As Thanksgiving, Christmas and even New Year’s draw ever closer, it’s easy to get distracted by the shopping, decorating and what can seem like an endless amount of food prep.
Yet for all the busyness, finding time to reach out to your community can make the season sweeter than pumpkin pie. Here are a few opportunities for volunteering and donating around Logan County.
(Editor’s note: PART 2, holiday giving opportunities for December, will be included in Tuesday’s edition of the Examiner.)
November
Operation Christmas Child—The debate over whether Thanksgiving and Christmas should be kept as two separate holidays or combined into one, two-month-long super-holiday notwithstanding, we start our list with Samaritan Purse’s annual gift box drive.
This volunteer opportunity is quickly approaching its deadline. Though you can donate financially to the ministry at samaritanspurse.org anytime, the shoebox-size gifts need to be at a collection site by Monday, Nov. 25. The website offers detailed information about the boxes, including to what to pack and what not to pack.
Churches like Vineyard Christian Fellowship are taking boxes, but the main drop-off site is Calvary Baptist Church at 1140 Rush Ave., Bellefontaine. Those drop-off hours at Calvary are Nov. 18 – 22, 6 to 8 p.m.; Nov. 23, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.; Nov. 24, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and Nov. 25, 8 to 10 a.m.
It’s recommended you use one of the provided boxes, which can also be picked up at one of the aforementioned churches, or pack your items in a shoebox-sized plastic container. The latter are particularly appreciated as they can be reused.
Besides the box, participants need to include $12 for the cost of shipping. Donations to cover that cost are also appreciated.
Personal suggestion: Make a night of it! Grab friends and/or family members and take your list to a dollar or box store. You can potentially even save a little money by buying items in bulk. Once you have your purchases, gather at a predetermined location to pack the boxes while enjoying a Christmas movie, holiday cookies and your favorite hot beverage.
Indian Lake Adopt-a-Family—You can help families in need in a couple ways throughout the Indian Lake community. These programs come through Indian Lake Elementary School, The Depot in Lakeview, the Chippewa and Russells Point outreach centers and Indian Lake Community Church.
According to Tara Cascioli, who is acting as an organizer to make sure the needs of families are met, they have already adopted out 14 families, with five more requesting assistance on Friday, Nov. 15, alone.
At the same time, the elementary school and community church are working together to provide for 29 students who are being adopted by the church through the school.
One of the church organizations—Christian Women’s Fellowship—will do the shopping and put the gifts together along with a laundry basket of household items and a gift certificate for groceries at Winner’s Lakeview Market.
To adopt a family or donate financially, you can contact Cascioli at 937-935-2318 or the ILCC office during their open hours, Tuesday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 937-843-5636.
“Plenty of families are in need,” Cascioli said. “I put together a form where they can tell us what they need, children’s sizes, specific requests, things we can deliver like a Christmas tree, then we connect them with someone who has asked to do an adoption.”
The supporter doing the adoption can opt to take care of the delivery themselves or ask Cascioli to facilitate that.
Meanwhile, The Depot will set up its annual Angel Tree on Tuesday, Nov. 19. This project takes care of presents for children who are part of the two outreach centers. Drew Shick, director, puts specific gifts on tags, and supporters can then choose one (or more) and buy that item for an individual child.
Peak of Hope Shelter—This organization, which works to provide housing to those in need, has two opportunities for ministry this month.
Starting on Monday, Nov. 25, Native Coffee and The Morning Riot will collaborate on a fundraiser for the shelter’s annual Snowflake Campaign. Customers of both Bellefontaine businesses can purchase snowflakes for $10, $20 and $50, knowing 100 percent of the contributions will go toward the shelter.
A material drive will also kickoff that same day. People can drop off much-needed items throughout Bellefontaine at Native Coffee, The Morning Riot, Dollar Tree, Job and Family Services, Recovery Zone and Brewfontaine.
Suggested supplies include blankets, towels, washcloths, twin-size bedding, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, nail clippers, body wash, soap and 10-gallon totes for storage.
Bellefontaine First United Methodist Church could use help with their annual Thanksgiving meal on Thursday, Nov. 28. Dinner is served from 12 to 3 p.m., but they start prepping the day before and continue working Thursday morning. You can find sign-up sheets in the church lobby, which let you participate with cooking, serving and/or delivering meals.
Donations are also encouraged, whether you want to give financially or by providing turkeys or pies. Please call the church office at 937-592-9651 if you have any questions.
Raising Arrows Ohio is running its end-of-the-year giving campaign. You can find out more on their website, raisingarrowsoh.org.
They are also in need of wrapping paper and tape for Christmas gifts to 81 children in kinship care. Their goal is 80 rolls of each. A local Girl Scout troop had already collected and donated 24 rolls each as of Nov. 12.
“We have people lined up who are buying gifts for each of the kids,” the ministry stated, “However, we would like to do something special for each family as a whole.”
With that in mind, Raising Arrows asked kids in the program for suggestions of what they’d like to do as a family. Answers included go to the movies or bowling or play board/card games.
“If anyone would like to purchase any of these items for a family, that would be amazing!” they said.
Paper, tape and other donations can be dropped off at Union Station, Quest Community Church (110 South Street, West Liberty) or the West Liberty village office (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday from 8-4 or Wednesday from 8 to 12) or given to a Raising Arrows board member.
November donation needs for Raising Arrows Ohio:
