You Helped Some of Those Hardest Hit By COVID-19

Chattanooga, TN

The coronavirus has affected many Americans physically, but it’s affected many more financially. For Rikki Thompson, this season has meant losing her job and all her savings.  

“The virus has affected me pretty greatly,” shares Rikki. “I had a job. I have an 88-year-old aunt and an 84-year-old uncle that depend on me for doctor’s visits and grocery trips. So I had to give up my position because the risk of carrying the disease to them was too great, and then I got sick.”

Rikki did not have the coronavirus, but a trip to the hospital still took its toll.

“I had no health insurance,” she says. “I had to go to the emergency room, and by the time I got through paying for the prescriptions that they gave me at the emergency room, my grocery money was completely gone for the entire month.”

Pastor Cody Clay of Venue Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee says this level of need is a city-wide problem, but thanks to truckloads of food from Operation Blessing, the need is being met.

“To see a truck back up with all of these supplies that’s really gonna meet people where they are, was a huge blessing,” says Pastor Cody. “It was huge to be able to partner with Operation Blessing to say, ‘We’ve got what you need.’”
 
“It would be just nothing but crackers and maybe soup, if I were lucky, for the rest of the month, and that’s three more weeks,” Rikki shares. “So, if it wasn’t for Operation Blessing, I’d have nothing this month. It means everything in the world to me. Thank you for helping someone that you don’t even know. It means more than you can possibly imagine.”