A volunteer helps a child with horseback therapy at the Reins of Life ranch in South Bend where volunteers have cut back on hours. Photographer Janet Graham shot this in a Community Foundation of St. Joseph County project to show the value of what 15 nonprofit agencies do.
By JOSEPH DITS, South Bend Tribune Staff Writer
jdits@sbtinfo.com
Fifteen or 20 bucks doesn't seem like a lot. But at AIDS Ministries AIDS Assist of North Indiana, several donations of that size have stopped coming in - and it hurts.
The charity isn't cutting services - yet - to the more than 650 infected people it serves or the 1,600 or so family members and friends who live with or help the infected, says Mary Lee Wessels, operations and development director.
But next year is unclear. And that's true for just about any local charity in this tough economy, from horseback therapy to aid for families mired in need.
Donations are down. Costs and demands are up.
How do you weigh the needs of your household and your community?
The Community Foundation of St. Joseph County hired photographers to depict the work of 15 local nonprofits - images in an exhibit at the Center for History, images that help the public see why the nonprofit work is so critical. Some of them appear with this story.
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