Our Story
The Help Center was organized in 1974 by members of several churches in the Monticello community. These concerned citizens recognized that there were needs in the area and set out to meet those needs. It was soon incorporated as Monticello Christian Social Services, Inc. and included food and clothing services for people in need in our community. We operate heavily on volunteers and serve over 5,000 households annually. That adds up to 584,618 pounds of food! We gave away over 57,000 free clothing or household items in 2022.
We are a local non-profit dedicated to reducing hunger in our community and restoring hope to the people we serve.
Mission: We reduce hunger in our community and restore hope to the people we serve.
Vision: As people of faith, our vision is to eliminate hunger through community partnerships.
Meet the Team
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Mary Gardner
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Mary manages all programming from daily client shopping to food ordering, and food distribution. She also is responsible for fund development, budgets, grant writing, outreach, and community relations, as well as board relations.
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Bob Mathews
VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
Bob is responsible for recruiting and supporting volunteers as well as providing orientations. He ensures sufficient staffing of volunteers for both the food shelf and clothing center. He’s an energetic individual who also supports the director.
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Russ Reger
BOARD PRESIDENT
Member At Large
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Marianne Kosel
BOARD VICE PRESIDENT
Member At Large
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Anne Cole
BOARD TREASURER
Member At Large
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Susan Stinn
BOARD SECRETARY
Member At Large
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Mary VanDell
BOARD PAST PRESIDENT
Representing United Methodist Church
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Bob Finke
BOARD
Representing Resurrection Lutheran Church
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Barb Smida
BOARD MEMBER
Representing St. Henry Catholic Church