Church wants to provide food, clothes to homeless population ahead of holidays

Aneesh Thatal immigrated from Nepal at 10 years old and moved to New Hampshire, where he found a community of Nepali people.

Nearly 20 years later, he’s working with his church to help out the community that raised him.

Manchester-based Live Church will be distributing clothing and food in front of the State House to people experiencing homelessness on Saturday, Dec. 20 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“This is essentially the least we can do as giving back to the community,” said Thatal, the church’s administrative officer.

This is the first year the church is organizing a donation and distribution drive — though they have held other initiatives for the last five years. Thatal said the church has helped its congregation on an individual basis by giving money, clothes or services.

Thatal said he noticed more people experiencing homelessness around him, especially during the cold winter months, than he’s seen in the past.

“Even though maybe we couldn’t do something really big, we could do something small as a small Christmas gift for those individuals in need,” he said.

Church volunteers have already purchased jackets, blankets, socks, toothbrushes and other essential items, but are looking for more donations from the community. Thatal said volunteers will sort clothing items based on size and package them to easily hand out on Saturday.

The church will also provide canned food items and a full meal.

“We talk about helping out others, helping out in the community, being kind,” Thatal said. “So we saw this as a perfect opportunity where we can implement what we have been teaching and what we have been learning from the Bible in action.”

Live Church will be near the State House at 107 North Main St. to distribute food and clothing on a first-come, first-serve basis.

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