As soon as Amanda Thomas could walk again from a serious car accident, she went to the Matthew 24:35 Food Pantry to help feed her family.
Thomas got help and then she realized she could help, too.“I probably should have died in that car accident and, probably God was who saved me there, so I wanted to give back,” she said.
Thomas started volunteering at the food pantry, a move that had special meaning to her after seeing how it fed both body and soul of the growing number of people seeking help there.She knew this firsthand.
“They were helpful in many different ways,” Thomas said. “For Thanksgiving, we were able to have full dinner. They offered us a Thanksgiving basket. They really give you a plentiful amount of food. It includes meats, lots of vegetables and even things you didn’t think about that cut costs.”
They have even helped her with errands like bringing children to school when she needed to go the doctor.
“They’re really nice people to deal with,” she said. “It’s helped my family a lot. They’re a great group of people to work with. They listen. It’s not just … here’s your food. Some people just need someone to talk to or a hug, and they’ve really provided that for me and my family.”
For Thomas, life has been about getting back on track with any help translating into a world of hardship yet determination.
Although she is completing her first semester at Herzog College in business management, it came after losing money and credits with ITT Educational Services’ bankruptcy last year before her accident. She was a fulltime student working at Domino’s Pizza, where she planned to enter the company’s management program and run one of the pizza stores in a year. She even contemplated the possibility of buying a franchise.
Then came the accident, which was devastating for this single mother.
Unable to work, she and her two children, Aydenn Populis, 5, and Aaliyah, 3, had to move in with her mother in Norco. They’re living on her disability check.
Thomas had breaks in both legs and ankles, 18 broken ribs, a sternum broken in half and a collapsed lung. Her injuries put her in ICU for 21 days. Her daughter, also in the accident, broke her nose and cracked her skull that could require more surgery. [pullquote]“It’s not just … here’s your food. Some people just need someone to talk to or a hug, and they’ve really provided that for me and my family .” — Amanda Thomas[/pullquote]
In July, when she could walk again, Thomas went to the food pantry for help and got it in more way than she anticipated.
She volunteered to maintain Second Harvest’s client registry on the computer on Wednesday mornings, which requires their income be verified to get assistance.
The list ensures people who are qualified for the assistance get it.
“I like to get a smile on somebody’s face – if even for a little while,” Thomas said. “I like to help people anyway I can. I personally know what it feels like to be in their situation.”
Thomas’ desire to raise their spirits comes even as her own application for disability assistance has been refused, which she is appealing.
“There’s a lot of people who are sick, disabled and barely make enough,” she said. “Even people barely making enough to pay the bills may not qualify for this help.”
Thomas has observed an increasing number of people living on the economic edge, pushing into requesting help particularly in recent months.
Earlier last year, they averaged 60 to 70 people who requested food, a need that has ballooned to 150 to 250 people per month.
“It’s a lot of ill people, cancer is killing everybody here … a lot of cancer,” she said. “I also think a lot of it is drug related and they can’t keep a stable job. It could be they don’t make much money and don’t know how to deal with their situation. There’s a lot of sick people and a lot of them are elderly people.”
To meet this growing need, Matthew 24:35 Food Pantry has become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization so it can hold fundraisers and apply for grants.
Also, at least 10 Valero volunteers assist every first of the month.
Thomas reaching out to help provide spiritual support to them, as well as food, has brought her to the understanding that her situation could have been worse. Often, her thoughts reflect on words a friend said soon after the car accident: “Don’t focus on your burdens. Be thankful for your blessings.”
It’s a realization she wants to pass down to her own children.
“I don’t want my children seeing anyone who gives up,” Thomas said. “I don’t think anybody should give up.”
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