What do you do when your stomach growls? I mean, after you get that embarrassed grin off your face and turn to see if anyone else heard it. Undoubtedly, you do what I do - - you go get something to eat. What would you do, however, if there was nothing to get? Worst yet, what would you do if your child's stomach growled, and there was nothing to get for them to eat?

Joe Eriquez and Heart for the City has a burden for those parents who have to listen to the growling of their children's stomach and can't do anything about it, especially on holidays.

"What we do," Joe explains, "is, through the help of the schools and other agencies, identify which families are most in need of assistance. We then send out a form that allows us to discover how many people - - adults and children - - are in the family. We gather up all of the necessary elements for a nutritious meal, and then make arrangements to deliver the meals on or before the holiday in question"

None of the elements of this labor of love is easy, and that includes the delivery process. Joe and other staff members of Heart for the City spearhead the process, but they also enlist the aid of the coaches and team members of the Football Teams they sponsor.

"This serves a myriad of purposes," Joe shares. "The food is distributed, of course, and the recipients are blessed as a result. An even greater blessing, however, might be received by the athletes who help do the delivering. What a self-esteem builder it is to help others in need, and often this is the only opportunity the kids have to do something altruistic."

Joe sincerely hopes that you will consider becoming a part of what he calls the Heart For The City 4 H Program: Holiday Help for Hungry Homes. With a one-time donation at each of the major holidays (Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas), you can experience the same self esteem building feeling that the athletes who deliver the meals do.

We live in trying times, and there are so many areas where help is needed. Earthquakes and tidal waves around the world create situations that tug at our heartstrings as we watch the suffering that is taking place. There is suffering, however, taking place in our own backyard and the fact that we are not exposed to it doesn't lessen the need any. "Charity begins at home," a paraphrase of I Tim. 5:8, "He who does not take care of his own is worse than an infidel," is an axiom that cannot be ignored.

To learn how you and/or your church can be a part of the "Holiday Help for Hungry Homes" program, contact Joe and Heart for the City this very day!!