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Proud Milestones 4D n Wednesday, June 27, 2018 Siloam Springs Herald-Leader Greg Brown 2023 E. Main St, Suite A PO Box 58 Siloam Springs 479-524-6191 Serving Siloam Springs, we know the value of hometown and we embrace the community spirit!!!! *Auto *Home * Life * Health * Business * Property * Banking * Annuities The Manna Center marks 25 years of service to community By Hunter McFerrin Staff Writer n Hmcferrin@nwadg.com Since its inception, a community-based organi- zation has been working to improve problems of food insecurity and poverty in Siloam Springs as well as neighboring cities. In De- cember, it will celebrate its 25th anniversary. In 1993, The Manna Center was founded as a nonprofit by a group of Siloam Springs churches. Today, it has about 70 vol - unteers and five part-time employees who serve in excess of 13,000 clients per year, primarily through the provision of resources such as clothing and food. To do this, they receive do - nations of resources such as money, food donations, equipment and volunteer assistance. The Manna Center served approximately 2,800 clients in 2012, said Execu - tive Director Mark Brooker. This number increased to 13,000 in 2017, so having support from the com- munity through financial donations and volunteer assistance has been in- strumental in allowing the center to have the ability to accommodate them. "We have more volun- teers than we know what to do with. It is awesome, the community really supports us," Brooker said. "For ex- ample, one time my freezer went out, and I called Sim- mons Foods to ask them for some help; next thing I knew there was a truck with a freezer on the back pulling up out back." There are currently about 20 churches from Siloam Springs and Gentry that the center works with regularly, and they also receive federal assistance from the United State De - partment of Agriculture, Brooker said. Companies that support The Manna Center include Tyson, La- Z-Boy, McKee, Walmart and Aldi's. The center picks up do - nated salvage items from Aldi's once a week and four days per week from Walmart, said Operations Manager Marla Sapping- ton. While that may not seem like much, it ac- counted for an additional 700,000 pounds of food in 2017. Sappington has been working for the center for about eight years and is in charge of writing grants, ordering food and gener - al, day-to-day operations. Since beginning her work there, she said that the job has been challenging for two primary reasons. "One of the most difficult things is being able to leave it all here," Sappington said. "If you see a family in need and then go home and you are OK and all taken care of, you are still going to worry about that family in need. Another thing is not being able to meet the needs of the homeless; we do not have homeless shelter in Siloam Springs. If someone comes in who is living in their car, we still give them food and clothing, which is meeting their basic needs, except for shelter." Despite this, Sappington said the job does have posi - tive elements to it. "It is rewarding just to see people's faces light up when they see the amount of food we give them, and for kids to get new clothing or shoes, just the smiles on their faces," Sappington said. "Then, if you have people that have been a cli - ent, and they tell you about some of their successes like getting a job, home or being able to support themselves, it is wonderful to hear those stories." Requirements for poten - tial clients to be accepted are largely based on in- come, so most end up re- ceiving assistance, Brooker said. To get a better under- standing of the person's circumstances, potential clients provide personal information and then meet with a client adviser for an interview. Among The Manna Cen - ter's client advisers is Si- loam Springs native Phyllis Thurman, who has worked for The Manna Center for about 12 years. Before beginning her time at The Manna Center, Thurman worked as a nurse in pub - lic health for 32 years and said that because of this, she often sees some of the same clients at the center that she worked with in the past. On a personal level, the circumstances she is often presented are heartbreak - ing, and sometimes it can be difficult to not be judg- mental, but after getting into their life stories, a lot of that judgment usually falls away, Thurman said. Yet, with extensive experi- ence in public health, her ability to set aside that judgment is a little easier, and in many ways, this experience motivated her to begin working as a client adviser. "I enjoy the ability to come out and be able to say that I am doing some - thing," Thurman said. "I do not enjoy that we have that big of a problem going on, but the truth is I can- not solve it, it is a systemic issue, so we just do what we can do. I see so many people whose lives have so many things that are going on that I am not sure that a little food is going to be much help. I have not walked in those shoes so I am not sure, but as Mark always says, we basically function on grace." As for the increase in clients, while the number of them has increased in recent years, it is important to remember that this is a growing area that is not far from another growing area, Thurman said. Develop - ment will always lead to more people, which leads to more people needing food and more homeless- ness. There is no appointment necessary to apply for as- sistance from The Manna Center and first-time appli- cants are always accepted regardless of circumstance, Brooker said. Depending on the information they provide, which includes things such as annual in - come, race, gender, marital status, address or the num- ber of kids they have, they are categorized into one of three categories. The first is the "transition- al," group, who are people who just underwent a tragic life event such as a marital or medical issue, but even- tually are able to get back on their feet, Brooker said. The second group of clients is the "working poor" who are people who are employed, but still fall below the stan - dard for what is considered low-income and cannot manage to get by. The final is the "generational pov- erty," group, who live off of social programs and do not actively seek employment. The number of working poor clients has decreased in number in recent years, and while it is typically easy for those in the transi - tional group to find work, those in the third group present the biggest chal- lenge, Brooker said. "How do you deal with generational poverty?" Brooker said. "That is a bigger problem that I can't solve; it is a huge social as - sistance problem." Obstacles like this are difficult to overcome, but the personal aspect of it can often be harder, Brooker said. The biggest issue is the daily, emotional difficulty of having 20 to 40 families lined up at the door every day and every one of them are in distress in some way. Despite this, Brooker said that the best part of his work is being able to see the positive impacts The Manna Center has brought to the lives of individuals in the com - munity. "The rewards are in the successes," Brooker said. "I had a kid that when he came in, he had one arm, had a really nice personal - ity and was a good -ooking kid. I went out into the lob- by and chatted with him, and asked what was going on. After talking for awhile, I told him I wanted him to find a job, to which he re- plied, 'I have one arm and five felonies, good luck.' "I was able to find him one in the lawn service, he got it and eventually the kid was really able to turn his life around. That is the impor - tant part, dwelling on the successes, because you can get really depressed but the successes really make things worthwhile." The Manna Center is located at 670 Heritage Court, Siloam Springs, AR 72761 and is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sat- urday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. A celebration for the anniversary will take place at some time later this fall, and while some members who sat on the original board that started The Manna Center have died since then, as many as possible will be contacted to try and convene a recep - tion, Brooker said. Hunter McFerrin/Herald-Leader Operations Manager Marla Sappington (left) with family rearranging items on the shelves of The Manna Center's food storage room. Hunter McFerrin/Herald Leader Executive Director Mark Brooker sorts through canned food items after the morning session in which clients come to pick up their food.