changed our name to Bluffton Community Kitchen to better reflect our commitment to the community and in the coming days, we will launch a new, Improved website to keep our donors better Informed and make It easier to find Information about our services. We have also set a goal to serve over 50,000 meals in 2025 and have launched a campaign, “The 50,000 Club” to encourage recurring monthly donations and help provide additional stability for our finances as our programs grow.
Our history runs deep, and I think our founder, Ms. Ida Martin would be proud of how our donors and volunteers have built upon the foundation she laid in 2011. Serving a few hundred meals out of her backdoor and providing propane for cooking to families who could not afford to fill their tank. Click on the link below for a bit of history from 2013, right after our first full year of operation In Bluffton and Hilton Head.
On behalf of everyone here at Bluffton Community Kitchen, we wish you A Happy and Prosperous New Year! We always enjoy hearing from you. You can contact me at [email protected] or our Executive Director, Constance Martin-Witter at [email protected].
All the best to you and your family,
Kurt Geisheimer
Board President
Join Us on the Web: https://blufftoncommunitykitchen.org
Join Us on Facebook: facebook.com/blufftoncommunitykitchen
