Alum gives Care Packages to homeless
When she was younger, Corynne Rutz ’11 and her family could not afford food. Through the help of a local church, they were able to eat. Her mom would say she was taking them to a “fun breakfast with lots of delicious food.” Rutz didn’t realize these events were for the less fortunate.
“My mom always tried to shelter us from how desperate our situation was because she loved us that much,” she said. Despite their circumstances, Rutz said that her faith as a little girl was strong, but it was made stronger by seeing people serve God by serving her family.
Flash-forward to today. You may see Rutz driving around Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in a car filled with care packages. Rutz and her husband, Aaron, pack food, socks and Family Dollar gift cards for the homeless in her community. When they see someone in need sitting alongside the road, they pull over and give the person a box.
In the spring and summer, the contents change. More money is added to the Family Dollar gift card along with food and a pair of socks. In the colder winter months, they add a pair of gloves to the mix.
Depending on need, the care packages cost Rutz between $200-400 dollars annually. “When I’m handing out packages, my own personal memories remind me to never take my blessings for granted,” she said. “Everyone deserves the love Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13.”
She dwells on these verses, in particular:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
Rutz added, “When you give out a package, you give it with a smile on your face. That smile shows the person that asking for help is okay, and that there are people in the world that care enough to treat them as the amazing people God created them to be.”
— Jake Miaczynski ’20