Ouachita’s Elrod Center for Family and Community will sponsor its 11th annual Thanksgiving Baskets Drive this week. The drive will collect food items needed for a Thanksgiving dinner and donate the items in boxes to families in need within the Arkadelphia community.
Non-perishable food donations (canned items and boxed/packaged items) for the drive were accepted through yesterday, though the Elrod Center has extended the deadline for donations. Donations of baked goods can be dropped off at the Elrod Center or Sodexo’s offices in the Ouachita Commons by 9 a.m. on Monday, November 21, as well as donations for turkeys. Money for turkey donations can be sent to OBU Box 3790. Volunteers may help assemble the baskets at the Elrod Center today and tomorrow.
Baskets will be delivered to families on Monday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Individuals, friend groups, organizations and sports teams are invited to help deliver the baskets. Volunteers may come to the Elrod Center at 3 p.m. on Monday and will be assigned a basket to deliver. Approximately 100 volunteers are needed in the donation and delivery process each year.
“I encourage anyone who has not delivered a basket before to take an hour and do it this year. You hear about poverty in our city, but sometimes it is good to see it up close to understand the need and also be aware of the people that need help,” said Judy Duvall, assistant director for the Elrod Center.
The Elrod Center works closely with Lighthouse Ministries and area school counselors to find families in the community who may benefit from receiving the food. Families that receive the baskets are encouraged to turn around and do the same thing for other families in need once they are able to do so.
“If the volunteers feel comfortable doing so, we encourage them to ask the families if they have prayer needs that they would like to share,” Duvall said. “We always take the time to pray for them, and at times we will follow up with specific needs.”
The drive was started in 2006 as an effort to provide support to families in the community that were struggling to provide, and in its first year, the Elrod Center was able to provide 30 families with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, complete with a turkey and all items needed to complete the meal.
“It is just one meal at Thanksgiving, and it doesn’t come with the promise of a job or more food, but sometimes one holiday meal is a good start towards giving families hope for the future. The food is also a reminder to these families that they are not forgotten and that there are people in the community who genuinely care,” Duvall said.
For more information on how to volunteer, contact Judy Duvall at duvallj@obu.edu.
– By Katie Kemp, News Editor
