With the holiday gifting season officially underway, Giving Tuesday provides a chance to press pause on shopping and offer some help to local nonprofit organizations.
Cancer Perks
Cancer Perks helps provide simple, practical needs to people with cancer at Bothwell Regional Health Center, Fitzgibbon Hospital and Western Missouri Medical Center. Help includes gas mileage reimbursements for people traveling for radiation treatments, resources for people who need to get their lawns mowed, small bills paid or meals provided, and care packages for people undergoing chemotherapy or radiation.
Cancer Perks is hosting its annual Virtual Angel Tree on Facebook as part of its 12 Needs of Christmas campaign. Cancer Perks founder Whitney Cromley said the organization is “in desperate need of everything that goes in the perks bags.” Visit facebook.com/CancerPerks to learn more.
The nonprofit also provides Christmas dinners to all patients receiving chemo on Christmas Eve at all three cancer centers, and donations are needed.
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army in Sedalia is asking for donations to help provide a Christmas ham dinner to families in need in Pettis County. Any monetary donations would be used to purchase food for Christmas.
For more information, contact 660-826-1525.
Child Safe of Central Missouri
Executive Director Mari Asbury said the Child Safe staff decided to go a different route this year for Giving Tuesday since it is one week after the annual Dessert Auction. Every hour on the hour, Child Safe will be recognizing a hero on its Facebook page. As an organization, the staff has decided to do some random acts of kindness in the community that day.
Asbury said Child Safe can always use donations of new blankets, gas cards, and food cards for the families they serve.
For more information, visit www.childsafehouse.org or contact 660-829-3434 or info@childsafehouse.org.
Pettis County Community Partnership
Director of Housing Chessa Dixon said PCCP is in dire need of all things to keep people warm, especially for unhoused community members. That includes items such as coats, hats, gloves, hot hands, scarves, socks, emergency mylar blankets, and sleeping bags.
Items like toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo, deodorant, razors, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and conditioner are needed for the Community Closet.
PCCP is also hosting a T-shirt fundraiser since November is Homelessness Awareness Month. Shirts can be purchased at sweetboonedesigns.com/collections/fundraiser.
For more information, visit www.pettiscountycommunitypartnership.com or call 660-827-0560.
Open Door
The Open Door organization offers many types of assistance for Pettis County residents. The Service Center helps with clothing vouchers, prescription costs, heat assistance, transportation to safe shelters, and other basic human needs. An average of 2,225 individuals eat each month at the kitchen and the food pantry serves about 120 families daily.
During the holiday season, Open Door needs monetary donations, plus items like shelf-stable foods, meat and produce, coats and gloves. Donations are also needed at the Thrift Shop, which sells items to raise money for Open Door’s services.
Open Door Service Center has set a goal of raising $2,500 in 24 hours for Giving Tuesday. People can donate at www.opendoorservicecenter.org/donate-today. When making a Giving Tuesday donation, donors are invited to join the GEM Treasure Club by setting up recurring donations, which help Open Door with stability by giving predictable cash flows.
For more information, visit opendoorservicecenter.org or call 660-827-1613.
Birthday Blessings
Birthday Blessings, a nonprofit that provides resources to foster kids in Pettis and Cooper counties, will have a Thanksgiving Donor Match campaign. The event is sponsored by Vickie Witthaus, of Hannibal, who will match up to $10,500 in total donations.
The charity partners with Children’s Divisions and other agencies to support kids in care. Their programs target the physical and emotional needs of the children. Meeting a child’s basic needs allows them to focus on important tasks like getting an education or improving social skills.
Executive Director Shannon VonAllmen said the nonprofit is seeing higher operating costs due to inflation and increased service requests.
Locally, the organization has a volunteer group that meets monthly at LifePointe Church in Sedalia. Volunteers prep birthday parties and other resources for delivery to kids in care.
Donations can be made at www.birthday-blessings.org or by mailing checks to Birthday Blessings, 429 Aid Ave., West Plains, MO 65775. Checks postmarked during the event or with “Thanksgiving Match” written in the memo line will be counted. For more information, call 417-372-5306.
CASA
CASA is inviting CASA supporters to provide items CASA is always in need of for the shelter. Those items include toilet paper, paper towels, bath towels and washcloths, paper plates and cutlery, pillows, shampoo and conditioner, new hair brushes, elastic hair ties, cleaning supplies, trash bags, dish soap and aluminum foil.
As a thank-you, CASA will give empowerment necklaces to every individual who donates supplies or a $20 donation through www.casa-sedalia.org/donate. The donor can also give this necklace to a friend or loved one or elect to have CASA gift their necklace to a domestic or sexual abuse survivor.
Any donations of $100 or more are eligible for a 70% tax credit on your Missouri taxes.
Donations can be made in person or through the CASA website, Amazon Smile, or Walmart list.
For more information, visit casa-sedalia.org or visit the CASA Facebook page.
WILS
In honor of WILS’ 25th anniversary, the organization is asking for $25 donations to help build more ramps.
Many people in WILS’ six-county service area often find themselves trapped in a home that has become inaccessible as their mobility needs change. The average ADA ramp construction costs $1,851 and takes over 10 man hours to build. Donations will allow more people to access their yards and community safely.
Since 1997, WILS has served people with disabilities in Benton, Henry, Johnson, Lafayette, Pettis and Saline counties. WILS offers resources and programs to empower people with disabilities to achieve and maintain independence at home and in the community.
To donate, visit http://bit.ly/3GTe0rh or http://bit.ly/3OJdQVq.
Recovery Lighthouse
Recovery Lighthouse helps individuals and families find and sustain recovery from substance use disorders by providing quality services in a safe and supportive environment, collaborating with community partners, and engaging in advocacy.
All donations will help provide clients with necessities to help them get back on their feet. Items needed include gloves, hats, backpacks, socks, towels, hygiene products, blankets, pillows, coats, phone cards, gas cards/vouchers, bikes, nonperishable food items, Sedalia bus passes, and tents.
For more information, contact the Warrensburg office at 660-429-2222 or the Sedalia office at 660-827-4357.
Sacred Heart School
The Sacred Heart School Foundation was established in 1979 with the mission of generating financial support for the sustainability of Sacred Heart School. The foundation’s single largest fundraising effort, the 2022 Annual Fund Drive, is still underway.
Gifts to the Annual Fund support many aspects of the school, including student scholarships for more than 90% of families who seek tuition assistance; faculty recruitment and retention through fair and competitive salaries; and facilities and resources by addressing immediate needs and future capital improvements to keep the 140-year-old campus healthy and vibrant.
Donors who make a gift in any amount will be honored on the SHS website, in a future publication of From the Heart magazine and e-blast, and in a parish bulletin. Give online at p2p.onecause.com/2022-shsgogremlins.
Bothwell Foundation
The Bothwell Foundation is seeking donations for its campaign to raise money for a K9 officer, a highly-trained dog who will be a member of Bothwell's Security team.
In 2021, there were 14,357 calls made to the Bothwell Security team that included 309 impairments from drugs or alcohol, 42 assaults, 29 use-of-force incidents, 102 combative patients, and 64 weapon seizures. On average, law enforcement was called two times a month for assistance with these calls.
A K9 security dog will increase a sense of safety for patients, visitors and staff and be used in de-escalation techniques to reduce use-of-force incidents. To donate, visit brhc.org/donate or contact the Bothwell Foundation at 660-829-7786 or LThiel@brhc.org.
Retrieving Freedom
Retrieving Freedom is a nonprofit dedicated to training service dogs to help people, with a primary focus on training dogs to serve the needs of veterans and children with autism.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, roughly 30,000 veterans have died by suicide. This Giving Tuesday, Optum Serve has teamed up with Retrieving Freedom to help prevent another veteran from becoming part of this statistic. Optum Serve will match donations up to $5,000. These funds will be used to provide one Final Placement Sponsorship to a veteran in need of a service dog.
To donate, visit http://bit.ly/3U0LZRR or text GIVE to 319-349-2521. For more information, visit www.retrievingfreedom.org.
Show-Me Christian Youth Home
This Christmas season, the Show-Me Christian Youth Home needs stocking stuffers such as $5 and $10 gift cards, which serve as rewards at home and incentives for school; family games, such as board games and cards, to build relationships; passes or gift cards for families to use for movies, bowling, music, sports or performing arts events; and gift cards for groceries, home improvements and other family needs.
A list of specific items for the children and families living at Show-Me’s 13 homes can be found on its Amazon Wish List, http://bit.ly/3i8qx01, or on the latest needs list at ShowMeHelpingKids.com.
For more information, call 660-347-5982.
Boys & Girls Clubs of West Central Missouri
Supporters of the Boys & Girls Clubs of West Central Missouri can make a donation to the Whatever It Takes Campaign, which raises funds for literally whatever it takes for local kids to succeed. Just $10 can cover a year's membership for one child.
For more information or to donate, visit bgckids.com.
Center for Human Services
Donations to the Center for Human Services will support its programs and services that help individuals develop their skills to overcome physical, mental, and financial challenges in nearly 50 counties in Missouri. CHS does this by providing resources and services for child care and education, jobs, therapy, housing, counseling and socialization. This helps them live, work, learn, connect and thrive beyond limitations.
For more information or to donate, visit chs-mo.org/givingtuesday.
Missouri State Fair Foundation
The Missouri State Fair Foundation is seeking donations to aid in the expansion of the recently purchased land just west of the Missouri State Fairgrounds along with funding opportunities for its First-Time Exhibitor Grant program, expansion of the Read to Win Program, and Youth in Agriculture Scholarships, along with general maintenance projects on our historic grounds.
The mission of the Missouri State Fair Foundation is to cultivate the future of agriculture through innovative initiatives to advance the Missouri State Fair.
For more information or to donate, visit mostatefairfoundation.net.
Girl Scouts
Girl Scouts of the Missouri Heartland is seeking donations to support girls as they gain the tools they need to solve the problems they care about with bold solutions that only they can think up. Donors’ support amplifies girls’ abilities to improve the world, regardless of their backgrounds, where they live, or their financial situations.
For more information or to donate, visit https://bit.ly/3tRjrzv.
