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  • L to R: Edith Maldonado of WoodsEdge Community Church, Fire Chief Scott Seifert of the Spring Fire Department, President and CEO Missy Herndon of Interfaith of The Woodlands, and Ismaili Council Communications Member Alim Adatia.
    Anusha Lalani | 23 October 2020 | USA

    Spring Ismaili Jamatkhana Hosts “Share Your Blessings” COVID-19 Recovery Food Drive

    L to R: Edith Maldonado of WoodsEdge Community Church, Fire Chief Scott Seifert of the Spring Fire Department, President and CEO Missy Herndon of Interfaith of The Woodlands, and Ismaili Council Communications Member Alim Adatia. Anam Hamirani
  • I-CERV and Spring Fire Department volunteers working together to assist with the collection and sorting of food items received by members of the community.
    Anusha Lalani | 23 October 2020 | USA

    Spring Ismaili Jamatkhana Hosts “Share Your Blessings” COVID-19 Recovery Food Drive

    I-CERV and Spring Fire Department volunteers working together to assist with the collection and sorting of food items received by members of the community. Anam Hamirani
  • Firefighters from the Spring Fire Department unloading food donations from vehicles at the Ismaili Jamatkhana in Spring, TX.
    Anusha Lalani | 23 October 2020 | USA

    Spring Ismaili Jamatkhana Hosts “Share Your Blessings” COVID-19 Recovery Food Drive

    Firefighters from the Spring Fire Department unloading food donations from vehicles at the Ismaili Jamatkhana in Spring, TX. Anam Hamirani
  • I-CERV youth volunteers collecting and sorting food donations that were received by members of the community.
    Anusha Lalani | 23 October 2020 | USA

    Spring Ismaili Jamatkhana Hosts “Share Your Blessings” COVID-19 Recovery Food Drive

    I-CERV youth volunteers collecting and sorting food donations that were received by members of the community. Anam Hamirani
  • I-CERV volunteers arranging a pallet of food that would get dropped off at one of four local faith-based food pantries.
    Anusha Lalani | 23 October 2020 | USA

    Spring Ismaili Jamatkhana Hosts “Share Your Blessings” COVID-19 Recovery Food Drive

    I-CERV volunteers arranging a pallet of food that would get dropped off at one of four local faith-based food pantries. Anam Hamirani
  • I-CERV volunteers sorting donations during the food drive at the Ismaili Jamatkhana in Spring, TX.
    Anusha Lalani | 23 October 2020 | USA

    Spring Ismaili Jamatkhana Hosts “Share Your Blessings” COVID-19 Recovery Food Drive

    I-CERV volunteers sorting donations during the food drive at the Ismaili Jamatkhana in Spring, TX. Anam Hamirani
  • I-CERV volunteer wrapping one of 17 pallets of donations collected during the food drive at the Ismaili Jamatkhana in Spring, TX.
    Anusha Lalani | 23 October 2020 | USA

    Spring Ismaili Jamatkhana Hosts “Share Your Blessings” COVID-19 Recovery Food Drive

    I-CERV volunteer wrapping one of 17 pallets of donations collected during the food drive at the Ismaili Jamatkhana in Spring, TX. Anam Hamirani
  • Firefighters from the Spring Fire Department assisting with food donations.
    Anusha Lalani | 23 October 2020 | USA

    Spring Ismaili Jamatkhana Hosts “Share Your Blessings” COVID-19 Recovery Food Drive

    Firefighters from the Spring Fire Department assisting with food donations. Anam Hamirani

I-CERV teams up with local organizations to provide food for those in need.

More than 17 pallets containing 10,000 pounds of food were collected during the “Share your Blessings” food drive held at Spring Ismaili Jamatkhana. The COVID-19 Recovery Food Drive was held in partnership with the Spring and Klein Volunteer Fire Departments on August 8, 2020. This first-ever outreach event at the Spring Jamatkhana made donations benefiting four local faith-based food pantries including, WoodsEdge Community Church, Gateway United Baptist Church, St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, and Interfaith of The Woodlands.

Many residents and families within the community have been impacted by COVID-19, causing food pantries to see exponential increases in need within the communities they serve. “We will normally serve about 24,000 individuals in our food pantry, but that’s changed astronomically,” said Missy Herndon, the President, and CEO of Interfaith of The Woodlands. “We’re definitely over 100 percent up. We’re serving anywhere from 300-500 families per week right now.”

Recognizing this increased demand for food products, Ismaili Community Engaged in Responsible Volunteering (I-CERV) teamed up with the Spring and Klein Volunteer Fire Departments to help support the needs of the local community through a food drive. They assisted at the event by unloading donated items from cars, sorting, and packing them.

Scott Seifert, the Chief of the Spring Fire Department, said that the food drive also highlights the strong sense of community as we come together to help those in need. “There’s a lot of giving that happens during good times, and for it to happen during a time of need is more important,” Chief Seifert said. He added, “By having different groups within the community do things together, it shows some togetherness during a time where everybody has been affected in some way. For everyone to put their differences aside and do things together for the common good is very important.”

Service, whether done by running a food drive or operating a food pantry, allows individuals to put the values their faith teaches them into action, which is something Missy Herndon said she saw with I-CERV’s involvement in the food drive. “It just really shows that when you can work together, you can make it through anything. This is something that we have no end in sight, and people need to continue to give and give and support those in need.”

Missy Herndon went on to remark that food drives are crucial to have during this pandemic because providing food for their families has become hard for individuals from varying socioeconomic backgrounds. “I think we can all relate to food and hunger,” Missy said, and “Whether it’s you as an individual or if you have a family; as parents, we want to make sure our children are thriving, and they have to eat in order to thrive. When you get to situations like the one we’re seeing now, and you see so many people impacted economically -- food is expensive, fresh produce particularly. And kids are home like they’ve never been home before. We can all relate to not having the resources that we need in order to take care of our families...It’s really going to take all of our communities to come together and work together in order to get through this.”

Missy also remarked, “I can tell you from the Interfaith standpoint that we are so grateful to see so many I-CERV volunteers at this event, and your community center [Ismaili Jamatkhana] is a wonderful addition to our community and our area.”