BillLindau

Pack the Pickup for Sandhills/Moore Coalition; Vehicle on hand for food for low-income families

From The Moore County Independent, Dec. 7, 2006
photos unable to be posted
BILL LINDAU
SPECIAL TO THE INDEPENDENT
The Sandhills/Moore Coalition for Human Care Inc. and a local auto dealer are challenging holiday shoppers to see how much food they can pack a truck with.
Since Wednesday, Nov. 29, the Coalition, with a truck provided by Bill Smith Ford, has conducted the Pack the Pickup campaign, a holiday food drive for low-income families in the Sandhills.
The brand-new vehicle sat outside the Southern Pines Wal-Mart this weekend, waiting for its bed to be filled. Coalition volunteers accepted donations of food and a few toys, and handed out flyers about the Pack the Pickup event. The donations went to the Coalition's food pantry on West Pennsylvania Avenue, to be distributed to needy families.
The drive has continued through this week, with the truck parked at another local site, said Caroline Eddy, executive director for the Coalition. The Bill Smith Ford dealership, located on Old U.S. 1, is also one of the collection sites.
The volunteers at Wal-Mart worked in two-hour shifts during the weekdays, 10 a.m. to noon, then noon to 2 p.m., later in the afternoon on the weekend.
Eddy said the Coalition did not have to look too far for volunteers to staff the collection site at Wal-Mart. The Coalition is also holding its annual toy giveaway and a drive for clothing for needy families, she said.
"They were great to volunteer so quickly," Eddy said of the people staffing the Pack the Pickup site.
Eddy said shoppers can donate toys to the Pack the Pickup event if they want to, "and that helps a lot of people."
There were 10 slots available for volunteers at the Wal-Mart site last week, and within a day and a morning they were all taken, Eddy said.
"We found out on Monday (Nov. 27) they (Wal-Mart) were going to let us do it," Eddy said. I didn't get the e-mail out until 11:30 that morning, but by 5 o'clock all the slots were filled except one. Then on Tuesday, a woman called at 8 a.m. and said she wanted that last slot."
"We have the greatest group of volunteers here," she added.
"It started with Bill Smith Ford. Wal-Mart let us come this weekend, and we're looking for other places right now," Eddy told this reporter in a Nov. 30 interview. "They (the people serving as volunteers for the Coalition)
Within two days of Pack the Pickup, the Coalition reported at least 50 families being served by the event.
"So there's a lot of need going around the holiday," Eddy said.
Eddy said the Coalition's client waiting room is "jam packed", with the Coalition serving 20 to 30 low-income clients per day.
One of the Coalition's most successful charity drives took place in 2005, for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, she said. Another one, the Warmer Moore Drive, sponsored by radio station W10Z, was held at Wal-Mart, for winter clothes.
"It's just amazing the way people help others in need," Eddy said.
The Coalition is currently seeking donations of clothing, at its current office at 117 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. This building houses the food pantry and the clothing site. Eddy says the Coalition especially needs men's gloves, socks and children's winter clothing.
The Coalition reported that in 2004 and 2005 combined, $373,000 in financial assistance has been distributed, 18,000 families received food and 8,500 received clothing. In 2005, food went to 9,341 families received food; 5,151 received clothing and $190,859 in direct financial assistance was distributed.
Countless individuals, merchants and religious institutions have donated items to the Coalition, especially food, Eddy says.
"A lot of people bring it (food, clothing etc.) in whose relatives have passed."
She says the contributors will usually check the expiration date on the foodstuffs.
The annual toy giveaway usually begins two weeks before Christmas, but this year it began Friday, due to the amount of toys donated, Eddy says. She says people who are already clients of the Sandhills/Moore Coalition may receive a voucher for two toys per child.
Indeed, the Coalition has had so many donations it has had to find other places for them, especially food. A new building for client services is under construction in West Southern Pines. In October the new site was named in honor of the late Voit Gilmore, former mayor, businessman and philanthropist in Southern Pines.
The two thrift shops adjacent to the Coalition's current headquarters offer clothing, furniture, appliances and other donated goods. Individuals, merchants and other groups donated many things to the two new Habitat for Humanity houses across the street from the Coalition, Eddy says. Proceeds from sales at The Resale Shop and Ms. Hallie's Shop help meet the Coalition's costs of operation; recent proceeds included $100,000 of the $190,000 that the Coalition gave away in financial aid in 2005, Eddy said.
Some donations, such as pillows and sheets, come from area motels, Eddy says. They will change the colors and remove their logos from the donated items. One volunteer at the Coalition checks the appliances at Ms. Hallie's Place once a week, Eddy says.
At The Resale Shop, prices of clothing, small household items and some furniture start as low as 25 cents, Eddy said. She said that some area antiques dealers are among the customers at Ms. Hallie's Place.
The Resale Shop and Ms. Hallie's Place are hope Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, Eddy said.
More than 250 volunteers are listed with the Coalition. For more information, to volunteer or make a contribution, contact the Sandhills/Moore Coalition for Human Care Inc., at 910-693-1600 or e-mail coalition@pinehurst.net.

Labels: Newspaper features about Moore County

posted by Bill Lindau @ 5:19 PM