Kathy Sage has worked at CRH for almost seven years – all in the Communications department, where she is a Communications Specialist (PBX Operator/Security Dispatcher).

She answers a variety of different calls during the third shift, but she said that recently the calls she’s answering have been greater in volume, due to COVID-19.

“I think a lot of times people are just calling for reassurance,” she said.

While Kathy isn’t at work, she’s involved in her community.

One place in particular that she has volunteered for many years is the First Baptist Church’s food pantry in Crothersville, Indiana.

Recently, due to schools closing to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, she started to hear from people who were concerned about how children, who relied on receiving school-provided breakfasts and lunches, would be fed during the closures.

She wanted to help.

“It just felt like a calling,” she said. Kathy started to call around the community to see if another pantry could open specifically for kids to receive food.

After posting a message on Facebook about possibly having the pantry, donations started to come in within a couple days.

On March 17, as a result of Kathy’s initiative, the first pantry for school kids opened, and 23 kids received food.

Following the initial opening, Kathy and others in the community spoke with one of the school’s principals, who asked if the pantry could be offered again for those students who were home.

It was originally scheduled to be Crothersville’s spring break for students, so the schools would be closed.

Kathy and others put together enough food for all 38 kids who normally would receive breakfast and lunch during the school year, and they were delivered to them.

Since offering the food pantry for kids, interest has grown to provide a similar pantry for senior adults.

Kathy said that this week they’ll offer one for seniors and hope to alternate each week between serving kids and serving seniors.

Kathy is grateful to be able to help her community during this challenging time, but she’s also grateful for her co-workers.

“I cannot do this without my co-workers,” she said.

When work started to get busier because of COVID-19, she requested to have her day off be on Tuesdays so that she could help with the food pantries.

Her manager, Audrey Tyree, granted that request – giving her every Tuesday off until early May.

“When my co-workers found out, they were very supportive,” she added.

Thank you, Kathy, for all you do for CRH and for your community!