The holiday season is upon us and several in the Greenville community are making strides to ensure the upcoming days, as a popular Christmas carol goes, “merry and bright.”
The Community Foundation of Washington County (CFWC), along with active community members, met Wednesday to discuss coming events being sponsored by the Community Holiday Fund to benefit Washington County residents who may need assistance this holiday season.
Because of the efforts of several organizations throughout Washington County and former Greenville Rotary Club president Evelyn Edwards, the CFWC was able to get the Community Holiday Fund off of the ground and working to achieve the goal of assisting families throughout Washington County during the holiday season.
Community members who partook in the meeting included Terri Lane, executive director for the Community Foundation of Washington County, Melissa Lucas of Office Depot, Susan Shamoon of Shamoon Advertising & Marketing Inc., Evelyn Edwards of Guaranty Bank, Cynthia Hines of the Family Resource Center, Laurie Merritt of Pafford EMS, Joan Rowe, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Washington County, Paul Mathis, Carlos Brothers, Kyla Washington and Shirley Redmon.
Lane said she was grateful to be able to hear from each volunteer and organization about what they could contribute and how they could assist.
“I love having all the volunteers and nonprofits in one room so thank you all for being here,” Lane said to everyone.
The volunteers are working to make sure flyers and promotion for the different events and opportunities to assist and volunteer are highly visible and accessible.
From 10:30-11:30 a.m. Thanksgiving Day at 402 Washington Ave., the Community Holiday Fund is sponsoring a Thanksgiving Event at First United Methodist Church.
“Help us fill our holiday food boxes this year for families throughout Washington County,” the flyer for the Community Holiday Fund sponsored Food Drive states.
Donations for the food boxes may include canned goods such as sweet peas, green beans, yams, corn, cranberry sauce and turnip greens.
Other food items for the boxes may include stuffing mix, macaroni and cheese, canned icing, cake mix, brownie mix and mashed potatoes. Each box will also include a turkey.
The deadline for food box donations is Dec. 13.
The Dollar General stores in Greenville and Leland, Regions Bank locations in Greenville, Community Counseling Center/Delta Cotton Belles Office and City Hall all have “drop-boxes for the Food Drive.
The Mayor’s Youth Council will also be organizing a canned food drive and the deadline for canned food donations is Dec. 21. All donations can be dropped off at City Hall.
From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 7, a “Pack an Ambulance” Toy Drive organized by Pafford EMS will be held at Walmart and all toys collected will support the CFWC Giving Tree Project through the Community Holiday Fund.
The Community Volunteer Collaborative is accepting applications from Washington County residents who have children under 18 years of age and could benefit from holiday assistance via the Giving Tree program.
Only parents and/or legal guardians may register for their child or children and are asked to bring original birth certificates and social security cards for each child to be registered plus proof of income for the household for qualification purposes.
The staff at CFWC said they are grateful to the staff and volunteers with Families First of Mississippi for their coordination of the application process.
For more information about the application process, contact Contact Cynthia Hines, Regional Director, at 601-918-8634.
Online donations can be made at the Foundation’s secure website, cfwashco.org, or by mailing a contribution to the Community Foundation of Washington, P.O. Box 5910, Greenville, MS 38704. All donations to the Community Foundation of Washington County need to have “Community Holiday Fund” in the memo line.
The CFWC is also encouraging those who wish to volunteer for any of the events to register on the Delta Volunteer Hub’s platform, which is also under the CFCW’s umbrella, at deltavolunteerhub.galaxydigital.com/ or contact them at 662-378-3141.
In addition, all of the events and projects are being promoted on the CFWC’s Facebook page at facebook.com/Cfwashco/ and the Delta Volunteer Hub’s Facebook page at facebook.com/deltavolunteerhub/?modal=admin_todo_tour.
