Rev. Moon, at great sacrifice to the Japanese membership of his church, bought some 250 plus trucks in 1984 for the purpose of helping to establish that vital link between America's surpluses and the needy. Transportation and distribution of goods is still today one of the major challenges which faces those working to alleviate the plight of the poor.

The USA membership in each state and in large cities received between three and five of these Chevy trucks equipped with 24 foot boxes and liftgates, some of them with refrigerator capacity.

Since insurance and maintenance costs are ever increasing, it has become difficult for many of the state and local Unification Church chapters to keep these not-for-profit vehicles on the road. Whenever I went to check on the truck which we had to put into storage in Albany, my heart sank. A vehicle deteriorates much faster when not in use.

One day my prayers were answered, when one of our members passed me the phone number of the manager of the Regional Foodbank of Northeastern New York, who expressed interest in using one of our trucks. Over the course of the last two years, he ended up leasing all three of our upstate NY vehicles. With the support of our sister Nina and our brother Kevin Smith, some of our much appreciated volunteers at HSA HQ, even the last of our "babies" which needed a complete brake overhaul made it back on the road.

The food bank makes a reasonable donation to HSA-UWC to compensate for depreciation, which amounts to substantial savings for them which would otherwise have to be used for expensive commercial rental fees.

Our agreement with the food bank has put the vehicles on the road, fulfilling Rev. Moon's intention and keeping them in good repair, registered, inspected and properly insured. The heavy load on our hearts at the lack of us of Rev. Moon's gift to America has turned to gratitude and relief.

For more information on how to get your trucks going again, call Joe at (212)997-0050 ext. 236. If you would like more details on our story, call me, Sebastian, at (518)465-8860.

Download entire page and pages related to it in ZIP format
Table of Contents
Copyright Information