"America is the richest country in the world. And yet tonight, thousands of your neighbors will go to bed hungry. It may
be your child's schoolmate who is undernourished and has difficulty learning on an empty stomach. Or it could be a
co-worker, a working mother whose low-wage job doesn't make ends meet. Perhaps it's an elderly neighbor who has to make a decision whether to delay filling a prescription or buying groceries. The faces of hunger are as broad as the
faces of America." 
David Jasby, General Mills
David Jasby, General Mills~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What We're About ...
An important message from former C.R.O.S.S. Center Board Chair, Pastor Al Jergenson -
This web site seeks to introduce you to the work and ministry of the C.R.O.S.S. Center in Benton County. It is our hope to acquaint you with the reasons for its existence, the resources it provides and the opportunities YOU are afforded to make a loving and significant difference in the lives of many of your neighbors who find themselves in a time of real crisis or need.Through a dedication to ongoing education, commitment, partnership and resourcing, the C.R.O.S.S. Center seeks to develop a growing awareness of the basic needs around us for food and clothing; to generate a passion to address those needs with compassion, love and care; to foster a willingness to partner together to accomplish much more than would otherwise be possible; and to challenge one another to each do our part to provide the best resources possible, to serve those in need through volunteers who truly care, and to support clients with what it takes to meet their real emergency needs.Whether you find yourself in the role of donor, volunteer or recipient - the ministry of the C.R.O.S.S. Center seeks to address real needs with compassion, integrity and a loving response. To that end, I hope you will join with us and play your part in making a real difference in the lives of those in need!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How to donate to food shelves in one click!
And it's quick and easy to do!
KARE 11 & Land O'Lakes are donating $1 for every person who clicks on their web site.
Go to the website http://www.landolakesinc.com/company/corporateresponsibility/foundation/default.aspx
On the upper right side of the screen, there is the green area where it says:
"You Click, We donate."
It's that easy and you can click every day to help make a difference. Please let your friends know about this too. The food shelves are really hurting this year.
(posted 11-22-09)
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The CROSS Center Needs to Raise the Roof
The CROSS (Christians Reaching Out in Social Service) Center of Benton County includes a food shelf, clothing center, information, referrals, and support. It is a non-profit organization with 501(c)(3) status. The mission of the CROSS Center is to provide encouragement and assistance to residents of Benton County who are experiencing short- term difficulties in meeting their basic needs for food and clothing. Assistance is provided regardless of race, color or creed for those who qualify. The CROSS Center serves ALL of Benton County. In the true spirit of volunteerism, the CROSS Center is an all volunteer organization; there are no paid employees.
For the food shelf alone, during the past year ending in April 2009, the CROSS Center served 1059 families or 3466 individuals. For June 2009, 49 new people were served by the CROSS Center’s food shelf program. The new people served were primarily children (ages 0-17) and adults (ages 18-64). These numbers do not include the school supply program, clothing distribution, holiday tree giving program, or the various referrals provided.
The building the CROSS Center had been renting was recently donated to our organization. With ownership, comes added responsibility to properly maintain our building and opportunity to make changes to better serve our clients and the community.
The CROSS Center first and foremost needs a new roof. There has been water damage to the interior of the building. At times, there has been damage to food intended to be given to clients of the food shelf. This portion of the project is the most important one for us to accomplish in the near future. The bids to replace the roof and move the air conditioner are up to $20,000.
The other part of the project is to update the interior of the building to make it a safe, clean facility to distribute food and clothing. Some of the specific benefits include better layout of the building so that human traffic does not bottle neck in certain areas, office space that is private for the client and safe for the worker, new/better system for filling grocery orders, better layout of clothing/house wares utilizing the space more efficiently, and a cleaner work environment for the volunteers and clients.
Some of the items include updating the electrical, ensuring handicap accessibility to the bathroom and other spaces in the store, removing the carpet, updating the shelves for food storage, clothing area and updating some of the freezers for easier accessibility. The price for this part of the project is $45-50,000.
The total project will come in between $60-75,000. The CROSS Center has solicited bids from local businesses to the best of their ability to help the local economy.
The CROSS Center has submitted grant applications to assist with these projects. Matching funds from the community are expected by the grantors. This is where the CROSS Center needs your help. The CROSS Center asks that you consider making a monetary donation for the CROSS Center Building Project. Thank you for your consideration.
Please mail donations to:
Frandsen Bank & Trust c/o CROSS Center Building Project FundPO Box 367341 Fourth Ave. N. Foley, MN 56329.The CROSS Center of Benton County is located at 150 Fourth Ave. N., Foley, MN 56329. The CROSS Center is open Mondays from 1-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. and Thursdays from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Phone number: 320-968-7012. Website: www.thecrosscenter.com
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Something to remember ...
Check out the latest CROSS Center Newsletter
for the latest information on our services and current needs. (posted 11-12-09)
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C.R.O.S.S. Center Prepares For Seasons Ahead
The unstable economy has hit too close to home for many families here in our community. Several individuals are no longer able to find work while others are suffering lay offs and the like, and with the holidays just around the corner, many of them are concerned about how they will afford the extra expense.
The C.R.O.S.S. Center located in downtown Foley, is trying to lessen the burden for those in need this season but will continue to need the help of the community to be successful.
The C.R.O.S.S. Center continues to be in need of cash donations for building repairs as well. The historical building is suffering from a leaky roof that needs immediate attention in order to continue to provide its services. Though this may not have a direct impact on you yourself, consider those in our community who depend on the donations, namely food supply, that would be devastated in the event the C.R.O.S.S. Center had to close its doors. If you are able to make a donation at this time, please make your check payable to "CROSS Center Building Project Fund" and mail to:
Frandsen Bank & Trust c/o CROSS Center Building Project FundPO Box 367341 Fourth Ave. N. Foley, MN 56329.All other monetary donations may be made out to the C.R.O.S.S. Center and mailed to:
C.R.O.S.S. Center, 150 Fourth Ave., P.O. Box 205, Foley, MN 56329
Currently there are nearly 100 families that utilize the food shelf on a monthly basis. It is of utmost importance to keep the Center running so that families and individuals alike can rest assured that there is a place they can go in their time of need.
Due to the pending holiday season and recent increase in the need for the Center’s services, the C.R.O.S.S. is also currently looking for volunteers who want to give back to the community. If you are able to volunteer your time even one day a month, please contact Carole Mersinger at 320.968.7012 or stop by the Center during their hours of operation.
If you are interested in volunteering at the Center, please stop by the C.R.O.S.S. Center Mondays from 1-4pm/6-8pm or Thursdays between the hours of 10-3pm.
Thank you again for your continued support. (posted 10-12-09)
(posted 10-12-09)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coborn's Thanksgiving "Turkey Card" promotion is now going on. If you would like to donate your filled card to the C.R.O.S.S. Center, it is an excellent way of making a donation to our food shelf. You can also donate your partially filled cards and these partially filled cards are then turned in to Coborn's for the amount of Turkey that would have been given out. So, if you weren't thinking of making use of this Turkey Card, please think about starting a card anyway and donating it to the C.R.O.S.S. Center. It will make a world of difference to those in need.
We would like to thank Coborn's for making this program possible.
* Please check our services page for other ways that you can help.
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The September CROSS Board meeting was a time of celebration, recognition, and appreciation with Althea Bergstrom's retirement from CROSS. Althea has been involved with CROSS longer than anyone can remember. She has always served on the CROSS Board and most of that time as the Board Secretary. She has also worked at the center for many years with dedication, determination and endless energy, serving those in need. Because of people with the strength like Althea's, the CROSS Centerhas become a service in the community that is indispensable. Thank you, Althea. God bless you in your retirement.Photo at left (L to R): Betty Stob, Althea Bergstrom, Marge Szafranski and Carole Mersinger
<<<Other photos above from the September Board meeting and Althea's retirement. Click on photos to view larger size.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CROSS Center Receives GrantThanks to the efforts of volunteer Carol Shimnich, Foley's CROSS Center was awarded a $15,000 grant from Benton Coop Telephone Company. "It was really a group project", Shimnich said, "if not for the cooperation of CROSS's Carole Mersinger in providing detailed information - expense reports, budgets, non-profit documents, data on people served by zip code, etc., it wouldn't have mattered what a wonderful document I put together, this wouldn't have happened." She added that representatives from the Telephone Company were a great help also in giving direction and ideas on putting together the best possible proposal. A proposal was submitted to the Benton Coop Telephone Foundation in late June. After a reviewal process, the Benton Coop Telephone Foundation awarded the grant for roof replacement. The CROSS Center wants to give a heartfelt thank you to the Benton Coop Telephone Foundation for this generous donation. Because of this grant, the CROSS Center will be able to replace the leaky roof yet this fall, provided the weather cooperates. Pictured from L to R are:Teresa Nelson of the Benton Telecom Foundation, Carol Shimnich, Carole Mersinger, Pastor Timothy Wittwer, all of the CROSS Center and Cheryl Scapanski of the Benton Telecom Foundation. (10-14-09)*Note: More funds are still needed for completion of this project. Please consider donating. Thank you!
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If you are looking for an opportunity to help those in need and have a little extra time to help us with our mission, please contact C.R.O.S.S. to find out how you can be a volunteer. Use the contact info on the left hand side of this page to find out more.
Thank you! (posted 1-15-09)
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FACT SHEET – 2007 Information about C.R.O.S.S and
7/2006 – 6/2007 CROSS CENTER FOOD SHELF STATISTICS
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The CROSS Center NEEDS YOUR HELP!
Our food supply is very low and Benton County / Foley families are still hungry. Many families depend on CROSS to help them feed their children.We still like to recieve donations of money because we can purchase food at a very low cost. However, we are running out of some basic food needs before the next truck delivery comes. CROSS would like to share a list of the most needed foods:- Tuna
- Beef Stew
- Peas
- Green Beans
- Whole Corn
- Canned Pears
- Canned Peaches
- Pasta Roni
- Toilet Paper
- Jello
- Dry pudding mix
- Elbow macaroni
- Spaghetti
- Cream of Chicken Soup
- Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Tooth Brushes
Are you wondering what we do with all that food? Stop in and see what we do. If you would like us to speak at your organization, give us a call. Without the help from the community we can not help those in need.Thank you for all you do.(posted 9-27-08)
(posted 9-27-08)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHECK OUR SERVICES PAGE FOR INFORMATION ON VARIOUS PROGRAMS THE C.R.O.S.S. CENTER HAS RUNNING AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE YEAR.
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Stretch your donation dollar This graphic will show how you can make your donation to the C.R.O.S.S. Center stretch even farther. This is a .pdf file, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view it. A free copy of the Reader can be obtained by clicking here.
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EMAIL US at crosscenter@hotmail.com
