Donate turkeys and hams this holiday season
Help locals in need celebrate Thanksgiving by donating a frozen turkey or ham. Donations can be dropped off at Community Services, located at 322 Main Street in Tarkio, from now until Thanksgiving Day.
RPMA Adopt-A-Family and Adopt-An-Elder programs
The Rock Port Ministerial Alliance is sponsoring the Adopt-A-Family program again this year. The program helps people who are struggling financially with gifts and food for Christmas. You are able to adopt an entire family or a single child. There are opportunities to provide clothing, toys, and food. Each elder will receive a food basket. Participants must be 60 years of age or older.
If you would like to adopt a family or an elder, email rpma@rpt.coop or call Rebecca at 660-253-3535.
Tarkio/Westboro Ministerial Alliance hosting Adopt-a-Child program
The Tarkio/Westboro Ministerial Alliance is hosting its annual Adopt-a-Child program for families who have found themselves in a situation that hinders them from providing for Christmas. If you, your family, church, or organization would like to adopt a child, call Joan at 660-253-0087 or email her at mamachic@tarkio.net. Drop-off dates are Monday and Tuesday, December 15 and 16, from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Good News Church in Tarkio.
Adopt-A-Senior for Christmas
The Tarkio Nutrition Center has launched their Adopt-a-Senior project. This initiative is designed to support homebound seniors in our community by providing them with warm meals and small gifts during this joyous season. With a donation of just $50, you can help ensure a senior receives meals for an entire month. Your generous contributions will make a significant difference in the lives of those who may otherwise spend the holidays alone.
To support this program, you can send a donation in any amount to the Tarkio Nutrition Center, 412 Main Street, Tarkio, MO 64491. For more information, call 660-736-5725 or email tarkionutritioncenter@tarkio.net.
Operation Christmas Child
The Fairfax Baptist Church is a collection point for Northwest Missouri churches and organizations (and for any churches or organizations in surrounding areas). The collection site will be the Fairfax Baptist Church, 604 Angell Street, Fairfax. The remainder of the schedule will be as follows: Thursday, November 20, 4:00-6:00 p.m.; Friday, November 21, 3:00 to 7:00 p.m.; Saturday, November 22, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.; Sunday, November 23, 1:30-3:30 p.m.; and Monday, November 24, 8:30-9:30 a.m.
The Fairfax Baptist Church will be preparing Operation Christmas boxes for shipping on Sunday, November 23. A pizza lunch will be provided at 12:00 noon. OCC shoe boxes that have been collected will be packed into shipping cartons and loaded onto a trailer. All congregants of churches located in and around Fairfax, God Squad kids, Root Group youth, and anyone in the Fairfax community is invited to lunch and then help with the packing.
If you can’t make a regular scheduled delivery time, call Deb Johnson at 660-253-0143 to schedule a time for delivery.
If you would like to help Fairfax Baptist Church and the Northwest Missouri region meet their shoebox goals, you can pack an Operation Christmas Shoebox online.
Go to samaritanspurse.org/occ and select “Pack A Shoebox,” then select “Build A Shoebox Online.” Scroll down to a box titled “Search For A Goal Page” and click on this box. Enter 64446 into the search field and hit the green search button. You should now be at a page where you can click on the Fairfax (Mo./) Baptist Church as a choice where you click on “Go To Goal Page.” Click on that button. Click on the green button “Build A Shoebox Online Now.” After that, just follow the prompts to pack your shoebox.
Pray over your gift before you send it.
Beta Gals sponsor diaper drive
The Rock Port Beta Gals are holding their annual diaper drive benefiting Atchison County families in need of diapers and other baby items. The collection will run from November 15 through December 6.
Donations may be dropped off at Citizens Bank & Trust, Burlap & Bows, JumpStart Nutrition, and Stoner Drug in Rock Port. Monetary donations can be given to any Beta Gals member as well.
The Salvation Army, ringing in hope this Christmas season
Submitted by Monica Bailey, Board Member
I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty intentional about how I give of my time and money. I have trusted Salvation Army as an organization and a service for many years. Motivated by a love of God and others, this national 501(c)3 nonprofit is known for spending as little as possible on administrative costs, and as much as possible on local needs, including food assistance, emergency rent and utility assistance, youth and senior programs, eyeglasses, wheelchair repair, dental work, and more. Over the years, we’ve helped medical patients with fuel to get back and forth to treatments, paid for milk and lunches at school, purchased a tire for someone to be able to travel to work and keep his job, supplied backpacks for the Atchison County back to school fair, and bought personal hygiene products for students.
An amazing 84% of what is donated locally stays in Atchison County, and even more in the event of a disaster such as a flood. Most of Atchison County Salvation Army’s annual fundraising happens in December, when bell ringers and red kettles are out in abundance. You can help support our local Salvation Army (and spread holiday cheer!) in many ways this month.
Ring the bell (or donate!) in Fairfax on Friday, December 5.
Ring the bell (or donate!) in Tarkio on Saturday, December 6.
Ring the bell (or donate!) in Rock Port on Friday, December 19, or Saturday, December 20.
(Contact the respective community members below if you are interested in ringing!)
Tax deductible donations may be sent to:
• Atchison County Salvation Army, 218 S. Maple Street, Tarkio, MO 64491 (envelopes will be included in an upcoming issue of Atchison County Mail)
• Janene McEnaney, 101 N 12th St, Tarkio, MO 64491; 660-623-0557
• Bob Alldredge, PO Box 45, Fairfax, MO 64446; 660-686-0206
• Jim Clodfelter, 205 S Main, Rock Port, MO 64482; 660-744-5385
Please reach out to any of the following Atchison County Salvation Army board members if you have any questions: Lori Helfers, Jim Clodfelter, Sally Wehmann, Bob Alldredge, Janene McEnaney, Bill Slaughter, Chris Stevens, Tammy Grossman, Sam O’Riley, Wendy Hays, Mark Wilczek, or Monica Bailey. We would appreciate your support of Salvation Army this holiday season, so we can continue to care for our neighbors in times of need.
Shop With Holiday Heroes
Join local law enforcement in making Christmas a little merrier for local children this coming holiday season.
Shop With Holiday Heroes (formerly known as the Shop with a Cop) will select 10 students from each of the three schools in Atchison County to take Christmas shopping for themselves and their families. Each will receive a designated amount to spend before Christmas in a group outing with the officers and parents. This provides a fun filled day for children while creating positive relationships with law enforcement.
Shop With Holiday Heroes is a wonderful program that gives so much joy to children during the holiday season. Anyone wishing to donate should contact Tyson Gibbons, Tarkio Chief of Police and chairman of Shop With Holiday Heroes.
