Christian Outreach Alliance of Dallas County Alabama

Showing God’s Love

“ . . . not in words or speech, but in truth and action” (1 John 3:18)

Seeing hungry children and elders in the community, pastors and lay members of five downtown Selma churches came together in 1995 to respond with Christ's compassion to “the least of these.”

The churches formed the Christian Outreach Alliance of Dallas County, a non-profit ministry dedicated to feeding the hungry.

The ecumenical outreach, led by Miller Childers, a lay member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, started a small food pantry in a tiny two-room rented building downtown with just a few volunteers. Within weeks, they were ministering to hundreds of struggling families, handicapped seniors, little children and homeless with food bags filled with simple but healthy canned food.

Over the years, this vital ministry to the hungry poor has been blessed with faithful friends who helped purchase and refurbish a brick building to provide more space for storing food and seating for the hungry poor. Named for its first and most faithful volunteer, The Miller Childers Center is located in a highly visible location.  

Major funding comes from contributions from the downtown churches, community grants, and private contributions. Local schools and organizations sponsor food drives for our Outreach.

Most of the food is purchased from the Selma Area Food Bank so that every dollar donated is stretched as far as possible to help those most in need.

A growing group of volunteers donates two hours each Wednesday to pack bags. Food bags are given out from 10 a.m. to 12 noon every Thursday except for holidays. Those in need begin lining up as early as 7 a.m. for food.

We need your help now more than ever. These troubled times have resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of needy people, especially the working poor who have recently lost their jobs. Our county has the second highest unemployment rate, 21 percent, in the state of Alabama. Nearly one in four adults are unemployed.

We cherish your kind response of:

• prayers
• volunteer help
• fresh or canned food
• Sunday School or Mission Society food drives
• financial contributions

 

We thank God for our dedicated faithful volunteers who follow Christ by serving those in need. The Christian Outreach Alliance is entirely run by volunteers and has no paid administrative staff. You are welcome to help us feed the hungry!

The hungry who depend on us range in age from newborns to 94-year-olds. This year, our ministry touched the lives of over 900 children and over 450 elders.  We feed little children, handicapped adults, elders, out of work families, and the working poor of Selma. Our clients say:

 "This gives me a little more food to help raise my 3 grandchildren; it helps a lot."  Roxie, age 67

 "The food bag from the Pantry comes at a crucial time. It's often the only food in my house and I am thankful."  Katrina, age 37

 "This means a whole lot. The Food Pantry is awesome. It helps me make it through the end of the month without going hungry!" Starry, age 49