Arlington Charities

12/22/2020

On December 12, 2020 Arlington Charities was delighted to receive 1,894 pounds of holiday food donations from the Amazon Sortation Center in Irving as part of their "Right Now Needs Holiday Giving Campaign." Amazon also surprised Arlington Charities this week with a donation of $50,000. We were selected thanks to their unwavering commitment to feeding Arlington families affected by Covid-19, food insecurity, poverty, and homelessness.

Amazon employee, Dione Rowell, was overjoyed when her proposal for Arlington Charities was selected. Growing up in Arlington with familial ties to Arlington Charities, Dione has a deep admiration for how much the charity “respects their clients.” “Every dollar donated to Arlington Charities goes straight to helping out their clients,” asserted Dione. “It is great to see a large company like Amazon recognize that and give to a smaller organization without a fancy building or million-dollar budget.”

We are extremely grateful to Amazon for everything they have done for us. As we march through the holidays and forward into 2021, we will be starting the New Year on a strong foot.

12/22/2020

Last week, we were blessed to be visited by not one, but seven local rotary clubs who came to make donations after hearing the news that Arlington Charities had been damaged by the recent EF2 tornado. Rotary Club of Arlington - Texas, Arlington, TX - North Rotary Club, Arlington West Rotary Club, Arlington Sunrise Rotary, Arlington Great Southwest Rotary Club, Arlington Highlands Rotary, and Arlington Sunset Rotary Club were among the clubs to donate. As we head into a New Year where our high distribution rates are expected to stay the same, these donations come at a pivotal time.

It took less than two weeks for the seven Arlington Rotary Clubs to spring into action after a meeting was called between each of the club’s presidents to discuss how to help Arlington businesses affected by the recent tornado. Although the idea was a group effort, each club stopped by individually to make donations of shelf stable foods and monetary contributions. Canned veggies, pasta, spaghetti sauce, macaroni, and cake mixes were among some of the many items that were donated by the various groups.

“Thank you to our Arlington Rotaries for always putting service above self,” says Deborah Coppola, the executive director of Arlington Charities. “This help will impact our most vulnerable neighbors this holiday season.”

12/18/2020

We have been notified of a possible Covid-19 Exposure and out of an abundance of caution, we will be closing early for the winter break to clean and disinfect our facilities. We still plan to reopen on January 4th, 2021. If you are in need of food, please visit tafb.org for additional resources. We will try to keep you updated on any local food opportunities from other pantries. We apologize for the inconvenience.

12/18/2020

Our safe and socially distanced holiday distribution would not have been possible without the help of Spirit of Texas Cheer and an anonymous donor. These two organizations donated over 700 gift cards, which were placed with some other holiday treats into adorable mini stockings, and given to our clients via drive through.

We cannot thank these organizations enough for helping light up the holidays of the 500 children and 214 families who received holiday help this year.

12/17/2020

Please keep in mind that Arlington Charities is closed for the holidays from 12/24/20 - 1/03/21. We will reopen on 1/04/21.

Limited appointments are available from 12/21/20 - 12/23/20. Call 817-275-1511 or schedule online at https://www.arlingtoncharities.org/schedule-online (online spots become available Friday afternoon).

12/16/2020

Holiday Distribution at Arlington Charities

Our pantry manager, Robin, walks us through this year's holiday distribution and how we continue to provide help and create hope to hundreds of families, even though things are a little different.

12/15/2020

Cooking With Adam 6: Balsamic Steak Rolls

An affordable gourmet meal in one handy little roll. Arlington Charities' favorite chef, Adam Koepp, will show you how to make the best flank steak you've ever had using ingredients from the Arlington Charities pantry.

For more recipies and follow along instructions, please visit: https://www.arlingtoncharities.org/recipie-page

12/14/2020

Today, Boy Scout, Crisian from Troop 421, dropped off 157 bags of toiletry items for our homeless clients. As part of his Eagle Project, Crisian collected tissues, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soaps, and band aids to create care packages for our homeless population. At just fifteen years old, Crisian is very young to already be on his way to an Eagle Scout. We wish him a big congratulations!

12/14/2020

Today is the first day of our holiday distribution! Our volunteers are hard at work distributing holiday food and stockings to over 250 families. With holiday music blaring and everyone dressed up in their most vibrant holiday wear, Arlington Charities is certainly a joyfully festive sight!

12/11/2020

Holiday distribution is next week! There will be no regular appointments from Monday to Thursday, 12/14 - 12/17, in order to focus on the distribution. On Friday, 12/18, we will open our pantry back up for appointments.

12/11/2020

After seeing coverage on NBC about Arlington Charities recovering from a nasty storm, the Bilal Community Center in Garland knew that they wanted to help. Upon speaking to our pantry manager, the center's Youth Initiative decided to attempt the hefty task of collecting 500 packets of cookie mix for our holiday distribution. Through donation drives, monetary collections, and even pitching in themselves, the Youth Initiative managed to collect the packets in less than a week! We extend a huge thank you to Bilal Community Center and their spirited Youth Initiative!

12/11/2020

The Arlington Charities team is excited to have a fancy new phone system. Soon clients will be able to reach specific departments, each department will have their own message system, and having to call over and over to make an appointment because the phone lines are full will be a thing of the past! Plus, just look at those snazzy sunglasses...

12/10/2020

Today we had a visit from First United Methodist Church of Arlington who came bearing stylish backpacks filled with food and supplies for our homeless clients. The backpacks were packed by the church's Covenant With The Cross Sunday School. Each pack is filled with food, water, Gatorade, towels, soap, and toiletries as well as a Christmas Card and Candy Cane to spread a little holiday cheer.

12/10/2020

Today, Arlington Charities is packing bags full of food for next weeks holiday distribution. With soup, green beans, potatoes, mac and cheese, gravy, and more, our clients will get an abundance of holiday favorites. The goal is to pack 250 bags by the end of the day and this spirited group of volunteers seem more than up to the task!

12/09/2020

Around the holidays, it can start to feel a bit like Santa's workshop. We've been bagging and wrapping gifts for our 195 elderly home delivery clients. Whether it be warm fleece blankets, holiday mugs, or an assortment of yummy treats, we hope to make someone's holidays a little brighter.

12/09/2020

Yesterday, we were visited by Pastor Doug from Grace Lutheran Church Arlington, TX. After touring the pantry, he presented Arlington Charities with a check and a truck full of donated food for the holidays. A huge thank you to Grace Lutheran and their congregation! Despite some of the hardships we've faced in the past few weeks, a huge bright spot in our days has been the overwhelming support from our Arlington community and beyond. We could not be more grateful.

12/08/2020

The holidays are a hectic time at charity organizations and we are lucky to have friends who realize that. Today, we had representatives from the Friends of the Arlington Texas Stake come drop off donations of hygiene items, toiletries, socks, undergarments, toys, and more. The donation is part of their Light the World Calendar, where the group participates in a different service event every day throughout the month of December. We are greatly appreciative of their donation, especially because hygiene items are always a high demand low supply item.

12/08/2020

Arlington Charities

12/08/2020

Arlington Charities's cover photo

12/08/2020

It is hard to believe that our holiday distributions are next week! The last day to register is tomorrow December 9th. We still have some spots left for holiday food and new spots open up regularly for holiday gifts because of cancelations or rescheduling. If you do not see a spot for the program you want to sign up for, check back later in the day as something may open up. You can sign up at: https://www.arlingtoncharities.org/holiday-distribution

12/04/2020

Yesterday, we were excited to have long time community partner, Applied Avionics, drop off a check for us to purchase food for our upcoming holiday distribution. The aerospace company previously used to host an annual toy drive for Arlington Charities, but was more than happy to adapt their donation this year due to Covid-19. We are very grateful for community partners like Applied Avionics who go out of their way to help during the holidays.

12/03/2020

Arlington Charities Working Overtime To Rebound From Tornado

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2-Mx_r4l70

Thank you to CBS DFW for coming out to cover our grand reopening yesterday after a brush with a tornado. We are grateful to be up and operating again so quickly and encourage clients to bear with us as appointment slots will be limited until we are able to get our coolers repaired. There are still some appointment slots available on our website for tomorrow and we will open up our phone lines again next week.

Volunteers are working double time so that the non-profit can get back on track in time for the holidays.

12/02/2020

This shoutout we received on Twitter really touched us. We are happy to be back open and making positive changes in our clients lives.

12/02/2020

There is so much to be grateful for at Arlington Charities! The lights are back on, the drive through is back open, and we are somewhat back to business as usual. However, what we are most grateful for is the support from our community.

Yesterday, we raised $7,256 during giving Tuesday and today, we had a representative from All Saints Lutheran Church (pictured) come drop off a very generous donation. The church's donation fund, started by a former Arlington Charities volunteer, has been collected for the past two decades and was recently decided to be bequeathed to Arlington Charities. It will help us cover repairs from the storm and purchase food for the holidays.

We are extremely grateful to All Saints Lutheran and everyone who had a hand in helping us get back on our feet!

12/01/2020

Arlington Charities may have been damaged and temporarily shut down due to last weeks storm, but hunger has not. 65% percent of over 100 clients surveyed have recently skipped meals or have eaten less due to financial strain. This Giving Tuesday, help us get back on our feet and back to feeding our community. Please consider making a donation today.

11/30/2020

What's this? A shut down pantry with no power or refrigeration is sorting nonperishables and produce like everything is normal? Well everything isn't normal, but we know how many people are in need so we are sure going to try to make it normal. Thanks to two refrigerated trucks rented from Ryder Truck Rentals, we have a temporary space for our produce and frozen goods.

Tentatively, we are opening back up at limited capacity on Wednesday, 12/02/20, for clients who have made appointments online. We will continue to add more appointment slots as further repairs are made. Appointments made by phone will not be available until we are able to get the phone system back online.

11/30/2020

Even though we have no power or AC due to last weeks storm damage, our staff and volunteers still showed up to help out. Working by lamplight, flashlight, windowlight, or laptop light, everyone is still finding creative ways to get stuff done. Our volunteers are working on attaching mailing labels to holiday newsletters and checking for damages. Our staff are working on grants, holiday food applications, and repair plans. Today is anything but normal, but we still find ways to carry on as if it is.

11/27/2020

For updates on the storm damages to Arlington Charities and information on what you can do to help, please tune into NBC Channel 5 News tonight at 10 PM. We will keep you updated on the repairs and reopening as it progresses.

11/25/2020

This is the kind of stuff you hope not to see when you come into work and your heart sinks as soon as you drive into the parking lot and see all your coworkers gathered around looking shellshocked. Last nights storm took out our freezer and cooling units and our power line. We are in the dark and have no way to cool our food.

Unfortunately we do not know when this will be repaired and our holiday closures may extend into next week. We will keep you posted as we receive any updates.

11/23/2020

Catrina has been utilizing the new Arlington Charities delivery program for the past two months. With liver failure, nerve failure, and no access to a vehicle, this mother of three relies on deliveries from Arlington Charities to keep food in her house. Catrina “lives for her kids” and assures that she does “everything for them.” Part of the reason why she loves the delivery program so much is that it helps feed her children, whose favorites include chicken tacos and cereal.

Reflecting on her experience with Arlington Charites, Catrina would rate it five out of five stars, noting that we have “great customer service” and that “everyone is always helpful, especially the people who make the deliveries.” Some of her other interests include basketball, football, cooking, and putting a smile on people’s faces.

If you need food assistance, please give us a call at 817-275-1511. If you are an Arlington Charities client and would like to share your story like Catrina, please visit https://www.arlingtoncharities.org/share-your-story

11/20/2020

Please be advised that the Arlington Charities pantry will be closed 11/25 - 11/27 for the Thanksgiving Holiday. We will only be open on Monday and Tuesday next week for appointments. Please plan accordingly.

11/20/2020

A big shout out to Bailey Junior High School - Arlington ISD for donating 2,078 pounds of food, which our staff is working extra hard to unload and inventory. With the holiday season coming up, this surplus of food comes at a time when many are going to be juggling extra mouths to feed and other holiday expenses.

11/20/2020

Cooking With Adam 5: Pork Roast

As the weather gets colder, Arlington Charities chef, Adam Koepp, shows you how to warm yourself up with a delicious pork roast made using ingredients from the Arlington Charities Drive Through Pantry.

For more recipes and follow along instructions, please visit: https://www.arlingtoncharities.org/recipie-page

11/18/2020

To give you an idea just how many people our Mobile Pantries serve, here is a video of the line from this morning. It snaked from our parking lot all the way down to the Whataburger on Cooper Street. That is 1.5 miles. The need is big and we are lucky to have the capacity to provide supplemental food for every single car in that line.

11/18/2020

For the past several months, Arlington Charities has been partnering with the Tarrant Area Food Bank and Army National Guard to provide large scale Mobile Pantries every Wednesday in our parking lot. Today is our last Wednesday Mobile Pantry and what a fitting swan song it is. Our National Guard volunteers are dutifully providing groceries to a long line of hungry cars that snake over a mile down Cooper Street!