Not everyone in the foothills has heard of Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency, but most people who are struggling have.

A-TCAA runs the local homeless shelter, the family learning center, the home energy assistance program and the lifeline program, and provides help for seniors, mentoring for local youth, work assistance for the unemployed and family resources for children and parents who have fallen on hard times.

In closing the books on 2009, A-TCAA officials say the group was actually up in charitable donations for the year over 2008 - bucking state and national trends during the worst recession in decades.

"Of course, the need is as strong as ever," said A-TCAA's Fiscal Services Coordinator Kathy Stiltz. "But donations are up a bit in 2009. People have been coming out of the woodwork with generosity. More people may be in need, but more people in this community are stepping up."

While A-TCAA receives a significant amount of funding from state and federal grants, many of its programs still rely on local assistance, which includes cash donations, clothing and material donations and other forms of coordinated help. Stiltz says that various groups, agencies and churches have been crucial to A-TCAA's ability to make a difference.

"We've gotten very important assistance from large businesses like the Jackson Rancheria Casino, as well as smaller businesses like Stymeist Auto Body," Stiltz explained. "Groups like Amador Community Foundation and the Elks Lodge have also taken on a big role."

Helping A-TCAA can be a real morale booster for a local agency, according to Amador County Sheriff Martin Ryan, whose office has been involved with A-TCAA's adopt-a-family program. Last Christmas, staff at the sheriff's office came together to adopt a family by pooling donations to buy a Christmas tree with lights and decorations, a Christmas dinner and items from the family's Christmas wish list. The family was a single mother with three girls.

"It's something the sheriff's office has done for years," Ryan said. "I think it's of special importance to our staff here. It's very personal thing because we get to know about the family we're helping. This was the first time I've gotten a chance to go out myself and meet the family, and I have to say it was probably one of the most rewarding experiences of my career."

One of A-TCAA's most pressing missions as of late is to help Amador's rural homeless people. Religious congregations, such as Church of the Nazarene, Calvary Chapel, St. Patrick Church and Jackson Methodist Church have gotten involved with supporting A-TCAA's efforts on that front. "Some are providing bus passes, others are providing free breakfasts," Stiltz said. "The thrift store for the Interfaith Food Bank, which has a lot of church volunteers, has been great about making sure some of our homeless have nice clothes to wear to job interviews."

Promoting job interviews and better employment opportunities is equally as important to A-TCAA as providing shelter, housing and other forms of assistance. "We want to enable and empower people and help them get moving forward," Stiltz said. "Our motto is 'give a hand up, not a handout.'"