The story of the Montgomery County Emergency Assistance Program has now reached the 21st century with the advent of 2001. We now arrive at the twenty-sixth anniversary of our founding and of our service to Montgomery County. We serve the county in two basic ways by helping those in need and by providing the wider community with an agency which co-ordinates such services with many other organizations and groups and provides those who desire to help others with a vehicle to do so.
Let us take a look at the statistics for 2000. For all of our twenty-six years from February 1975 through December of 2000, MCEAP has expended $1,686,378. This total dollar amount represents 38,842 cases and represents 112,195 individuals (duplicated count). Last year, 2000, our total dollar expenditure increased 13.4% to $110,448.77 and the number of cases served increased .8% to 1579 (representing 4579 individuals). While the local economy continued to remain fairly strong, there have been some layoffs and the current downward trend of the national economy has had and will have an effect on our situation. As with 1999, our substantial donor base allowed us to give increased assistance in individual cases.
During the year 2000, our funding continued in a generous fashion. As with the year before, we concluded the year with a positive balance. Our finances have never been in such a strong position as they presently are. As always, area churches have been major contributors; I make particular mention of Blacksburg Presbyterian Church, St. Paul United Methodist Church which has operated the gift-wrap booth at New River Mall before Christmas, and Our Saviour Lutheran Church which hosts the Potato Festival. Last year, through the Aid Association for Lutherans, the Potato Festival funds were greatly expanded and through special arrangements with the Free Clinic and SHARE we were able to expanded prescription and food assistance. We are an United Way Agency and continue to be thankful to their board for its long-term support. The Trolinger Trust generously donated funds last year to MCEAP, some of which are being used this year. Phase XVIII of the FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter Program granted MCEAP $12692.00 which was much less than in 1999. The reduction was entirely due to the good economy in Montgomery County. We have been approved for the Phase XIX, the allocation represents an increase over that of 2000. The first portion of this year's funding has been received; later we shall learn if state set-aside funds will be forthcoming. Our donors, from individuals to churches, businesses, civic groups and trusts produce the vast majority of MCEAP support and demonstrate a long term commitment to aiding our neighbors in straightened circumstances.
MCEAP has always, from our founding in 1975, been committed to co-ordinating services with other public and private agencies as a means of better serving our clients and of avoiding duplication of services. This past year saw the same goals acted upon. We interact with such diverse agencies as: the Mont. Co. Department of Social Services, the Mont. Co. Health Department, Voluntary Action Center, the Christmas Store, the American Red Cross, CHIP, the Free Clinic of the NRV, the New River Family Shelter, the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, the Mont. Co. Information and Referral Office and a whole host of local churches and religious groups to share information and correlate efforts. It has been our philosophy that by working together we can better utilize the resources entrusted to us.
Each year I give special place to New River Community Action. NRCA was one of the first agencies to support MCEAP and through the years has provided generously to our work. They make available to us: back-up staff, space for our office and food bank, utilities and many other items enabling us to carry out our work. Their office, and hence ours, is located at 110 Roanoke Street in Christiansburg.
The Clothing Shop has been located on Main Street in Christiansburg in the basement of the old Richardson-Horne building since 1997. MCEAP is grateful to Joseph Simmons and the Main Street Investment Co. for continuing to provide us space at a modest rent plus our share of the utilities of the building. The sale of clothing pays these expenses. The Furniture Bank is located at Stoway Co. and we are grateful to Fred and Diane Clarkson for their efforts on our behalf. Over the years Diane has met both clients and donors, helping both, and relieving our staff in this way.
Our success, from the outset, has depended upon volunteers; people who see a need and are willing to contribute their time and effort to assisting those in need. Our Food, Clothing, and Furniture Banks are all operated by volunteers. We have volunteers who have assisted with record keeping, who pick up donations of food, clothing, and furniture, who help with food drives, who assist on SHARE distribution day, who work on many other tasks for which there is no paid staff. We are very dependent upon our volunteers and they have never let us down
The Clothing Bank's staff continues to grow. I am pleased with the fine job Carolyn Whitaker does in her capacity as co-ordinator. Bill and Margie Zelinski, Joyce Wright, Loretta Langhorne, Vera Bishop, Sharon Nowlin, Clayton Williams, Donna Pero, and Nancy Conner exert much energy in providing clean, usable, and attractive clothing to those we serve and we thank them. As we have done for years clothing is provided on a low cost basis for those who can afford to pay and is given free to those without resources. Our donations have been plentiful in the past year providing an excellent selection for clients. We continue to operate on Monday and Wednesday mornings and Tuesday evenings. As I mentioned, the proceeds from Clothing Shop sales fund the minimal associated costs and are then made available for our financial assistance fund.
The Food Bank was able to keep a fairly good stock of staple items during the year 2000 thanks to a number of food drives sponsored by various groups, especially the U.S. Postal Workers, several Boy Scout Troops, Cub Scout Packs, groups at Virginia Tech, and others. During the year we had to purchase food on an increased basis and we were able to offer more frozen food thanks to several generous donations to that end, in particular I mention the Blacksburg United Methodist Church. Wade's Supermarket continues to be our main supplier of goods and we are grateful to them for their delivery service. The Kroger Co. continues to provide us with bread and other baked goods. Bob and Claire Kelly, again, have worked tirelessly to maintain our food supplies and food bank organization.
I am excited by a new program, the work on which began last year, at Virginia Tech and which is sponsored by the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity and member Mark Lukehart. The Flex Out Hunger program has the promise of being a major food project receiving contributions from students with extra funds on their food cards at school. The details are still in process and I hope to have more to report next year.
The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors has funded our one staff position since FY '80-'81. Our request for the next fiscal year was submitted in December of 2000 and we have again received a favorable recommendation from the County Administrator. Their provision of twenty-one years funding has enabled MCEAP to serve thousands of Montgomery County residents in ways which would not have been possible otherwise. We thank the Board and the County Administrator, Jeffrey D. Johnson for their support. Melanie Collins has now worked as our Emergency Assistance Specialist for three years, though her association with MCEAP is actually closer to seven and a half years. She does an outstanding job and I thank her for her dedication to our work and to our agency.
MCEAP continues to support the SHARE organization by acting as a host for them in the county and by encouraging our clients to participate in SHARE to extend their food dollars. We operate on a policy requiring clients, in certain circumstances, who seek food assistance to sign up for SHARE before obtaining additional food assistance. SHARE packages are distributed from the Knights of Columbus hall in Christiansburg, where we also hold our annual meetings. We thank them for their support and hospitality.
I wish to thank the Board of Directors for another year of service. Their devotion to our goals and efforts is gratifying. I also want to especially thank Beth Ashe for her excellent work as our Treasurer and Jeanne Roper for her work as Secretary to the Board. Nelson Carey, as always, deserves our thanks for another delicious dinner which he cooked for tonight's meeting.
It is always good to see our supporters and volunteers at the Annual Meeting so that we may express our appreciation to you for the labors you perform on behalf of our Montgomery County neighbors in need. The dedication of so many to this work has enhanced, indeed, made possible, our successes. I am extremely grateful to God for sending you to us and for giving us this opportunity to see and address the needs of so many in Montgomery County. God bless you!