‘A RAY OF Hope’ plays vital role in community health and service

A RAY OF Hope   plays a vital role in building healthy community by providing critical services such as delivering free hot food to the senior’s homes that are unable to cook or don’t have the money for food, those that are quarantine due to the COVID and feeding the homeless. AROH also delivers medicine to shut-ins who cannot get to the drug store.

The group takes out groceries to homes of kids, that way they have food in their home.

They also strengthen communities in other important ways. A Ray of Hope has become the voice of the people they serve, they see first-hand what these seniors and kids are going though and what their needs are then Suzie New, a member in A Ray Of Hope starts calling on the County and State officials letting them know what these needs and concerns are after seeing it first hand.

“This last year has been challenging to say the least with the COVID-19, ice storm and the flooding we had just last week,  but with the help and support from our local leaders , local businesses, donors from outside our area we were able to help  meet the  needs of so many people.”

“There are a lot more people in need and if we had the funds we could help more people because we need all the help we can get,” Suzie said.

AROH has senior citizens that haven’t been to the grocery store since last year because of the fear of getting the COVID-19,  so one A Ray Of Hope volunteer picks up their store list and gets the groceries  and and also picks up their medication.

Here’s some other things they have done:

• They volunteered with the Emergency Management during this pandemic and with the help of Chris Cox were able to assist those that were in quarantine with the Coved 19, Cox would give information and if they needed help, volunteers would assist Cox and (Deputy Judge) Vince Doty in delivering groceries, medication and a hot meal.
• We also  teamed up with the Kentucky State Police Post in Morehead, Ashland and Pikeville and have a toy drive, they bring smiles to so many children faces. Some of these kids  wouldn’t get a Christmas gift if it were not for this these police offers.
• At Christmas we have a toy give away, Easter we have Easter Egg hunt and give away Easter baskets.

Just about every day they have a hot meal for those seniors that can’t get around good enough to fix them selves dinner and the those that are quarantined due to the COVID-19, ARAH has served up to 300 meals in one day. They also try to feed the homeless throughout the week.

 So if you see a little white jeep going through your neighborhood between 3 and 5 give them a thumps up and show them your support because that will be one of our volunteers delivering meals.

“A Ray Of Hope has some of the best volunteers you could ask for,” said Tamyra New. “We would not be able to do half of what we do without them.”

Just so you know –  no one in the organization gets paid its  —  all volunteer work.