Cooperative Ministry helps “Working Poor”

For 37 years The Cooperative Ministry has been working hard for the “working poor” of the Midlands – those with low-wage jobs who are sometimes unable to meet basic living expenses.

Scott Vaughan, the non-profit’s community awareness director (pictured with Rotarian Neda Beal), was Capital Rotary’s Oct. 9 guest speaker. He said local churches founded and still support the mission of focusing on short-term crisis assistance while build long-term self-sufficiency.

The Cooperative Ministry helped 12,380 people in 2018 including rent or utility assistance for 531 households. Vaughan said the ministry’s “hand up but not handout” aid also was comprised of

(1) food assistance – 6,025 people served;

(2) free clothing for 6,259 clients;

(3) free tax return preparation – 8,362 people served;

(4) insurance counseling for 807 people;

(5) car donations – six clients got vehicles for work transportation; and

(6) working with five local firms for job placement.

The ministry provides Christian counseling and financial education classes as well. Nearly 500 volunteers donated over 11,000 hours of time last year, along with support from more than 1,300 individual donors. Vaughan is a University of Georgia graduate who completed a three-year executive program at Emory University. He joined The Cooperative Ministry in 2017 after careers in journalism, marketing and in faith-based consulting for 5,000 congregations throughout North America.