Church seeks Facebook votes for food pantry

In the heart of Princeton, a small church and its food pantry are doing big things, and want to do even more if they can win the hearts of the Facebook community.

Christ Cares for Princeton is rallying Facebook friends and neighbors to help it receive much-needed grant money through the Chase Community Giving program. The nonprofit is competing with charities nationwide for grants ranging from $10,000 to $250,000, and needs 6,000 votes to win a piece of the pie.

This is the first time the nonprofit - which is funded and operated through the Princeton Church of Christ - has applied for such a prize, but they are hopeful to win, said Bruce Boys, minister of the Princeton Church of Christ.

Boys helped form Christ Cares for Princeton in 1995. Five months ago, the 501(c)3 organization partnered with the North Texas Food Bank, and now buys a small percentage of its food at a fraction of the cost through them. Like the Princeton food pantry, however, the food bank is also struggling to meet supply with demand.

"This is driving us just to get votes out," Boys said. "I know we can get more votes and be one of the top winners."

Through the utilization of social media networks, the Chase Community Giving program has already directed more than $20 million dollars toward charities nationwide. The Fall 2012 round is designed to benefit smaller and local charities by being limited to 501(c)3 charities with operating budgets under $10 million. The top eligible charity receives $250,000 and the remaining 195 top charities earn $10,000 through $100,000 awards, for a total of $5 million dollars in grants.

The program has given away over $20 million in grants to charities nationwide, with focuses including animals and environment, education, health, military and veterans, poverty and the arts.

Christ Cares for Princeton received approximately $30,000 in benevolence last year in support for the food pantry. Boys said the goal is to expand that budget to ensure every need in Princeton is met, and then some.

"It doesn't matter, blue collar [or] white collar, we get so many families in," Boys said. "We're trying to expand and do greater because the need is so great. We have had to turn people away because we don't have enough to hand out."

With just 50 church members and a handful of volunteers running the Princeton food pantry and its meals on wheels program, the amount of lives the congregation touches on a weekly basis is impressive. In addition to fresh produce and other food items, Christ Cares for Princeton provides assistance for prescription and fuel purchases, and also provides baby care items such as diapers and formula to young mothers.

Last month, 85 families received aid from the food pantry, which equated to 96 children, 133 adults and 76 senior citizens. On Tuesday, Boys said the pantry served 40 families, leaving many of its shelves bare.

Although the church currently serves only Princeton residents, Boys said winning this grant could ultimately help them reach their goal of expanding services to neighboring towns like Farmersville and Blue Ridge.

"Even if we doubled our income, that means we can double the amount of clients we serve and also open another night to serve them and have more hours available," Boys said. "I think [winning this contest] is doable in our area, if we get as many people on Facebook as possible."

To help Christ Cares for Princeton receive up to $250,000, visit facebook.com/ChaseCommunityGiving. Votes must be in by Sept. 19.

For information about Christ Cares for Princeton, visit cc4p.org.

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