Christmas is almost here and it might seem too late to make good on any intentions you had for charitable giving this year.
But there are still ways to help several local organizations that provide direct aid to many of the Hopkinsville area families hardest hit by the pandemic and the economic downturn it produced.
There are even meaningful ways to help that won’t cost you anything but a few hours of your time.
Hoptown Chronicle pulled together this list of local organizations, what they do and how you can help them.
Boys and Girls Club of Hopkinsville-Christian County
“I think feeding is the most important need in the community right now,” said Dan Kemp, a local board member for the Boys and Girls Club.
From the start of the pandemic through early December, the Boys and Girls Club served 58,300 meals and snacks, according to a new report from the organization.
Staff members delivered many of those meals to the homes of club members, said Kemp.
Safety measures forced the Boys and Girls Club to reduce its capacity at its facilities on Walnut Street, but the need to provide meals became more crucial — especially for club members whose parents lost their jobs because of the pandemic.
The club has also helped children with non-traditional instruction. During the first three months of the current school year, children completed 690 assignments at the Boys and Girls Club, according to the organization’s 2020 Impact Report.
Students pay $20 a year to be a member of the Boys and Girls Club, but the cost of providing services to one child a year is $560. To help cover the expenses, the Boys and Girls Club board launched its 21st annual fundraising effort, the Kidstock Campaign, this week.
Donations can be mailed to the Boys and Girls Club of Hopkinsville-Christian County, P.O. Box 1071, Hopkinsville, KY 42241.
Hoptown Breaking Bread Community Dinner Church
Every Thursday at the Aaron McNeil House on East Second Street, a small group of volunteers led by a Methodist minister, Donna Williams, provides a free meal for anyone who needs it.
When they started the mission in 2019, a few dozen people would come for the weekly meal and brief devotional. But in 2020, the gathering grew even as the volunteers had to shift to serving to-go meals.
At Thanksgiving, the Dinner Church served 320 people, Williams said.
For Christmas Eve, they are planning a pork roast dinner for 250 people, and many of them will receive a gift of a winter hat and gloves. Williams is also hoping to provide small toys for children.
The group relies on local donors to cover part of the expense for food. Contributions can be sent to Saint John United Methodist Church, 2802 S. Virginia St., Hopkinsville, KY 42240. Donors should note “Dinner Church” in the check memo line.
Salvation Army
One of the major funding sources for Hopkinsville’s Salvation Army is the red kettle campaign at Christmas. As in other communities, the coins and dollar bills that shoppers drop in the red kettles help pay for assistance throughout the year. In Hopkinsville, that includes the soup kitchen and the overnight shelter.
But the pandemic has slashed red kettle donations. There are several reasons, according to Salvation Army USA. People are carrying less cash and more of them are shopping online, so they never even pass a kettle. Unemployment and store closures are also factors.
There are also fewer people volunteering to ring a bell at a Salvation Army kettle, said Alisa Barton, social services director for the Hopkinsville Salvation Army. They need volunteers to call 270-885-9633 and take a two-hour time slot. It’s not too late. The kettles will be out through Christmas Eve.
If you haven’t given at a red kettle this year and want to pitch in, you can send a donation to The Salvation Army of Hopkinsville, 301 E. Seventh St., Hopkinsville, KY 42240.
Aaron McNeil House
Around 7 a.m. on the second Saturday of every month, a truck carrying food commodities for several hundred families arrives at the Western Kentucky State Fairgrounds. Volunteers jump in and start separating the foods into boxes for the families. The work needs to go quickly because a long car line starts moving at 8 a.m., when people pass through for the commodities.
Feeding America provides most of the food, and the cost of transportation is covered by Aaron McNeil House, the local agency that oversees the monthly commodity distribution.
During the pandemic, more people have come for help, said Tamara Hunter, an administrative assistant for Aaron McNeil.
“The number has steadily increased,” she said.
For the next distribution in January, Aaron McNeil is ordering food for 850, up from 800 this month.
One way to help is to volunteer on commodity day by calling Aaron McNeil at 270-886-3784.
“We need groups,” Hunter said.
Aaron McNeil also operates a food pantry at its East Second Street offices and provides crisis relief for help with rent and utility payments on a limited basis.
Donations can be sent to Aaron McNeil House, 604 E. Second St., Hopkinsville, KY 42240.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
