Friday, October 02, 2009
Charities gear up for winter
Have you heard?
JoAnne Poindexter
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Two Roanoke Valley charitable organizations are gearing up to help people who need assistance during the winter and holiday season.
The Salvation Army is accepting applications from anyone experiencing financial hardship and needing help with food, clothing and children's toys this Christmas. Applications will be taken at the Salvation Army Community Center, 724 Dale Ave. S.E., on Sundays at 2 p.m. and on Mondays and Tuesdays at 9 a.m. through Oct. 27.
Angel tree recipients will be selected from the applications, and their wishes will be displayed throughout the Roanoke Valley during the holiday season. The application process also identifies families who need Christmas food boxes and other assistance, said Tricia Musslewhite, the agency's development director.
Applicants must bring the following items: a picture ID, Social Security cards for everyone in the household, birth certificates for children ages 12 and under, proof of income and expenses, children's ages and clothing sizes, and a letter explaining why they need help.
For more information, call 966-7260 or visit www.salvation armyroanokeva.org.
For the third consecutive year, the Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank will look to stock its shelves with food collected during the fall Craftsmen's Classic Arts and Crafts Festival, Oct. 9-11 at the Roanoke Civic Center.
The show is free, but sponsors are asking visitors to bring nonperishable items for the food bank in Salem.
The craft show is one of the top three food drives that benefit the food bank, said Jeremy Butterfield, communications and public relations coordinator for the food bank.
"It's a great show and a great opportunity for us," Butterfield said. Visitors brought close to 24,000 pounds of food to the crafts show last year, he said.
That equates, on average, to 18,750 meals, Butterfield said.
And, Butterfield said, 24,000 pounds is "just slightly less than what the Food Bank will distribute in one week's time. We distributed 13.6 million pounds last year."
The need to help feed the hungry is even greater this year, according to Pamela Irvine, president and CEO of the food bank. "Our partner agencies all report an increase in demand for food assistance."
Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank channels food through a network of more than 340 partner feeding programs in a 26-county and nine-city region.
The Craftsmen's Fall Classic will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 9 and 10, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 11.
For more information on the arts and crafts festival, visit www.craftshow.com.
For more information about the food bank, visit www.swvafoodbank.org.
