Lending a Helping Hand

Volunteers bring toys and other gifts to last year’s Cobb Christmas Stuff-A-Bus.

Lend a Helping Hand

Many of our friends and neighbors struggle financially every day, and the holiday season is especially difficult. Here’s a list of local nonprofits working to make sure everyone has a great holiday season. Please do what you can to help, whether it’s donating money or time. While you’re at it, consider bringing a basket of homemade goodies, fresh fruit or colorful flowers to show your appreciation for the staff and volunteers at these nonprofits. Acworth Police Department Christmas Shoppe

www.acworthpolice.org

Every year, the Acworth Police Department invites parents in need to come and select holiday gifts for their children at the station’s Christmas Shoppe. The community can assist the Christmas Shoppe by donating new, unwrapped toys and clothes for school-age children. Donations can be dropped off at the police department anytime before Dec. 15. 770-974-1232, ext. 1145. The Center for Family Resources

https://thecfr.org/thanks-for-giving

The center has a goal of providing 1,000 boxes of food for local families for Thanksgiving week. Register to be a Smart Stuffer Packing Partner; each box costs $65-$75 and contains traditional holiday foods as well as staples such as cereal, peanut butter and jelly, pasta and beans. Another option is to become a Thanks for Giving 2022 sponsor, which helps underwrite the costs of the holiday campaign, as well as providing gift cards. 770-428-2601.

Cobb Christmas Stuff-A-Bus

www.cobbchristmas.net/stuff-a-bus

Help the Stuff-A-Bus program brighten the holidays for local children in need by donating new toys, food or monetary contributions to Cobb Christmas, a nonprofit, nondenominational organization that helps low-income families during the holidays. It is 100% run by volunteers, so all donations go directly to help the community. Cobb Christmas provides a minimum of three age-appropriate toys to each child, ages 3-13. Families go through a qualification process. Check the website to find a donation location near you or drop off donations 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 13-15 at IAM Lodge 709 (1032 S. Marietta Parkway, Marietta).

Cobb Senior Services

www.cobbcounty.org

Brighten the holidays for senior clients who won’t receive gifts or visits from family during the season through Santa’s Elves for Seniors 2022. Ways to help include: • Be a Santa’s Elf. Purchase items from a local senior’s wish list, and drop them off at the senior services office by Nov. 18. • Donate gift cards. Cards for Kroger, Publix,

Walmart and Target allow seniors to purchase muchneeded items and should be dropped off by Nov. 18. • Make a monetary donation. Donate funds at https://bit.ly/3SCii9i.

For more information or to receive a wish list, contact Andrea Rapowitz at andrea.rapowitz@cobbcounty.org or 770-528-1445.

Encompass Ministries

https://encompassministriesinc.org

Encompass Ministries and its food pantry offer yearround food and stability, as well as life-skills training assistance. Special holiday needs: donations of turkeys, ham and nonperishable food items. A list of the Top 10 food needs is kept up-to-date on the website. Taxdeductible donations also are accepted on the website. For more details, call 770-591-4730.

Family Promise Cobb County

www.family promise cobb county.org

Family Promise serves housing-insecure families with children by providing shelter through community faith partnerships. While the family has shelter, the day center staff stays busy working to help the adults find jobs, learn budgeting and connect with benefits and services that will help them. Donations of gas cards and Walmart, Publix, Kroger or Target gift cards are requested to help the families being served. Donations of new bed pillows, laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, paper towels and toilet paper always are needed.

Goshen Valley Foundation

www.goshenvalley.org

Goshen Valley Boys Ranch attempts to provide a memorable Christmas experience for foster children, with the community’s help. This includes building traditions, talking about the true meaning of Christmas, as well as fulfilling young people’s wants and needs through giftgiving, to teach them that they are loved. With 42 kids to purchase gifts for, Goshen Valley relies on the generosity of the community to fulfill these wishes. A list of gifts has been compiled on Amazon through a charity wish list. For details, visit http://goshenwishlist. org, email Executive Director Stacy Cooper at scooper@goshenvalley.org or call 770-796-4618 for a clickable link to view gifts the boys have requested. The Hope Box

www.thehopebox.org/donate

The Hope Box, a nonprofit dedicated to rescuing abandoned babies and toddlers, needs donations via gift cards for Walmart and Target to cover the costs of car seats and other needs of mothers and infants in crisis. Mail gift cards to 3330 Cobb Parkway, Suite 324-180, Acworth, GA 30101. For more information, call 770-765-6301.

Jerry Worthan Memorial Christmas Fund

www.facebook.com/KennPD

Each year, Kennesaw Police Department hosts the Jerry Worthan Memorial Christmas Fund, which ensures Kennesaw children don’t go without Christmas gifts. The KPD is accepting monetary and toy donations. Drop off all donations at the police department by Dec. 14. To adopt a family for Christmas, contact KPD_PIO@ kennesaw-ga.gov or 770-429-4532.

KSU CARE Services

http://care.kennesaw.edu

The Campus Awareness, Resource & Empowerment (CARE) Services office offers program support to students who are experiencing homelessness, food insecurity and/or the foster care system. Monetary donations to the fund can make a huge difference in the lives of students and their academic careers. There is an online shopping gift list for granting holiday wishes to students within this special population. For details, contact CARE Services at careservices@kennesaw.edu or 470-KSU-5260 or check out the website at care.kennesaw.edu.

MUST Ministries

www.mustministries.org

The MUST Ministries Thanksgiving Food Box Program long has been a source of help and hope to those living in poverty. To help your neighbors in need, MUST is collecting donations of canned green beans, corn, cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes. Also requested are boxes or packets of mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, cornbread stuffing and gravy mixes (no glass, please). Monetary donations for turkeys and frozen pies are the most helpful. The Donation Center can accept donations of nonperishable items Tuesdays-Saturdays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., at the MUST Ministries Donation Center at 1280 Field Parkway, Marietta. For more information, email Tom Tapp at ttapp@mustministries.org.

Never Alone

www.neveralone.org

The food pantry is seeking partners to help fight hunger in our community. The pantry provides more than 126,100 meals to approximately 800 households each month. Never Alone’s partnership with the Atlanta Community Food Bank allows it to purchase food at greatly discounted prices. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation online at www.neveralone.org or by check, made payable to and mailed to: Never Alone Outreach, P.O. Box 1904, Woodstock, GA 30188.

North Georgia Angel House

www.angelhousega.com

The organization has served girls since 2006 by providing shelter, life skills, job readiness services, family support and more for up to 40 females at a time. Current needs include: MP3 players, earbuds, gift cards for clothing or activities in the area and journals. Visit the website to donate, or shop on Amazon Smile and select North Georgia Angel House Inc. as your charity to support.

NorthStar Church Bags of Kindness

https://northstarchurch.org

The NorthStar Church November Big Give is the annual Bags of Kindness giveaway. Pick up a NorthStar grocery bag through Nov. 10 at the church, then fill it with the items on the shopping list inside the bag. Return bags to NorthStar Church Nov. 13, 9 a.m.-noon. The bags, filled with items needed for a Thanksgiving meal, will be given to families in need, referred by local school social workers. Visit http:// northstarchurch.org/biggive to download the shopping list. Operation Christmas Child

www.samaritanspurse.org

Representatives will be collecting donations of filled shoeboxes Nov. 14-21. Check the website for updates on locations in the area that will be accepting shoeboxes, including RiverStone Church and Ellison & Ellison Co. in Kennesaw, and for directions on donating or filling a virtual shoebox.

Simple Needs GA

www.simpleneedsga.org

The Spirit of Christmas program helps school- and agency-referred families who are getting close to Christmas and were unable to register for other local programs earlier in the year. Volunteer opportunities include buying requested presents, wrapping gifts, making deliveries, sorting and organizing, and more. For more information, email brenda@simpleneedsga.org.

Toys for Tots www.toysfortots.org

Toys for Tots is a national program started by the Marine Corps. Toys for Tots collects new, unwrapped toys year-round to distribute to children in need during the holiday season as a way of spreading joy to the less fortunate. Visit the website for an updated list of collection sites in Acworth and Kennesaw.

A volunteer serves desserts during Thanksgiving dinner at MUST Ministries.