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OASIS Celebrates 30 Years

During this extraordinary year, O.A.S.I.S. Food Pantry celebrated 30 years of service to the St. Charles community. What a remarkable milestone for a 100% volunteer organization. With the help of our supporters and volunteers, our pantry doors remain open and we continue to help those less fortunate and vulnerable in St. Charles County. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic propelled our leadership into the greatest challenge in the pantry’s 30-year tenure. Our Annual Golf Tournament & Auction fundraiser was cancelled, as well as the Girl Scout, Boy Scout, and Letter Carrier Food Drives. A Thrivent Food Packing event was also cancelled.

Many of our long-serving volunteers retired from pantry work due to the potential risk from COVID-19 infection. Major decisions had to be made about whether to participate in events, where to find and buy food and hygiene products, how to develop a new food distribution process, how to keep our volunteers and clients safe, and how to recruit volunteers to fill vacancies during a pandemic. We worked through all obstacles the pandemic created and kept the pantry lights on and the doors open — even when several food pantries in the St. Louis area closed their doors.

Your donations, whether funds or food, have allowed us to respond to the rise in food insecurity and ensure nutritious food gets into the hands of the people who are most vulnerable. Volunteers risked their health to pick up food, stock shelves, work with clients and fill / deliver orders. Additionally, O.A.S.I.S. partnered with other local organizations struggling to find resources.

We gave additional food to families with school-aged children during summer break and cab rides for pantry clients without transportation. In December, our Christmas Store provided 126 families (434 children) with additional holiday gifts, coats, gloves, hats, etc. With our 100% volunteer team and your continued support, we served 3,360 St. Charles County families over the last year. We added 225 new client families in 2020.

We feel truly blessed with your overwhelming generosity. Together, with God’s help, we will get through this challenge and continue to make a difference in the St. Charles County community.

With sincere gratitude,

O.A.S.I.S. Board of Directors and Team Leaders

OASIS Food Pantry News – Nov/Dec 2020

Bayer Fund Grant Received for 2021 Children’s Summer Food Program

We feel blessed to report the O.A.S.I.S. Food Pantry will receive a $5,000 grant from Bayer Fund to help O.A.S.I.S. fund the 2021 Children’s Summer  Food Program. This program was developed to supplement summer food resources for low-income families with school-age children when free and reduced-price meals are not available through schools. Each family with school-aged children visiting the pantry during June, July, and August receive an additional food package to help reduce their summer food costs. Our budget for this program runs about $15 per child and we estimate more than 1,500 children benefit from this program. We are sending a big THANK YOU to Bayer Fund, the philanthropic arm of Bayer, for their generous backing of our
2021 Children’s Summer Food Program. With this grant we are a step closer to reaching our goal of providing needed food resources to low-income families and their school-aged children.

Looking for Ways to Safely Help those in Need During the Holidays? Here are some ideas:

  • Donate Items for O.A.S.I.S. Birthday Bags
    This mission assembles birthday kits for pantry clients whose school-aged children have a birthday during the month. The bags include a cake mix, frosting and a book or DVD. The pantry is running low on cake mixes and canned icings, as well as gift bags with bottoms no wider than 11 inches to hold the birthday items. Cake mixes, canned icings, and gift bags can be donated through your church or dropped off at the food pantry, 1814 Boone’s Lick Road, St. Charles. Bless your continued support of this service.
  • Hold a Canned Food Drive
    The Boy Scouts 2020 Scouting for Food drive was recently cancelled due to the rise in Covid-19 cases. This food drive stocks the pantry shelves with canned goods that last through winter and alternative sources will need to be found. If your church or group is interested in holding a food drive, a shopping list of standard pantry items can be found on the pantry web site at oasisfoodpantry.com, on the How to Help Tab.
  • Then, There’s Always Prayer
    Lord, we pray for the hungry and hurting in our surrounding communities and that their nutritional and spiritual needs will be met.
    We pray for the volunteers who maintain the food pantry and serve our clients each week.
    We thank you for the blessings of food and resources to purchase the food as needed.
    Bless all those good stewards who give their time, talents, and finances helping those in need.
    May the food given nourish the bodies of the individuals and families that receive it, and may
    they give praise to the Lord for he is good. In Jesus name, Amen.

“A generous person will be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.” Proverbs 22:9

Wishing Everyone a healthy and happy Thanksgiving and Christmas,
The O.A.S.I.S. Food Pantry Board of Directors

Volunteers Needed for Santa’s North Pole Dash

St. Charles’ 2020 Santa’s North Pole Dash is less than 1 Month away and they really REALLY need some volunteers.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e094babad29a7f85-2020

Areas where they need to most help includes Course Marshals and Children’s Snowman Shuffle.

They are changing how are race is this year – instead of everyone starting at one time, there will be an “Open Start”.  The Start Line will be open from 7 am until 8:30 am – when the participants show up, they can begin the run on their own – with the absolute last time that anyone can start the run is at 8:30 am.  Everyone needs to cross the finish line by 9:30 am.

Course marshals will need to be at their assigned locations from 6:45 am until 9:30 am or when the last runner goes past their station.  There will be a Fleet Feet Vehicle following behind to pick up signs and cones.

If you have a couple hours early in the morning on December 5th that you can volunteer to help (at an outside event that is socially distanced), they would really appreciate it.

Use the link above to sign up through their Sign Up Genius volunteer page.

The Brass Rail Steakhouse Thanksgiving Meal Giveaway

This year The Brass Rail Steakhouse in O’Fallon, Missouri will donate and deliver 3,500 Thanksgiving meals to St. Charles County residents in need this Thanksgiving Day.

Meal reservations and volunteer slots are on a first come, first serve basis. There are still meal reservations available and openings for volunteers to help cook or deliver meals. To reserve a meal or find out how to volunteer, please contact The Brass Rail at 636.329.1349 as soon as possible.

As a reminder, the only qualification for receiving a free Thanksgiving meal is expressing a need.

The Brass Rail Steakhouse
4601 State Hwy K
O’Fallon, MO
636.329.1349

2020 Turkey Trot STL

Gather your flock and celebrate Thanksgiving by joining us for @TurkeyTrotSTL!

Benefiting @OASISFoodPantry, choose your swag and receive FREE packet shipping. Register with code ‘GOBBLE’ to receive $2 off registration. TTSTL.com

O.A.S.I.S. Food Pantry News for October/November 2020

The O.A.S.I.S. board of Directors would like to welcome two new Church-based Opening Teams to the pantry. A team from New Life Christian Church located in O’Fallon will be managing the 4th Thursday PM pantry opening; and a team from St. Charles Christian Church in St. Charles will manage the third Saturday AM pantry opening. Please welcome these new pantry volunteers and partners in our mission to care for those less fortunate in our community.

Thrift Store Update
The O.A.S.I.S. Thrift Store needs a temporary Saturday volunteer. If you or someone you know might be interested in helping out on Saturdays from 10:00am – 3:00pm please call or email the food pantry at (636) 284-8962 or oasisthriftstorestcharles@gmail.com.

The thrift store is taking gently used household items such as:

  • Home décor
  • Children’s books
  • Children’s toys
  • Furniture–tables, chairs, chests, shelves, couches
  • No clothing at this time

Please take donations to the Thrift Store at 1812 Boone’s Lick Road, St. Charles, MO. The Thrift Store hours are 10:00AM to 3:00PM Wednesday through Saturday.

***All Thrift Store revenue is used in support of the O.A.S.I.S. Food Pantry***

Boy Scouts Scouting for Food – Canned Food Drive
On Saturday, November 14th thousands of Scouts will deliver more than 1 million blue Scouting for Food bags throughout the St. Louis metro area, southeast Missouri, and southern Illinois. They will return one week later on November 21 to collect the bags full of donated canned goods.

By giving to Scouting For Food, residents are helping those in need right in their own community. In St. Charles County, Scouts take donations directly to local food pantries including O.A.S.I.S. Residents who do not receive a bag can take canned food donations to any Goodwill store location Nov.
22-28 or donate virtually. To donate virtually to the St. Louis Food Bank or Operation Food Search just text ‘SCOUTFOOD’ to 91999.

Pantry Donations
Currently the pantry is not accepting donations of personal-sized hygiene items or paper grocery sacks. Food or hygiene donations for the following standard items would be appreciated. Please no glass containers.

Food Items

  • Peanut butter
  • Jelly
  • Canned fruit
  • Canned pasta sauce
  • White rice
  • Canned soup
  • Canned meat (chili, ravioli)
  • Jell-O or pudding mix
  • Canned tuna
  • Canned sloppy Joe mix
  • Cake Mix
  • Canned frosting
  • Breakfast cereal
  • Pancake mix
  • Syrup
  • Instant potatoes
  • Pasta side dishes
  • Rice
  • Beef or Chicken Broth
  • Hamburger Helper
  • Corn muffin mix

Personal Hygiene Items

  • Deodorant
  • Toothpaste
  • Shampoo
  • Laundry Detergent

Thank you for supporting the O.A.S.I.S. Food Pantry.
The O.A.S.I.S. Board of Directors

Food Distribution Event – Saturday, Aug. 22

Food Distribution Event

Saturday, August 22, 2020
4:00PM – 6:00PM CDT

Connections to Success and Gateway Human Trafficking are partnering with the Muslim Community Services of St. Louis on August 22, 2020 on the CtS parking lot at 3000 Little Hills Expy Suite 101, St Charles, MO 63301 for a Food Distribution event. This Food Distribution is a drive-through food distribution and is open to the community. It will place from 4pm – 6pm.

In this time of COVID-19 pandemic, more community members and parents who are struggling financially may benefit from this service. It is a drive-through food distribution project and all volunteers abide by social distancing requirements and guidelines.

For more information please contact: Tandra Parks | Volunteer and Mentor Coordinator at tparks@connectionstosuccess.org

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