Feb 25, 2018 By Harry Funk staff Writer hfunk@thealmanac.Net 3 min read

Although she’s 10 years old, Madi Senneway already is a seasoned veteran when it comes to helping the South Hills Interfaith Movement.

“I started out when I was 4, donating money from my lemonade stand,” the Mt. Lebanon fourth-grader said. “Then I began asking for donations instead of birthday gifts and hosting food drives in my neighborhood.”

As part of SHIM’s rally on Feb. 24 to launch the Bethel Park-based nonprofit’s “Sack Hunger, Pack Hope” campaign, Madi encouraged others to follow her example. She did the same at last year’s rally, and a fellow Mt. Lebanon resident took action.

“She inspired me to help the community as much as I could,” Eva Schmidt, who also is 10 and in fourth grade, said.

During the summer, Eva ran her own lemonade and baked-goods stand, raising $150 on SHIM’s behalf.

“Rather than charging people for goods, I gave out information about SHIM and collected donations,” she explained, and she plans another such venture with her Girl Scout troop in May.

The youngsters’ efforts are indicative of the type of support SHIM receives as it tackles an unfortunately growing need in the area.

Jim Guffey, executive director, noted during the rally that the Dow had closed the previous day above 25,000 points, and national unemployment stood at a 17-year low.

“So you would think that everything is great, and families are thriving and succeeding in the South Hills,” he said. “But our reality here at SHIM is that’s not the case.

As an example, he cited the organization’s three food pantries serving more than 1,600 individuals during January.

“So why are they still struggling? Because sometimes bad things happen to good people, and SHIM is part of that safety net that allows families to succeed here in the South Hills,” Guffey explained.

The Sack Hunger campaign seeks community members to take initiatives toward helping the keep the pantries stocked sufficiently, something that has proved to be difficult as of late.

“I used to use the analogy that we’re like farmers: We knew when to make hay and store it away. We don’t ‘make hay’ too often anymore, because as soon as it comes in, we have to give it out to families that are struggling,” Guffey said. “So as we begin going forward, having the community respond and help us is critical to us being able to do our work.”

The campaign’s goal, he said, is to bring in more than 35,000 pounds of food during the next two months and to raise $105,000:

“That would exceed all of last year’s totals in both of those categories. But it’s going to take the community to support us.”

SHIM is marking its 50th anniversary this year, having begun as the South Hills Ministries in the Mall, at the then-three-year-old South Hills Village. Within a few years, a broader service area resulted in a name change to South Hills Interfaith Ministries, which was amended to “Movement” in 2016 to emphasize the action component of the organization.

For more information, visit shimcares.org.