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That includes a permaThe Free Clinic of Florida, which provides no-cost healthcare for the uninsured and underinsured and is one of several local organizations that partners with the foundation.
Anybody who needs help can get it.
And anybody who wants to help can.
Kissimmee’s Mercy Foundation is dedicated to both serving Osceola County residents and growing its league of volunteers.
They deliver food, host family empowerment workshops, assist those experiencing homelessness, mentor students and offer hope to the weary.
And on Friday, the Mercy Foundation will open an outreach office at 113 N. Dillingham Ave., Kissimmee, expand services and centralize operations.
That includes a permanent exam room for the Free Clinic of Florida, which provides no-cost healthcare for the uninsured and underinsured and is one of several local organizations that partners with the foundation.
The outreach office will also provide in-person assistance for people struggling to meet basic needs like food, shelter, medicine and employment.
“Much of our work is concentrated in Kissimmee in historically underserved areas like Maryidia, Chamber’s Park and McClaren Circle,” said Abdul Patel, the organization’s founder and a local imam. “But we also work in more rural areas like Holopaw and Keenansville in the eastern section of the county.”
The foundation tweaked its food pantry operations last year at the start of the pandemic and began delivering food door-to-door and via drive-through food distribution lines instead of hosting indoor food give-aways.
The new space will streamline the food distribution services and provide physical space for volunteers and staff to manage an increasing number of requests for assistance. The foundation not only provides people with direct services but also connects them with government agencies and other nonprofits.
“We don’t want to duplicate services. The community’s resources are very limited so if we work together on joint ventures the resources are used widely and more efficiently,” said Patel.
Osceola County has among the highest unemployment rates in the state and is notorious for its lack of affordable homes and apartments for lowwage workers who buttress the local economy.
“When everyone has an affordable place to live, enough to eat, healthcare, education; these are the things which make a community prosperous and successful,” he said.
“Everyone deserves an opportunity to excel in life, because that’s what America is about. But there are citizens who for generations haven’t been given a hand up or haven’t been able to benefit from that system,” he said.
Among its most unique programs is one led by Osceola County School Board Member Terry Castillo that mentors first-generation college hopefuls and offers workshops for the general public on applying for financial aid.
A Kissimmee resident for more than 20 years, Patel began organizing charity events a few years before Mercy Foundation was registered as a 501C- 3 in 2018. One of the first was United We Remember, a memorial for the 90 local victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016.
Since then, the foundation has partnered with a variety of groups and individuals, including community boards, law enforcement, local government officials and politicians, youth sports organizations and business owners.
“The key to serving people is meeting people, talking to people, listening to people, showing someone kindness and compassion and not judging them,” Patel said.
