Eastern Area Community Ministries
EACM is a non-profit organization providing goods and services to individuals in East Louisville who are experiencing a crisis or urgent need. They do not provide housing, but will assist with rent or a mortgage payment, as well as assistance with payment of water, gas, and electricity to ensure that utilities are not cut off. EACM offers classes, including, but not limited to: English as a second language; preparation for citizenship exams; budgeting; and applying for a job/writing a resume. EACM offers meal delivery through Senior Help. Groceries are available at no cost to qualifying clients, with the clients either having groceries delivered to their home if they have no viable transportation or individuals may shop at the facility. In addition to groceries, clients may also shop for baby/child necessities and clothing for babies and preschoolers. EACM also holds “drives” for the community in the vein of what St. Thomas does for Zachary Taylor students and their families, i.e., Thanksgiving Baskets, Christmas Giving Tree and Back-to-School Supplies.
Church Representation in EACM
A church rep is responsible for making the current needs of EACM known to the St. Thomas community. This is done by submitting lists of currently needed items to Margaret Bond, per the St. Thomas email, for publication in The Words and the church bulletin. Donations are to be placed in the blue barrel in the narthex. Periodically, the donations will need to be dropped off at EACM. The hours for donation were Mon. - Thurs., 10 a.m. - 1:30p.m., subject to change. To donate, drive to the parking lot to the right, (west) of the church. Suggest calling before heading over (502-426-2824) to ensure they are accepting donations, then calling when you arrive. Someone will come to your car and get your donation. Also to be submitted for publication are EACM’s volunteer needs. Generally these needs are for assistance at the reception desk, meal delivery, and persons to walk along with the clients as they shop, helping them with their selection.
EACM Spring Fundraiser
2024 Highlights included:
Highlights include:
Dinner and spirits
Gift Basket Raffle
Auction: AmFund travel packages
50/50 Raffle
Gift Card Pull
Mardi Gras Bead gam
Prior to the COVID pandemic, this consisted of a formal dinner, with live music and a silent auction. Tickets for this event were in the neighborhood of $50 per person/$75 a couple, or $75 per person/$125 per couple. As requested of church reps., I had a notice put in the bulletin & posted a flyer on the bulletin board about the event, with a notice to contact me for tickets. In the years I did this, I was never asked for tickets. During this time, the church reps were asked to donate a gift basket of related items for a raffle. The baskets were to be of a gourmet variety. Since there was no Outreach budget, I bought the contents for the basket and used this purchase as a charitable tax deduction. In 2020 and following, the Spring Fundraiser has been a virtual event consisting of an auction. The items have been expensive, consisting mostly of spa packages, weekend get-aways, cruises, and the like.
Eacm Drives
EACM also does back-to-school supply drives, Thanksgiving Baskets and a Christmas Giving Tree. Because St. Thomas has our own such ministries, I don’t advertise EACM events that duplicate ours.