THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS-GAZETTE STORY BY JENNIFER BAILEY
ABOVE: Serve Together Vermilion County volunteers serve snacks and meals to the homeless.
DANVILLE — Serve Together Vermilion County’s Executive Director Molly Goodwin gets emotional thinking about how the community comes together to provide food and care kits to those who are homeless to “let them feel loved and cared for.”
On Christmas, The Dwelling Place and Serve Together will be giving out dinners of ham and other food, including desserts, from 3 to 3:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church’s parking lot, 100 N. Franklin St., Danville.
Goodwin said they’re planning for about 100 to-go meals.
The Dwelling Place’s Nancy O’Kane said of Goodwin, “she’s quite the little angel.”
Serve Together started in 2019 with a group of ministers, including Goodwin’s husband, Terry, who is now at CrossRoads Christian Church. The group created an annual event, A Day of Service, the second Saturday of June. During COVID-19, the day was moved to October.
Serve Together saw about 300 people involved that first summer. In 2024, there were 52 locations of projects completed, 706 care kits packed and distributed, more than 1,700 sack lunches served, 148 mission Christmas bags packed and distributed and 188 projects completed since 2019.
Service projects through the years have included cleaning up yards at residents’ homes and helping with home repairs; taking care of a cemetery’s grounds; and helping at the Danville Rescue Mission thrift store.
In 2023, Serve Together, still working through local churches, became its own nonprofit organization, and the board hired Molly as executive director.
Now, projects are completed year-round, not just one day a year. Also, they started giving out care kits for the homeless. The bag of essentials includes items such as toothbrushes, socks, water, snacks and ponchos. In addition, a handwritten note is included in every bag.
Molly said seeing people with the reusable bag around the city warms her heart.
A resource flyer also has been updated to give people information about agencies and organizations that help the homeless and families who are struggling.
“We’re a Christ-centered ministry,” Goodwin said.
The group had its third “replenish event” for pastors and ministry leaders and sponsors in February. It involved a catered meal, worship team and speaker.
Also in 2024, Serve Together started serving sack lunches in the First Presbyterian Church’s parking lot.
This spring, summer and fall, when the Danville Rescue Mission and soup kitchen closed, Serve Together started serving lunches to the homeless to bridge the gap and supplement The Dwelling Place’s meal days at First Presbyterian Church. It served more than 1,700 sack lunches through donations.
When Christmas time came around, the Goodwin family and others through the years had helped serve a meal at the rescue mission. But with the mission closed this year, they decided to have a meal at the First Presbyterian Church, where they work close together with The Dwelling Place.
Helping at the Christmas dinner in addition to those with Serve Together will be O’Kane and other Dwelling Place volunteers.
O’Kane said she’s happy to take time out of her day to serve food on Christmas.
“We’re not having our family Christmas until Saturday,” O’Kane said.
Goodwin said the gift bags they have for the homeless include snacks, blankets and hats, but also watches or purses, hand and toe warmers and notebooks.
Goodwin said spending time with people in the community who might not feel loved or they feel that nobody cares about them means the most to her.
For those who can’t travel to the church, they have taken food and items to the different encampments in the city.
For 2025, new initiatives are being looked into, Molly said.
Serve Together’s tag line is: Love where you live. Serve where you live.
“Danville gets a bad rap,” Goodwin said. “Honestly, I love Danville.”
She said if you love your community and serve in your community, you are going to make an difference and see the impact.
She said that’s why they meet people where they are on the streets, too. They want to help meet people’s needs. They don’t want to just hand out sacks of food, but they want to develop relationships. Some with Serve Together already have developed strong relationships with homeless community members dealing with their own crises.
O’Kane said those wanting to help in the future, current donations needed at The Dwelling Place include water, snacks, hats and gloves.
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