Daily Inspiration: Meet Cassie Wilkins

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cassie Wilkins.

Hi Cassie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
All Faith began in 1996 serving the city of Avondale as a gap filler program assisting the Community Action Program with basic resources for the residents of Avondale and surrounding communities.
All Faith grew over the years to become an independent 501(c)3 organization providing basic resources of food, clothing, household goods, job training and education serving the far west communities of Buckeye, Goodyear and surrounding areas.
All Faith is the contracted food bank through St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance to serve these areas.
All Faith today has programs that provide these resources to those who have short term or long term needs through its many “Hands-Up” programs. Programs that assist the client to rise above their circumstances and become gainfully employed, obtain their GED and learn work skills that will move them from poverty to productivity.
All Faith today has its main facility in the historical downtown area of the city of Buckeye and a second site serving the city of Goodyear located on VanBuren between Litchfield Rd and Estrella Parkway, located on the Skyway Church Campus.
In addition to these two venues, All Faith also does monthly distributions with its mobile unit in areas of need where there is no food banks or public transportation. On the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month a mobile distribution takes place in partnership with Lighthouse Fellowship Church and The Refinery at Lighthouse off Jackrabbit and 1-10. Additionally, on the Skyway Campus a mobile food bank distribution takes place the 4th Saturday of each month.
Throughout each month All Faith distributes more than 5,000 emergency boxes of food and vital resources impacting those who are food insecure, homeless, unemployed, low income and many just finding it hard to keep up with today’s’ rising cost for the most basic needs.
All Faith is heavily dependant on donations and volunteers to help move the more than 1.9 million pounds of resources that are brought in, sorted and distributed back out each year. Volunteers are the heartbeat of our organization and without them the quality and quantity of product servicing those in need would be deeply impacted.
All Faith is committed to partnerships with like minded individuals, agencies and organizations who look to make a difference in our communities. These differences mean “People are Helped…Lives are Changed…and Communities are Impacted”.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Social Services is never a smooth road.
As non-profit we are dependant on the hearts of those who look to help meet our vision, mission and goal with their time, talents and treasures.
The economy plays a vital role in the ability to keep sustainable donors, grants are competitive and fundraising can be challenging.
Space is at a premium as the needs grow and cost to expand is again hinged on funding sources.
As an agency that is the only full service food bank to support the growing needs of some of the fastest growing cities in the country and a span of more than 650+ square miles of land mass, we find it challenging and expensive to get resources to those in need when we have no public transportation, communities can have as much as 30+ miles between one another and resources are limited.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I started All Faith back in the mid 1990’s as I watched basic support programs lose funding, resources and manpower as the federal government brought into each state block grant funding. This change meant that no longer could each agency apply directly to the government for funding but that the funding was given to each state and they then determined who received the monies. As I watched bigger agencies like DES and CPS receive the larger chunks and the crumbs that fell from the table go to programs like our Community Action agencies. The agency that assisted with rental and utility assistance. The impact on our low-income households and those encountering hardships had no place to turn. Their utilities were being turned off, they were being evicted from their homes and so help was needed.
As a person of faith it became clear that help was needed and that it was the faith community that needed to hear of the struggle and bring them to the table to help. For 3 years I partnered with the faith based community to support basic needs with food pantries, clothing banks, financial help and work on how to bring church and local government agencies together without conflict. All Faith became the hub from which resources could flow between local city programs and the faith based community.
From then up to today, All Faith partners with a large faith base of churches, local city governments, schools, organizations, groups and individuals who have a heart to serve and impact those in their communities who need a “Hand-Up”.
From working out of the local CAP office 29 years ago to our organization now having 2 main direct service locations and 2 mobile service locations distributing more than 5,000 boxes of vital necessities to those in need each month.
Programs that support low-income seniors, emergency baby boxes with diapers and formulas, delivery of food boxes monthly to home bound, job training with hands on experience in retail, food service and inner and outer office procedures, emergency food, clothing and household goods for those struggling financially through our retail/clothing bank and so much more. And let’s not forget the opportunity for those who want to give back through volunteering. I am proud of all those who give of their time daily to make an impact on those less fortunate in their own backyard. I am proud of those who work to improve their circumstances by having faith and trust in All Faith to help them and engage in our programs that help them.
My background is in Business and I have been a private business partner over these years with my family/spouse in retail and manufacturing.
My passion is to serve those who feel like they have been overlooked, left behind and devalued because of their circumstances. I know we hear that the poor will be with us always, but, I say “they don’t have to be the same poor”. So what sets All Faith apart from other food banks and programs is that we want to “teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime” not just feed him for a day.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
I grew up in a Christian household where my parents always put us kids ahead of themselves. My father traveled a lot for his job.
One of the places that he had been sent to was Caracas Venezuela in South America. He was there for a period of months.
When he returned he brought each one of us kids a special handmade gift that he personally watched the local people make.
For myself and my two sisters he brought back these beautiful hand made dolls. Mine was purple which was my favorite color, my youngest sisters was red and my eldest sisters was a golden brown. These dolls were decked out with outfits of sequins and big feathered hats and beautiful porcelain bodies. When these dolls were posed in a sitting position in the middle of our beds their dresses fanned out covering a huge section of the center of our beds. This gift was one that exceeded all others in my life from my father.

Just so you know, he brought back my brother what he said was real “Shrunken Head” and a knife made from alligator bone. Kinda figured as we grew up that the shrunken head was probably not real, but he never would say!

Pricing:

• $1 = 5 Meals
• $25 purchase a “Bowl of Hope”
• $50 Supports a Holiday Meal Box

Contact Info:

• Website: allfaithcsaz.com or afcsaz.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/all.faith.community.services/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AFCSAZ/