Today we’d like to introduce you to Karin Kostich.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I began directing a food pantry at our church in April of 2020 at the height of COVID. About 2 years in I felt a stirring in my heart to do something more. After much prayer and consideration The James II Project was born. Serving a meal to the unhoused or underserved in our community became a mission for me. I wanted to provide a place for people to come to find dignity and hope. It was really important for me to serve our meals on real plates using glassware and silverware to provide an extra level of care and comfort to those we serve. We began serving our meal in June of 2023 and have since expanded to serving 4 meals a week at 3 locations. We partnered with local St. Vincent DePaul groups and other churches to provide volunteers and are 155 volunteers strong. We also partner with a local Methodist church that provides a shower two of the days we serve our meals. We have served over 12,000 meals at this point. While our friends are being served they are able to share the struggles they are experiencing and we offer them access to resources in our community that can help them overcome that struggle. We partner with Compass Health, Chestnut Health, St. Vincent DePaul, Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, The VA and various other community organizations to accomplish this task. To date we have helped connect people to resources and have witnessed 24 families be able to access housing, we have helped numerous friends in need with car repairs, we have been able to relocate friends to other states if necessary so they would have shelter and opportunities for work and the list goes on and on. We look forward to continuing our mission to feed, encourage and restore those who are often overlooked in our community.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I cannot begin to tell you the path that has been set forth and how amazing this journey has been! From day one the support from our community has been overwhelming. We have never come out of pocket and are thankful to be 60% donor funded and 40% grant funded. We have gained volunteers and support from all over. Many people who don’t feel comfortable in the kitchen just sit with our friends and engage in conversation. I would say if there are any struggles it is the lack of resources in Jefferson County. We have short term solutions, but long term care is hard to come by. Our friends don’t feel comfortable leaving Jefferson County and as we work with our partner agencies we often feel as if we are going in circles. There are some great conversations happening and awareness has become a passion for us. Our hope is by bringing awareness to our community leaders we will be able to affect change and see real assistance for our friends for the long haul.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I did not come by this because of my qualifications in the business world or by receiving a degree in anything in particular. I believe I was called to this because over the years of serving and volunteering in many different capacities within our large church we attended I was able to learn valuable tools to accomplish the tasks that I am doing today. I was given the task of enlisting volunteers for large outreach events, making a budget stretch to feed people, set up and delegate tasks for various programs and events and the list goes on…I had so many great people that caught the vision early on that wanted to help me succeed and have done so. From my first board to the board I have now, I could not have done any of this without them. I also could not do this without our amazing group of volunteers and the partner organizations! We are definitely in this together!
I think what I am most proud of is that we have formed a group of amazing volunteers from all backgrounds with one mission….to help encourage and support individuals that need someone to look them in the eye and know their name. We serve our meals in 3 very distinct locations First United Methodist Church in Festus, The Salvation Army in Arnold and St. Anthony’s Padua in High Ridge. All people coming together to feed, encourage and restore! I will take that any day!
Any big plans?
Right now we are gearing up for the 4th meal at a new location beginning June 2nd. This area we are headed to is underserved and needs something like our meal to bring the community together and then offer the resources that we are able to offer at our other meals. We have a vision for the future, but we are not sharing just yet as we want to be sure to take on one thing at a time! I can tell you that as long as we are able we will be there to meet people where they are at and help restore hope!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thejamesiiproject.com
- Facebook: The James II Project
