Sedalia organizations work to 'Make a Difference'

The donation of a coat, book or food are ways to make a difference.

Saturday is national Make a Difference Day, and organizations in Sedalia are stepping up with coat, book and food drives. Cheri Heeren, executive director of the Pettis County Community Partnership, said the idea is to help someone in some way, from giving a compliment to helping a neighbor paint their home.

Make a Difference Day is “for people to come together around their community and make things better; it’s about people helping people,” Heeren said. “We’re all so blessed, and it’s just a good chance to give thanks for that by doing something for someone else. If everybody did a little something, give in whatever way they could, it would make the world a better place.”

PCCP has participated in Make a Difference Day for about 12 years. The agency started by helping to paint, clean and weatherize people’s homes who were unable to do the work themselves.

“We’ve usually had some kind of a project and we started then working collaboratively with other places to pool it into something bigger,” Heeren said.

Members from the Missouri Valley Community Action Agency’s Circles, a support group for families trying to get out of poverty, plan to make a difference for an elderly, disabled man who is facing prosecution for property code violations. Other volunteers for the project are from PCCP and Lamine Baptist Church. The plan is to paint the home, patch the roof for winter and clean the yard, said Renee Heineman, family development specialist.

The man is also in need of windows and a new roof.

“What we are hoping is that we can get some donations of roofing materials and windows,” Heineman said.

The volunteers plan to start working at 9 a.m. at 211 E. St. Louis St. Others are welcome to volunteer as well, Heineman said. Volunteers plan to return in the spring to finish needed improvements.

Here’s a look at other Make a Difference activities:
Coat Drive
The Sedalia Democrat is collecting new or gently-used coats that will be donated to the Salvation Army and Open Door. Donations will be accepted Friday and 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. Eddie Crouch, a Democrat associate who coordinates the coat drive, said she prefers the coats be cleaned before they are donated. Elite Dry Cleaners donates dry cleaning services for coats that need it, and Democrat associates wash others as needed.

Typically, the Democrat collects 600 to 700 coats a year and has participated in the coat drive since 1996. Donations appear to be down this year.

Book Drive
The PCCP and Altrusa have organized a book and money drive for the Story Link Program. Under the program, parents who are in prison are recorded reading a book aloud. The book and cassette tape are sent to their children, who can listen to their parent reading. The books are distributed to a dozen prisons in Missouri and two in Illinois.

Ellen Dotson, PCCP Vista leader and re-entry specialist, knows the effectiveness of the program as her husband was a participant many years ago when he served nearly three years in prison. He sent tapes to their two children, who listened to the cassette “until the cassette tape broke and the storybook fell apart,” Dotson said.

“It actually does benefit them to be able to hear them read that story every night to them,” she said.

The program improves reading skills of children and the adults who are incarcerated. The parents are also less likely to re-offend after being released from prison, Heeren said.

“It benefits everyone — the child, the parent, the community,” she said. “We all benefit from that connection.”

Offenders must have at least 90 days without infractions at the prison in order to participate in the program.

Books are needed for children up to the age of 15. Monetary donations are needed to pay for postage.

Drop-off locations include Woods, 701 E. Broadway Blvd.; State Fair Community College library, 3201 W. 16th St.; K-Mart, 1400 S. Limit Ave.; Dollar General, 2003 S. Limit Ave.; and Dollar Tree, 3109 W. Broadway Blvd. PCCP is closed Friday, but books will be accepted at the agency, 515 S. Kentucky Ave., and the Sedalia Area Farmer’s Market (Main Street and Ohio Avenue) from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday.

PCCP, Sedalia Book and Toy, 3127 W. Broadway Blvd., and Boonslick Regional Library, 219 W. 3rd St. will continue to collect books for Story Link throughout November.

Food Drive
The Sedalia Business and Professional Women are sponsoring a food drive this week to benefit Open Door.

Donations of non-perishable food and paper goods will be accepted through Friday at Adecco, 3202 W. 16th St.; Trans Central Suppliers, 4701 S. Limit Ave.; and McLaughlin Bros. Furniture, 519 S. Ohio Ave. An additional drop off will be available from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Sedalia Area Farmer’s Market.

Toy and Blanket Drive
KSIS will have its annual stuffed animal and blanket drive as part of Make a Difference Day. The radio station will accept donations of any type of stuffed animals and blankets from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the station, 2209 S. Limit Ave. The items will be distributed to the Sedalia police and fire departments and Child Safe.

“We do it for the benefit of the community,” said Doug Sokolowski, program director.