BRYAN, Texas — The coronavirus pandemic has been going on for quite some time now, but the overall need for food and hygiene products is still tremendous. One local organization received some help from another city in Texas to help the community fill that need.
Cars lined the street outside of the Catholic Charities of Central Texas Brazos Valley office Thursday. People who needed help during this unprecedented time came to the organization’s office to pick up items like diapers, hygiene kits, COVID-19 support kits and more.
“They don’t want to be in this line, but they are and we are happy to serve,” said Suzanne Leggett, the chief advancement officer for the Catholic Charities of Central Texas.
The organization said just like everywhere else, the Brazos Valley is feeling the impacts of the pandemic. Many people are out of work or have had to cut back on their hours.
“These are people that have never gone through any financial difficulties in their life but COVID-19 has really impacted them,” said Manuelita Myers, a financial stability specialist of Catholic Charities of Central Texas - Brazos Valley Office.
Because the need is so great right now, the Brazos Valley office received some help from the Catholic Charities of Central Texas in Austin.
“We did this in Austin and distributed about 16,000 diapers," Leggett said. "We saw the success and we talked to our case managers here in the Bryan/College Station area and they said, ‘Listen, we need you and we need you now.’”
The organization believes an event like this is all about teamwork. They coordinate with B/CS churches and non-profits to get the supplies together. The group collected over 10,000 diapers, 150 hygiene kits, 200 COVID-19 support kits and 200 snack bags.
“We’re in this for the long hall, this is an immediate action right now but please know that we will be doing this again," Leggett said.
The Brazos Valley Office said the success this event saw would not have been possible without the support from around the state.
“That’s what we do," Myers said. "We help each other in the worst of times. We all uplift each other.”
Catholic Charities of Central Texas served 256 Brazos Valley families on Thursday.