We are happy to share some photos from Guatemala, where food packed by Pineville Church in Pineville NC has recently arrived for distribution.
We are grateful for our partnership with Pineville Church; nearly 3000 volunteers have packed almost 800,000 meals with servants with a heart since 2016!
photos provided by John Pina, SWH Leadership Team and Pineville Church Member 💙💚
Here are some new photos from the distribution of SWH meals in Cuba via Atulado Ministries! We remain excited about this partnership and are thrilled that the food packed by volunteers is consistently reaching its intended recipients through the hard work of so many churches and pastors in Cuba. Thank you!
We are excited to share some photos from a container of servants with a heart meals that has been delivered to Niger by our partner, Convoy of Hope. Niger is in West Africa, and over 80% of its land is in the Sahara desert. Convoy of Hope has a Children’s Feeding Program there that serves 10,000 children, in addition to their programs that fuel Women’s Empowerment, Agriculture, and Girls Clubs. They work in Niamey (the location of their warehouse), Maraci, and Zinder.
We are happy to see the beautiful faces of so many children receiving meals packed by SWH volunteers at Forest Hill Church in Fort Mill SC, Jenkins Restorations, Union Academy in Monroe NC, Cornelius Elementary School in Cornelius NC, Elizabeth Lane Elementary School in Matthews NC, and McKee Road Elementary School in Charlotte NC.
Please read this great blog about our recent event and new partnership with Queens University in Charlotte.
We are excited about the fantastic day and looking forward to many more! 💚💙
https://www.queens.edu/blog/day-of-scholarship-and-service-a-new-tradition/
A view of our setup at Queens University last month.
Union Academy K-12 students and staff once again had the opportunity to partner with Servants With a Heart to pack meals for those in need around the world. Having collaborated with this incredible organization multiple times, this event remains one of our favorite days of the year! This time, we extended our schedule, allowing us to pack over 71,000 meals—our most impactful effort yet.
Throughout the day, students not only learned about the program but also engaged in meaningful, hands-on service by working together to assemble meals. They enjoyed the experience of collaborating with their school family groups, strengthening bonds while making a difference. This event continues to be a highlight of Union Academy’s Annual Community Service Day.
The team at Servants With a Heart is truly outstanding! From setup to cleanup, they are well-organized, professional, accommodating, and always friendly. Their seamless coordination, combined with the dedication of our volunteers, made for another successful event. Our school community is deeply grateful for this partnership and proud to support an organization making such a positive impact on the world.
Please read this wonderful article about our recent packing event at Union Academy.
This K-12 charter school in Monroe, NC has been partnering with us since 2014 and has packed over 300,000 meals during that time! We are grateful for their willingness to volunteer and for the emphasis they place on teaching kids how to make an impact in their local community and internationally.
We are happy to say that a container cleared customs in Nicaragua and will now be distributed! We have had a lot of difficulty shipping to Nicaragua over the past couple years with changes in government rules concerning nonprofits, particularly in the meal distribution arena.
This container was shipped March 18, 2024, so took nearly a year to reach Convoy of Hope. Meals packed at Relevant Church in Lake Wylie SC, River Oaks Church in Clemmons NC, Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy in Charlotte NC, Forest Hill Church in Fort Mill SC, McKee Road Elementary School in Charlotte NC, and our own SWH Impact Day (1.20.24) are all included in this shipment.
See below for some photos sent to us by Convoy of Hope showing the boxes these great groups packed in their Nicaragua warehouse! These meals will make a big impact on children and their families in Nicaragua, and we are grateful for all the students, families, and individual volunteers who worked hard to pack them. 💙💚
In the letter of James, we read, “If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit?” (James 2:15-16) Like the Good Samaritan, God calls us to answer and fill the material and spiritual needs that people lack, and answer, we do.
This year marked the third year of the Saint Philip Neri Annual World Hunger Drive. The focus of the drive is to help our brothers and sisters in need in Haiti, and here in our local community. Each year, over 660 volunteers from our parish, along with their families and friends, come together to pack meals. Over the past three years, our parish has packed over 640,660 meals. In partnership with the St. Matthew World Hunger Drive Ministry in Charlotte, NC, we have shipped 551,960 of these meals to Haiti, and distributed 88,700 meals to local nonprofit organizations who assist individuals and families in need of food. This year, in response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, with the assistance of the Fort Mill 10-13 Club, we transported 49,250 meals for distribution in Western North Carolina.
A special thank you to Servants With a Heart for their continued partnership over these past three years, equipping our faith community with everything needed to host our meal packing events. We could never have accomplished this without your wonderful organization.
Today’s blog is from our new partner, Atulado Ministries!
Cuba captivates many with its vibrant culture, diverse cuisine, stunning beaches, and iconic vintage cars that transport you to a bygone era. Yet, what you won’t read on travel blogs and hear from Instagram influencers is about the Cuban people themselves. Despite living in a third-world country and facing daily challenges, Cubans radiate optimism, warmth, and hospitality, welcoming even a stranger they may meet on the street. When asked a simple question like "How are you?" they graciously share their blessings and begrudgingly share their challenges. Recognizing the deep needs and opportunities to share God’s love, Atulado Ministries is dedicated to investing in the people of Cuba for His Kingdom.
Atulado Ministries is a non-profit based in Charlotte, NC, and established after its founder saw and experienced the impact training and resources can have on a pastor and leadership team of a church on various mission trips. Not only does this ministry share much-needed resources and offer spiritual growth for Cubans, but it also provides Christian renewal to the people who serve.
The name Atulado means “by your side,” and they stand ready to support pastors and leaders of the Church in Cuba who share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and provide resources to their community. Many resources serve as a tool for evangelism. Pastors or leaders will take a resource to the streets in Cuba for an opportunity to nourish bodies and souls by sharing the Word of Christ with people. Also, some resources draw communities to the church and provide an opportunity for people to learn about Jesus.
Examples of the resources they’ve shared include Bible study materials, powdered milk, blood pressure cuffs, water filters, reading glasses, medical supplies, and, most recently, servants with a heart meals. The fortified rice packets containing 70,000 meals are still being distributed on the island, and countless stories and photos have been received of the impact on people’s lives. This was the first partnership project with SWH, and we look forward to many other opportunities to transform lives for God’s Kingdom.
To learn more about Atulado Ministries, you can join their e-mail list or join a mission trip.
We are very excited to share that we are working with a new partner to deliver meals…in Cuba! Our first shipment of 70,000 meals is currently being distributed throughout Cuba by partners of Atulado Ministries, a nonprofit based here in Charlotte NC. We already have more than 175 photos (some are posted below) and many firsthand accounts of the impact SWH food is making in the lives of hungry children and adults in the needy nation.
The meals in this shipment were packed by volunteers at Elevation Church Riverwalk in Rock Hill SC, Sugar Creek Elementary School in Fort Mill SC, and Union Academy in Monroe NC. We are grateful to each individual, family, and student who helped make this exciting shipment happen. Without your efforts, we would not be able to have such a big influence on so many people!
In addition to the photos, many of the pastors distributing the meals have shared stories about specific recipients (translated from Spanish).
“Many abundant blessings for all this team of men and women of God, I am Pastor Jonathan Cabrera of the City of Bayamo. We participate in the great blessing of the packages of rice. The local leadership team in the church is sharing this food with people in extreme need, and they share some images of these very special moments.”
“Once again, on behalf of the Evangelical Church, as pastor of the same, we would like to express our most sincere thanks for such noble kindness that you have had for us in this ministry. We thank you, Pastor Ofelio Platero.”
“This woman lives with her mother who has personality and social problems. We thank God for being a channel of blessing, for being able to reach all these people with terrible situations and be able to help. God bless the entire Atulado and HTF team.”
“This lady with cancer, the Lord has taken her out of difficult times, her faith has kept her going.”
“This lady says that she had nothing to eat today, but that God is never late.”
“This man lives with his 13-year-old son and tells us that yesterday he and his son went to bed without eating anything, because food is scarce and the prices that do appear are very high.”
Please pray for the recipients of the food, as well as for those distributing meals. We look forward to sending many more meals to Cuba in the near future!
