During times like these, many people are looking for ways to give back to others who might be struggling. With facilities closing and volunteers being sent home – you may ask yourself, ‘what can I do?’ Our Morgan Koziar spoke with one Altoona woman who is providing for others from her home.
It may seem like an ordinary home – tucked away in the streets of downtown Altoona, but this home has more to offer.
“Anybody that needs anything can come in and take whatever they need and they don’t need to knock or anything just drop off, pick up,” says Gillian Kratzer.
It’s a trend that we’re seeing in these hard times, porch pantries – allowing people to donate items or take them no questions asked.
“A lot of people in our area…everywhere really are living paycheck to paycheck and something small can cause a huge problem in their lives.”
Gillian Kratzer decided to start her own porch pantry after seeing it being done in other areas
“I saw a Facebook post about somebody somewhere who had turned a little free library into a pantry, and I thought, well I have a porch…so…you know it just kind of grew from there,” says Gillian. And she is hoping that this act of kindness will inspire others…”I just want to encourage people to try in whatever way they can to be of service to each other right now.”
Gilian says she has several volunteers that are helping her along the way, and she’s helping other people start their own porch pantries at their homes.
