Those in need of the services provided by Friend of St. Andrew, line up outside the facility, Nov. 28. As well as serving over 100 individuals a fully cooked lunch, daily, Friends of St. Andrew also serves as a food bank, offering three days worth of food per individual, every 30 days. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Aurora Sentinel 
Jim Servin restocks the near empty shelves at the Friends of St. Andrew food bank, Nov. 28. Food banks like this are particularly busy during this time of the year and are in serious need of donations. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Aurora Sentinel 
Jim Servin pulls items from the shelves of the food bank, filling orders, which last approximately three days, Nov. 28 at Friends of St. Andrew. Food banks like this are particularly busy during this time of the year and are in serious need of donations. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Aurora Sentinel
AURORA | Just a week before Thanksgiving, a thousand pounds of food arrived at Friends of St. Andrew hospitality center in north Aurora.
The food was destined for the food baskets that the charity doles out to needy families, and Siobahn Latimer, the program’s director, hoped it would be enough to get them through the busy few days.
But on the Tuesday before the big holiday, her volunteers shared some grim news: They were out of food for food baskets.
Latimer was certain the volunteers were wrong. That much food out the door in just a few days? There had to be a mistake.
But then she saw the shelves for herself, and sure enough, a surge of Thanksgiving food baskets had dwindled the food bank and soup kitchen’s supplies.
“How could we have gone through that much?” Latimer said this week, pointing to the vacant plywood shelves in a chilly room in the back corner of the center. “But I can’t argue.”
This time of year — the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas — are always rough on local charities, and across Aurora, charities say they are in desperate need of food and money.
While donations tend to roll in during the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, the donations head right back out the door to needy people just as fast. And after that holiday, as volunteers aim to dish out food to the needy before Christmas, the donations sometimes slow down.
Latimer said she guesses it’s because before Thanksgiving donors are focused on food, but people have too much going on before Christmas and aren’t as focused on donating the non-perishable items Friends needs.
These days, the items they need at Friends the most are non-perishable foods, in particular peanut butter and jellies. –
But they could do without any more green beans. On the sparsely stocked shelves in the back of the center, the spots reserved for cans of those are pretty well stocked. The same doesn’t go for pasta and canned fruits, two items volunteers say they really need.
Latimer said that beyond food, the center could use travel-size personal hygiene items.
They also need $10 gift cards to grocery stores. Latimer said she had 150 of those to give out before Christmas but she’s already given out most of them.
“Right now I’m practically out, and we aren’t even in December yet,” she said.
Those small gift cards might not seem like much, but Latimer said they can be a big help to a family scraping by.
Friends isn’t Aurora’s only charity in need at the moment.
While Aurora-based homeless service provider Comitis Crisis Center is always open to donations of the expected items — packages of socks, underwear, toiletries and new or gently used coats — they’re always looking for moral support, too.
“Sometimes the one thing that any of us as humans need is to know that somebody cares,” said James Gillespie, a spokesman for the center. “The experience of homelessness is scary, lonely, unpredictable, isolating and traumatic.”
Those wishing to send a letter or card to Comitis can address them to:
Comitis Crisis Center
c/o James Gillespie
“Dear Neighbor”
P.O. Box 919
Aurora, CO 80040
At Aurora Warms the Night, the winter months are particularly busy.
Colder months often mean shelters need more supplies to keep their clients protected from the elements. Aurora Warms the Nights is looking for items for kits it puts together during the dark months.
The organization welcomes hand warmers, gloves, hats and scarves. Aurora Warms the Nights also puts together hygiene kits, which include shampoo, soap, razors, shaving cream, toothpaste and toilet paper. Food items the organization accepts includes soup, oatmeal packets, granola, crackers and hot cocoa.
This year, the organization is holding a holiday dinner for its clients at the Hyatt in north Aurora. Aurora Warms the Night Executive Director Brian Arnold said the event is slated to attract regional movers and shakers, too.
“I’m really excited to bring all these folks together,” he said of the dinner planned for Dec. 7.
Aurora Warms the Night can also benefit from online holiday shopping. With every purchase through AmazonSmile 0.5 percent goes to the organization. Direct money donations can also be directed through coloradogives.org year round.
It may surprise many, but school districts have become the state’s largest social service agencies in many ways, and they need help.
A large number of K-12 students in Aurora depend on the free/reduced meals they receive at school to help feed them during the week. During extended periods like Christmas vacation, when students will be out of school for a couple of weeks, schools in both the Cherry Creek School District and Aurora Public Schools work to make sure the students will the most significant needs have help.
Elizabeth Sloan, the principal at CCSD’s Ponderosa Elementary School, said the school relies heavily on individual donors within the community to provide assistance. During the school year, the school sends about 115 students home with a backpack full of food to help last the weekend. And those efforts don’t stop when the school is off for a holiday break.
For people looking to help out a student at Pondrosa or another CCSD school, Sloan said people should call the school’s office they’d like to help and ask to speak with the social worker.
“Call and ask for the social worker at that school. They’re the ones leading this work in the community,” Sloan said. “Asking for the school social worker is the best thing because they’re the pipeline to the families and know exactly how someone can help.”
At Sable Elementary School in APS, the school has a partnership with the company ProLogis to help provide 35-40 students with groceries and gifts over the holiday break. Megan Ortiz-Capozzolo, assistant principal at Sable, said the school also works to make sure families are connected to nonprofits in the community that can help with food, clothing and gifts for the holidays.
While there is always a need for assistance with families dealing with financial hardships, that need is highlighted during this time of year, said Connie Payne, family liaison at Sable.
“It’s a constant need but this time of the year every parent wants to provide for their child,” Payne said. “It’s definitely highlighted and every nonprofit we hear about is so stretched. People out there give as much as they can give, and still there are people out there still in need.”
Ortiz-Capozzolo said for people looking to help out Sable or any other APS school should call the front office and ask how they might be able to help provide food or other assistance to families in need in the school community.