Lia

A car goes through the Arlington Charities Drive Through Pantry

Lia has been coming to Arlington Charities for 35 years. Recently, Arlington Charities has become very important to Lia’s food security. Since 2015, Lia has become permanently physically disabled after a “really bad fall.” The fall caused degenerative scoliosis and degenerative disc disease. “Without Arlington Charities, I wouldn’t know where my next meal would come from” she asserts. Lia’s favorite part of coming to Arlington Charities is the friendly staff. “The staff always knows you by name and they ask how you are doing” she claims.

Covid-19 has drastically changed how Arlington Charities operates. Like many of our clients, Lia has had to adapt to our new Drive Through Pantry. “It is kind of challenging because I haven’t been able to get all of the foods I used to, but I have been blessed by getting a big box of fresh veggies, different kinds of meats, and frozen veggies” says Lia about the Drive Through Pantry.

Overall, Lia finds coming to Arlington Charities to be a very positive experience. “What people don’t realize, is there are a lot of people in Arlington struggling right now, because they are worried about how to feed their families. Arlington Charities doesn’t turn anyone away.”

If you need food assistance, please give us a call at 817-275-1511. If you are an Arlington Charities client and would like to share your story like Lia, please visit https://www.arlingtoncharities.org/share-your-story

Sue Cary

Sue Cary has been volunteering at Arlington Charities for three years and for two years prior at it’s partner agency, Tarrant Area Food Bank. Like many of our volunteers during the Covid-19 crisis, Sue used to come in just once a week during normal pantry operations, but has switched to coming in every day in order to limit Arlington Charities’ exposure. Sue was very impressed with how quickly we were able to switch from normal operations to a drive through pantry. “It literally happened overnight” she gushed. She also noticed that every day the pantry gets practically cleared out of food because there is so much demand.

Sue enjoys volunteering every day and remarks how lucky she is to be able to have something to do while many are stuck at home. Her drive to come back day after day is because she “sees a need and is able to fill it." Outside of volunteering, Sue spends the quarantine doing bible study, going on walks, and cleaning out old paperwork.

Tina Paulk

Tina Paulk has been consistently volunteering with Arlington Charities for around three years and on and off before that. The naturally friendly and bubbly Tina is a people person by heart and even pursued a sociology degree in college to explore her love of people further. At Arlington Charities, Tina delights in working closely with clients and getting to know them on a personal level. Tina asserts that she simply, “loves being here.”

Outside of Arlington Charities Tina is very involved with her family and simply cannot gush enough about their accomplishments. Her son is a pastor who used to work in broadcasting and has even wired the Dolby Theatre for the Oscar’s several times. Tina’s daughter-in-law is an accomplished kitchen and bathroom designer. Prior to retiring, Tina was a dedicated early childhood specialist for 43 years. She licensed two buildings in Grand Prairie which focused on the cognitive and behavioral development of infants through four year old’s.

Tina would definitely recommend volunteering at Arlington Charities to others. In fact, she is constantly advocating for the charity all the time to the point where people are like “don’t tell us any more about Arlington Charities.”

If you are interested in volunteering like Tina, please visit www.arlingtoncharities.org/volunteerfor more information.