Four Appalachian children receive shelter, food, and clothing thanks to Caring Hands and AHA support

Americans Helping Americans®: Answering the Prayers of A Family in Need

February 26, 2015

Four young children and their baby brother were living in an unheated basement with no electricity or running water with their mother, struggling with an illness, and their father who is disabled.

When Americans Helping Americans® partner Caring Hands Ministries in Cleveland, Georgia and its executive director Ann Fleming heard of their plight, they took action.

“These are the sweetest children, and very polite,” Ann told us, this despite the fact that their shoes and clothes had been ruined in bad weather.

Funding from Americans Helping Americans®  which supports Caring Hands’ Neighbors Helping Neighbors program, helped pay for a safe place for them to stay – a motel as no shelter space was available – and provided them with food pantry assistance so they would have something to eat for the first time in two days. The children were also provided with new shoes and winter coats.

Thanks to your support of Americans Helping Americans® and our partnership with Caring Hands, our efforts together has resulted in work which the mother described with one word – “lifesaving.”

“I just prayed and prayed and called everyone, even if I couldn’t see them helping – and then all this happened,” the mother told Ann. “We will be okay.”

Ann cited the family’s story as just one example of “so much of what Americans Helping Americans® has helped us to do” and explained how this sad tale with a happy ending has resulted in much more good work in her community.

“Because we were able to help, thanks to Americans Helping Americans®, we were able to share their story with caring people who have helped further with more motel time and clothes and more food,” she said.

The mother was grateful for all the assistance for the family and that her prayers had been answered – but she had one more request of Ann.

“You find those people who fixed it so you could help and you tell them ‘thank you’ and you keep on telling them.”

Ann, who was more than happy to oblige, passed along her thanks to Americans Helping Americans® and today we pass that thanks on to you – our supporters who are the ones who are actually most deserving of her gratitude.

Without you, who knows what this family would’ve done with no other place to turn. And, thanks to you, we don’t have to wonder.

Related Blogs

Repairing Roofs and Restoring Hope

Repairing Roofs and Restoring Hope

Home rehabilitation is a Basic Need supported by Americans Helping Americans® in four Appalachian communities. This year, Americans Helping Americans® gifted four organizations $65,000 to complete 141 projects servicing 154 individuals. Among them was Appalachian...

Empowering Appalachia through Utility Assistance

Empowering Appalachia through Utility Assistance

This year, Americans Helping Americans® provided critical support to Appalachian families struggling to keep the lights on, heat their homes, and pay their rent. Through our utility assistance program, Americans Helping Americans® provided $8,600 in cash grants to...

Breaking Down Barriers for Students in Appalachia

Breaking Down Barriers for Students in Appalachia

The Want2Work (W2W) program from Americans Helping Americans® provides critical financial assistance for GED programs, vocational training, and certification exams. By removing financial barriers, W2W helps young adults acquire the skills necessary to secure stable,...

Americans Helping Americans® – Hero of the Month: Pam Hester

Americans Helping Americans® – Hero of the Month: Pam Hester

Pam Hester has been involved with Americans Helping Americans® partner Appalachian Ministries of the Smokies (AMOS) in Jefferson City, Tennessee, for more than two decades. She first volunteered with First Baptist Church (FBC) in Jefferson City when the church hosted...