Local Girl Takes the Initiative to Help the Homeless

By Kamellia Soenjoto Smith, Community Recorder Contributor, published on http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/local/covington/2015/02/22/local-girl-takes-initiative-help-homeless/23850375/

When winter becomes bitterly cold and people can't stand being outside, even for the brief time it takes to sprint from their warm car to their warm house, Ella Kluemper thinks about those who don't have any place to live.

On a snowy morning in the first week of February, the 11-year-old and her father left their home in Fort Wright. They were headed to the Parish Kitchen, an organization in Covington that has been providing food to the hungry for the past 40 years.

Their goal was to donate 13 sleeping bags, 18 pairs of gloves, and 81 pairs of socks that Ella had collected from friends and family.


"I'm so impressed that for such a young person, she would be so concerned about the homeless and the poor," shared Dan Nolan, Parish Kitchen director.

Her good works began four years ago, when she was only 8.

"I saw homeless people on the street," she recalled. "And I wanted to do something to help."

Together with her family she made sandwiches in their kitchen, then stuffed them into bags along with a bottle of water and some treats.

"We put them in the car and handed them out whenever we saw somebody on the streets," her father, Ted Kluemper, explained.

They usually prepared about 30 bags and gave them away on Sundays after going to church.

"We also handed out little gift cards for $5 so they could eat," Ella added. Sometimes they also gave out pillows and blankets.

Ella was in the first grade when she first visited Parish Kitchen on a school trip. She thought about the organization again this winter when she wanted to find out what homeless people actually needed. So she gave them a call.

"Ella has a huge heart," her mother, Tami Kluemper, said.

"It has been her idea from the beginning," her father added. "It's a pretty powerful thing for her."

Parish Kitchen serves a full meal every day including weekends and holidays. The doors are open between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at 141 West Pike St., Covington. Anyone who wants to help can contact Dan Nolan at 859-581-7745 or email at parishkitchen@fuse.net.