Local women team up to help community seniors

As the saying goes, “Teamwork makes the dream work.” Three local women proved just that when they teamed up to help Santee senior citizens in need at Cameron’s Mobile Estate Park on January 30. The event was part of an ongoing effort to assist residents of the mobile home park receive food and other goods.

Debra Childers of the San Diego ministry Feeding the Flock has been assisting those in need for many years. She has dabbled in various ways of helping people from all walks of life all over San Diego County and Mexico, but it takes the assistance of many people to make it happen. According to Childers, “Without sponsorship, we wouldn’t be able to help those in need.”

Outgoing and driven, Childers seems to attract both those who need help and those who want to help others as she buzzes about the county. She takes time to listen to those around her and answers their calls for help, always on the lookout for donations. “The food is there,” she said. “It just needs to be donated to those that can get it to those in need.”

Due to her ongoing efforts to help those in need, Childers caught the attention of La Mesa business owner Marsi Haney. Haney owns and operates Dream Dinners in La Mesa, a business that assists customers with preparing healthy, home-cooked meals. She noticed Childers’ post in a local Facebook group seeking donations for people in need.

“I jumped at the chance to help,” Haney said. “I felt like it was just in time,” she added. Due to Covid restrictions, Haney’s usual opportunities of assisting the community were limited. Due to her chicken vendor sending eight cases of chicken she was unable to use, she suddenly found herself with an opportunity to help someone, but had trouble locating a recipient.

“It really was a happy accident,” Haney said about the timing of the arrival of extra chicken and Childers’ post. “I had to find a place for it to go and I remembered Debra’s post,” Haney added with excitement.

Fortunately, Childers knew just who should receive the nearly 200 servings of chicken.

Ruth Cleesattle is the founder of Mama’s Pantry at Cameron’s Mobile Estates. She is sweet and unapologetic in her approach to helping others. She moved here from Ohio six years ago and said she didn’t wait to meet her neighbors, but introduced herself instead.

“I really noticed the need neighbors had as I knocked on doors,” Cleesattle said. “So I went to the owners and asked if we could start a food pantry.”

Quickly, Cleesattle was able to get the maintenance shed turned into a food pantry. Initially, she was running the operation alone and out of her own pockets. While she gained volunteers and donations, she still saw so many people who needed help and wanted to provide.

“Connecting with Feeding the Flock was the best thing that could’ve happened,” Cleesattle boasted as Covid seemed to send the residents’ needs into overdrive. “Many of them have part-time jobs at places and with Covid they couldn’t go to work, so we really needed a way to help the residents with essentials like food.”

With almost 200 servings of chicken donated by Haney at the ready, Cleesattle assisted by Childers was able to fill Santee senior citizens cupboards for a week or two. Haney said, “We have really been blessed in spite of Covid. People are losing their jobs and we have been so lucky and so we want to pay that forward in the community.”

Haney hopes the struggle so many have faced during the pandemic will help the community grow. “I hope we come out of this stronger,” she said. “I have realized that we have to slow down and reach a new level of kindness.”

Cleesattle and Childers echoed Haney’s sentiment. “You never know what your neighbor is going through,” Cleesattle said. “Knock on doors. All it takes is a knock.” Childers added, “It is my prayers that no one would be hungry.”

For more information about Feeding the Flock’s ongoing efforts, visit feedingtheflocksd.wordpress.com.

To find out about Dream Dinners and their upcoming donation drive to help Feeding the Flock, visit the company’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/lamesadreamdinners.