Page 1 - The Friday Flyer • January 19, 2018

CANYON LAKE’S NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 19, 2018

CLMS competition team wins RDIF reader to be City honors Veterans
installed at north Day volunteers,

fi rst place at regionals Pg. A9 gate on Monday Pg. A13 sponsors Pg. A15

Helping Hands adds new program

BY PAT VAN DYKE dream become a reality, Bob founded the meet needs that they could only hope cal park. Over several months, Helping
COLUMNIST, THE FRIDAY FLYER Helping Hands Group in 2005. In 2015, to help in 2015. They now found them- Hands helped him with food, clothing
Many days and many times, one can it became a formal organization with a selves as a working organization making and shelter but they found that he sank
walk down the streets of Canyon Lake non-profit status. The September article a difference in their surrounding area. deeper and deeper into his schizophrenia
or the surrounding communities and not provided the boost to help the Helping Just in the past month alone, Helping and became a permanent fixture in that
realize the desperate situations that are Hands Group to become a vital organi- Hands had over 100 request for food, six park.
present behind walls just a few yards zation fulfilling their purpose: “to bring requests for assistance from homeless, That was a lesson for Helping Hands.
away. However, there is one person who people that care together with people in four requests for home repair, 124 job They learned to stop enabling people to
has looked beyond these walls. need.” site visits, three resumes made and six stay on the street. They continued to vis-
As reported in The Friday Flyer of The five volunteers of 2005 grew to requests from other non-profits for as- it that man and stayed in touch inform-
September 2016, Canyon Lake resi- 40 volunteers in 2015; however, this sistance. ing him of the various opportunities that
dent Robert "Bob" Sasser responded to past year the organization has seen many Bob relates one incident in which they were available for the homeless.
a pressing need that was so evident in step up to help others. As 2018 begins, were able to make a positive difference After two years of con-
the surrounding communities: to pro- the list of willing individuals to make in a person’s life. A local church con- tact, he asked for help.
vide concerned people a pathway to t he m - selves available to tacted Helping Hands Group asking He had finally had
serve the disabled, elderly, help others numbers for assis- tance with a enough of the bad
homeless, abused well over 150. homeless weather, the cold and
and low income Funds also man the dirty conditions
with compas- started to who in which he had
sion and car- come in and was been living. Helping
ing. the Help- living
In order ing Hands in a uuCONTINUED
to have this Group was l o - PAGE A3
able to

PHOTO PROVIDED BY PAT VAN DYKE

Bob and Linda Sasser, right, founded the Helping Hands Group in 2005. The fi ve volunteers make themselves available to help others numbers well over 150. Picture with Bob and Linda
of 2005 grew to 40 volunteers in 2015. As 2018 begins, the list of willing individuals to are volunteers and Canyon Lake residents Mike and Carol Augustine.