Food and financial services provided to needy

The purpose of the Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries is fairly straightforward: to help anyone in Tomball who is in need in whatever way they can.

T.E.A.M. runs a food pantry, provides financial assistance to people who need help paying rent or utilities and offers clothing and household items through its resale shop. Although those efforts are the most notable ways T.E.A.M. lends a hand, the organization pretty much does anything it can to help someone in an emergency situation, said Loma Holmes, T.E.A.M. office manager.

"If someone needs a car part but can't afford it [or] if someone needs a bus ticket, we'll do what we can to help," she said. "We've put homeless people in motels. If anyone walks in off the street and says they need food, we give it to them."

T.E.A.M. helped an estimated 310 families—1,230 individuals—in the month of July, Holmes said. The office, which is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and staffed mainly by volunteers, is humming nonstop with people looking for assistance.

"Our criteria for the people we help is that they must either be in a Tomball ZIP code, the Tomball school district or a member of one of the churches," Holmes said. "This area has grown so much over the past year, but we do our best to keep up."

T.E.A.M. is partially supported by several grants it receives each year, but the biggest boost comes from the Tomball community, Holmes said. Both local businesses and individuals play a crucial role in T.E.A.M.'s operation. The resale shop is stocked with donations, which T.E.A.M. both sells to raise money and distributes to the poor through a voucher program. Companies like H-E-B donate food.

Holmes, who is a member of Graceview Baptist Church in Tomball, has been with T.E.A.M. since it was first organized by 13 Tomball area churches in 1985. The building it operates out of was donated to the group by the Klein family in 1992.

Holmes, who is 80 years old, said she is completely dedicated to her job.

"We don't feel like God is going to bless our ministry if we don't treat people with concern and care," she said. "We're just doing what we can."

Upcoming programs

The holiday season the busiest time of year for the staff at T.E.A.M. Here are two upcoming events the organization is preparing for.

• Thanksgiving program—impoverished families can sign up and T.E.A.M. provides them with everything needed for a Thanksgiving meal. Donations are appreciated.
• Christmas program—families sign up to be adopted by churches or members of the community. The adopters purchase Christmas presents for the family they adopted. T.E.A.M. collects toys and other individual donations and adopts any family that is not adopted by the community. Last year, around 200 families signed up.

Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries, 300 W. Main St., Tomball, 281-351-6700, www.teamtomball.com