We get that question a lot at Circle of Concern. Both are helpful and much appreciated!  But, if pressed to choose, we will tell you that gifts of cash or stock give us the flexibility to purchase needed pantry foods or to pay for other Circle programs that help stabilize our clients’ lives.

Also, we have good buying power and can pursue the best prices of food items we share every day. And we don’t pay sales tax!

Donating cash can help you, too. When you make a monetary gift of at least $200, Circle will proactively prepare a Missouri Food Pantry Tax Credit form for you by the end of January. You’ll just have to sign it and give to your tax preparer to submit with your 2018 state tax return by April 15. It’s as easy as that!

We are grateful for your generosity at all times, but if you have the choice of making a cash donation or a gift of food to Circle, please consider making a monetary gift to support all of Circle’s valuable programs!

Last year, Circle’s holiday adoption sponsors fulfilled the holiday wish lists of nearly 600 families in need! Their generosity was a true representation of the joy and goodness of the holiday season. Needless to say, our “adopted” families were beyond grateful for the gifts they received.

The program’s impact extended to the sponsor families as well. So many of our sponsors remarked how happy they were to be able to help families that might otherwise be unable to provide holiday gifts for their children.

“The wonderful thing about the holiday adoption program is that it is as rewarding to the sponsor as it is the client. There is something that feels so good about being able to help a family in this way, particularly during the holiday season. Our sponsors really stepped up last year to make sure it was a good holiday for our clients,” says client services director, Niki Vandable.

Planning for this year’s holiday adoption program is already in full swing. Those interested in adopting a family should complete the holiday adoption form on Circle’s website as soon as possible. Client match-ups will continue throughout November.

For more information about becoming a holiday sponsor, call (636) 861-2623.

On Wall Street, a 346 percent rate of return is the stuff of myth. For the Woodlawn Chapel Coupon Club, it’s just another day at the grocery store.

Since the launch of the club in 2011, members of the Woodlawn Chapel Presbyterian Church led by Karin Bentele – have parlayed $26,075.70 of donated cash into a whopping $90,176.88 worth of groceries and personal care goods to help feed and care for clients of Circle of Concern.

“When we find a great deal, when all the pieces come together,” says Karin, “We call it a God moment. We’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing. And hey, nobody else would get this excited about finding Hamburger Helper on special!”

Grocery cart caravans full of cereal boxes, canned soup and bars of soap get varied reactions. A man passing by asked what was going on and then handed over $10 to buy more food for Circle. A woman asked and, with tearful thanks, said she is a Circle client who appreciates the Club’s work. Says Karin, “The comments we get, and the donations, they motivate us to do more and better.”

If you want to help the Coupon Club stock Circle’s shelves, send coupons for food and personal care items to: Coupon Club, Woodlawn Chapel, 16520 Clayton Road, Wildwood, MO 63011. The Club also accepts donations, 100 percent of which go towards putting the coupons to work for Circle. Thank you for supporting this work or exploring the value of couponing for good!

“The dignity of man is in free choice” Max Frisch

On September 27, Circle of Concern held a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of its transition to a choice pantry, giving clients a new sense of dignity and control when it comes to their food choices.

“This is an amazing milestone for the food pantry, and one that would not be possible without the generosity of so many kind-hearted, giving people in the community,” said Circle’s executive director, Cyndi Miller.

To accommodate this new way of “pantrying”, adjustments were made to the pantry layout to improve shopper experience and maximize storage and work spaces. Pantry workers continue to hear great things from clients about the new pantry model, including “now I can plan my meals!”

The client choice pantry model not only gives clients’ choices, it reduces waste and addresses medical, dietary and cultural needs.