Taste and See … The Ladies Look to the Future
Lake Travis Ladies are changing their 2006 schedule in an effort to bring in new members. Their board meetings at Emmaus Catholic Parish are welcoming all Ladies. They will be having three “themed” general meetings. February brought our Taste and See meeting with jazz music playing in the background. Music was provided by the Lake Travis High School Music Department. They invited local charity workers to speak about the good news of clients they work with each week. May 18 th was their Spiritual Connection meeting and wine tasting. A speaker who addressed the spiritual connection of helping others was invited. And their November 26th meeting will be about Communion with our Lord and will include a local food tasting. Again, all are welcome to these meetings. They want everyone to learn how Ladies of Charity – Lake Travis makes a difference in our community. Invitees are encouraged to bring friends and family to share in this experience.
The community opened up their hearts and their closets to provide clothing for those who lost so much due to Hurricane Katrina. After the Crisis Ministries staff carefully sorted through clothing, the Ministries office became the hub for evacuees to find clothing that they sorely needed. At the same time, the Ladies of Charity – Lake Travis (LOC-LT) gave over $5,000 in HEB and gas cards. LOC-LT manned the Crisis Ministries office for a day, distributing clothing and gift cards. Many people in the community opened up their homes for folks to live comfortably until they could find permanent residences. Additionally, Lake Travis crisis Ministries, which is financially supported by LOC-LT, was contacted by the Municipal Utility District and the fire department about families that needed help. The Ladies of Lake Travis thank everyone who helped out the evacuees during the hurricane crisis.
Operation Green Santa 2005 helped 165 families (989 people in total; 552 children and 437 adults), have a happier holiday with delicious food, bright new toys and grocery gift cards to buy the meat of their choice. The LOC-LT donated over $2,000 in gift cards. All cards that were left over were given to the Lake Travis Crisis Ministries for ongoing client needs. The Hudson Bend Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary successfully coordinates this effort each year. The surplus of food was donated to the crisis Ministries. The remaining gently used books and games, as well as new clothing, that were donated, were given to the Thrift Shop to sell.