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Photo by Erin Nelson.
Judy Murray selects bread varieties as she prepares bags of dry goods at Oak Mountain Missions Ministries in Pelham.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
Nancy Richard, an Oak Mountain Missions Ministries volunteer, places bags of dry goods into a cart Sept. 16, as volunteers serve families in need as part of the Mission’s Wednesday food drive.
Located in a large brick building off Pelham Parkway in Pelham, Oak Mountain Missions exists to demonstrate the love of Christ by providing food, clothing, furniture and financial assistance to those in need in Shelby County and the greater Birmingham area.
Oak Mountain Missions “works to bring love to those who feel they are not loved and share with the needy just as the Lord shares with us.” The mission assisted more than 6,900 families last year. Its total estimated cost for that assistance in 2019 was more than $1.6 million, done with help from donations and church partners.
Founded by Roddy Cooper in 2001, the nonprofit organization has been there to help families in need. Cooper originally started the mission out of his garage. He shared the story of what he was doing with churches around the area and now has more than 35 churches that assist with the ministry. Cooper now works as a volunteer for the ministry he created.
HELPING FILL THE NEED
With each passing year, the number of requests for assistance has increased. Clients are referred to Oak Mountain Mission Ministries by domestic violence programs, homeless shelters, mission faith support churches, social service agencies and Shelby County school counselors.
Some of the more than 30 referral agencies include Central Alabama Wellness, Jessie’s Place, Jimmie Hale Mission, Lovelady Center, SafeHouse Shelby, Shelby County Health Department, Shelby County DHR and more.
Every service the mission provides is offered to screened, qualified clients at no charge. Those items provided usually include food, clothing, furniture, household items, financial assistance and more.
Case managers work with the individuals or families to assess their situation and assist them in getting what they need. Once they have a referral, it is good once a month for a year. People can receive assistance as long as it is needed.
“There are some families that were here when I started that are still with us,” Assistant Director Dianne Cesario said.
On Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m., volunteers come to the mission and help prepare the bags of food to be handed out. Items range from produce and frozen meat to canned goods, bread and chips. The mission receives donated items from Pepperidge Farms, Golden Flake, Edgar’s, Publix and more. There are two drivers who drive trucks to make thepickups at the various locations.
“On a normal day, we have 25-30 volunteers,” Cesario said. “But now, we usually have to work with a skeleton crew.”
COPING DURING COVID-19
During the pandemic, Oak Mountain Missions has continued serving its regular families but has also been doing one-time emergency assistance for those who have not previously been qualified but are in need of help.
“We have noticed an increase in the number of people who have called and asked for help with food,” Cesario said. “The majority of them we have never assisted.”
Cesario started at Oak Mountain Missions as a volunteer in 2007 when her youngest child went to college. She said she had always volunteered and wanted to try something different. It wasn’t long until she was promoted from a volunteer to an employee.
“I started working in the food pantry, then helping families pick out clothes, then one day I came in and Roddy said I had been promoted. I began answering phones, then he asked me if there was a way I could come in every day,” she said.
The mission has also had to scale back from all the ways it is normally able to help to just food and monetary donations in order to comply with social distancing guidelines.
“This is to keep everybody healthy and safe — the families we serve and volunteers,” Cesario said. “We are doing the food pickups as a drive by. When a person receiving assistance pulls into the parking lot, we have a runner who gets their name and gives them a number. They then drive to the end of the building to get their food.”
The building, which the mission has been in since 2009, has separate rooms with clothes, shoes and more for men, women and children all organized by size. Household items, linens and baby items all have their own spaces as well. Normally, recipients are allowed to choose five to seven outfits and two to four pairs of shoes.
Also not able to take place this year is the annual Harvest of Hope fundraiser. The luncheon, which usually draws around 500 attendees, was canceled, and the mission changed it to the Harvest of Hope Giving Drive. The event usually accounts for 30% of the mission’s budget, so the need for donations has been great and donations (which can be made on the website or mailed to the mission) will be accepted for several months.
HELPING HANDS
Along with the volunteers who come help at the mission is the Oak Mountain Mission Auxiliary. This group of men and women provides support and assistance and can be counted on to help when needed whether they come to volunteer or not. The group makes sure the mission has what it needs. The auxiliary holds quarterly meetings and is open for new members.
Before school began, the mission gave more than 180 students in Shelby County schools back-to-school blessing bags.
Cesario said current urgent needs include spaghetti sauce, pasta, ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce, canned soup, canned peas, jelly and personal care items. For those who would like to donate, items can be dropped off at the building.
UPCOMING PLANS
The mission always does something special for the families at Thanksgiving and plans to do gift cards for families at Christmas.
Right now, the greatest needs are monetary donations to provide financial assistance to families, food to help those who would otherwise go hungry and volunteers to help provide client services.
For find out more or get involved with the mission, visit its website at oakmountainmissions.com.
