Caring Hands Outreach Center’s board of directors is a diverse group of people who love Jesus, want to be His hands and feet to their neighbors, and are mission-minded. Our Board Treasurer Craig Perry has a special connection to our mission. Here’s what you need to know about Craig:
Where does your family attend church? Lutheran Church of the Cross in Altoona.
What inspired you to join the Caring Hands board of directors?
There were times in my childhood when my household was food insecure and I remember some of our neighbors helping us out. There were no pantries where we lived, but we had a great community. Along with that, I was not very good at money management in my early years of adulthood, but then, with God’s grace, I figured that out. Jesus used these experiences and gave His followers a command to love others like He loved us. He sent me searching for a place to help people with food insecurity and also put in my heart a desire to teach others about how to manage their money. Caring Hands is that place that allows me to serve my community in a way Jesus called me to serve.
What do you hope Caring Hands accomplishes in the next 6 months?
I really hope we have our thrift store up and running in a new location and then use our new facility to get more people started in the job training programs.
What do you wish people knew about Caring Hands?
Our volunteers are the best people in our community. Every time I speak with somebody using the services at Caring Hands they comment on how nice and respectful our volunteers are. Many treat them like family.
What is one thing that most people don’t know about you?
I watched the movie 300 on a tour bus while driving through the area where the Battle of Thermopylae took place.
What else should we know about you?
My vision for Caring Hands is much bigger than giving out food, giving out money for rent or utility assistance, or selling things at Secondhand Treasures. It is about uniting our local churches, loving our community, all while sharing the only true transformational power only found in Jesus Christ.
Thank you to Craig and all of our board members who give generously of their time to help Caring Hands break the cycle of food insecurity and poverty in eastern Polk County.
