The Good Work of Tabitha's Way

Joining Payson Lions at the Peteetneet last night was guest speaker, Wendy Osborne (pictured, center), who started Tabitha's Way, a non-profit, Christian-based mercy ministry located in Spanish Fork, in 2010.  She is photographed here with Valarie Bailey (left) and Sandy Huff, Lions Club Second Vice-President, both of whom work with the volunteer team at Tabitha’s Way, helping to provide the basic needs for over two thousand local residents each month.  

With “we serve” an integral part of their motto, Payson Lions Club members were in perfect company with Wendy Osborne serving as guest speaker at their Thursday night meeting.  Joined by her husband and partner, Jody Osborne, the founder of Tabitha’s Way Thrift Store and Food Pantry discussed the good work provided here to people in need throughout southern Utah County.

Two years into this generation’s great recession, Wendy responded to the growing crisis she witnessed in the local area as well as a calling from God, she said, and opened the thrift store in Spanish Fork.  She quit a comfortable job in telecommunications and got to work to build a charity to reflect the work of Tabitha of the New Testament after whom the charity is named.  In the Book of Acts, Tabitha is venerated for having looked after those without.

Since 2010, Tabitha’s Way has been caring for those without in our day through contributions that are continually sought and received from generous individuals and businesses.  It operates as a non-profit Christian-based mercy ministry.  Never basing the support provided to merit or desert, according to Wendy, no one is turned away.

Tabitha’s Way is located at 140 North Main Street, a place where these contributions can be made, from food to clothes, can be made, items can be purchased affordably, and the needs of those who cannot afford to buy them can be met. Purchases made by the public at the thrift store provide a financial basis for the charity to operate and continue to serve the public.  For those who cannot afford to buy basic needs: clothing, blankets, hygiene items, for instance.

The ministry brings much relief to parents and their children in need of new school clothes each fall, too, when there are too few funds in the household to buy them. Supplies for the youngsters are made available also, when each year donations are gathered from businesses and residents, and backpacks are stuffed and made ready for youth who might begin the new school year with very little.

A new clothing recycling program kicked off this year, which Wendy and Jody Osborne discussed with Payson Lions to some extent.  It is a complex system that makes the most out of every contribution and makes contribution more accessible throughout the surrounding communities. Sturdy donation receptacles can be found locally on Main Street in Santaquin, in the Payson Junior High School Parking lot, at Payson’s One Man Band, and Liberty Academy in Elk Ridge, to name oa few.

Tabitha’s Way not only supplies and clothes the needy.  Feeding the hungry is yet another need they meet, and in numbers that now exceed 2,000 monthly.  Meals are provided through pantry donations to hungry individuals and families. Dinners are hosted on special occasions throughout the year, including a Christmas meal that is well attended and enjoyed by people who reside in the area.

Volunteer effort is integral to Tabitha’s Way operations.  Two such volunteers were part of last Thursday’s Lions Club discussion, Sandy Huff, Payson Lions Club Second Vice-President, and special guest, Valarie Bailey. Wendy noted her gratitude for their efforts at last week’s meeting, as well as her respect for the service-oriented position the Lions Club shares with Tabitha’s Way.