TYLER, Texas —
Last weeks storm has left many of our neighbors turning to local nonprofits to help them get through, but many of those institutions also felt the sting of mother nature’s touch.
St. Paul Children’s Services in Tyler took an icy blow, but they're continuing to help those in need.
After the winter storm last week, the nonprofit experienced damage of their own in their garage.
"We had some pipes that froze over and then they busted a morning Sunday morning," Lexi Trimble with the SPCS said. "Besides the structural damage that we are now trying to repair we actually lost a large quantity of dry goods that we had stored in our garage."
Due to the power outage, SPCS was forced to discard nearly 1,000 pounds of meat.
When the nonprofit reopened Monday, they continued their drive-thru, but unfortunately had a large shortage of food.
They are now reaching out to other area agencies to see how they can get help and donations.
"Just trying to get back on our feet as quickly as possible because we are definitely seeing a large number of families that were really struggling last week during the storm," Trimble said. "I know that Monday they served 140 families in today alone we served 70 this [Wednesday] morning. Luckily we do have pickups every morning so we were able to replenish some food that we are losing, however losing so much meat has set us back and losing so many dry goods has also set us back. So what we are trying to do is just figure out how to best assess the situation and get people as much food as we possibly can call also, while also we’re serving food for the next food pantry distribution."
SPCS says they currently have people that are checking out the damage to see what repairs are necessary.
"If people are looking to help, we are accepting donations, Trimble said. "We are accepting monetary donations. If people would like to donate food, also if any individuals are wanting to host a canned food drive, that would be very much encouraged."
The St. Paul drive-thru food distribution is open Monday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. - 6 p.m. They also open on Fridays from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
For more information, visit the SCPS website.