Local Family Creates Facebook Page To Share Free Resources For Polk County Residents
By Allison Williams
It started out as a small group of volunteers, who traveled around Polk County helping those in need. This small group of local individuals would volunteer at various ministries around the county. When they came across The Freedom Tour, a local food bank based out of Lake Wales, their views on the need for assistance really shifted.
One of the volunteers of this group said she didn’t realize the overwhelming need for assistance right here in Polk County until she spent time volunteering at The Freedom Tour food bank.
“The Freedom Tour goes all over Polk County helping residents by spreading love, hope and Jesus, handing out thousands of pounds of food a month,” the volunteer said. She added, “This experience was eye opening! While volunteering we talked with many families in Polk County, Florida and we found that the biggest barrier in getting assistance with items like food was not knowing where to find the resources.”
To aid with this lack of available information, the volunteer and her family first came up with the idea to write down available resources for community members and hand the info cards out at various food outreaches. This was great, but was just not enough. She felt there was a better way out there to share this information with as many people as possible, and that was by creating a Facebook page called Polk County Florida outreach events and food banks:
This Facebook page has proved to be a great resource because members can post updates on the page about food bank locations and events, and also update the public on any changes or event cancellations.
“Any and all resources we can find get added to this page and a calendar is made up of food distribution sites and posted weekly,” the volunteer said. “These distribution sites are all confirmed and the people following our page know to check the calendar for updates, changes or cancellations. We do it weekly instead of monthly because this helps us get the most accurate information out to the community.”
If you are in need or know a local family in need, feel free to visit or direct them to the Polk County Florida outreach events and food banks Facebook page. The more people know about this page and share it, the better chance those in need will see it and know where they can go for assistance.
Here is link to Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/Intimesofneed?mibextid=ZbWKwL
