Pandemic Possibilities
Pandemics often keep us focused on what we can’t do, but they also bring great opportunities to love our neighbors in need! There are ways you can safely help your community! Make your holiday season most meaningful by considering some of the following opportunities.
Gift Bags for Those in Need
Gift bags for those vulnerable & in need (our shut-in list, those shut-in because of quarantining, & our friends at the Clinton Towers). We need lots of help! Visit the Care Packages web page to craft a personal touch for our shut-ins: color bookmarks, decorate cards, create origami or a meaningful crochet chain from instructional videos! Drop off travel size lotion, travel sized Kleenex packets, & 12-pack coloring pencils ($1) in the Garden Room! Crafts & donations due Dec. 6th. Help also needed assembling bags, socially distanced!
Clinton Towers
http://charlessievers.com/
Christmas Caroling
Christmas Caroling & Gift Bag Delivery will be on Thursday evening Dec. 17th. We have a greater number of shut-ins this year due to the pandemic. WE NEED HELP! Singing will be spaced out with masks on lawns. Gifts will be dropped off on the porch. Contact the church office (457-9353) to sign up by December 10 if you can help.
Angel Tree Ministry
Our community is anticipating greater need for our Angel Tree Ministry. Consider “being Christmas” for a child on our Angel Tree, located in the Garden Room! Monetary donations are also accepted! Shoppers & Gift Wrappers also needed!
Thanksgiving & Christmas Food Boxes
We are raising funds for approximately 450 food boxes! We also need volunteers to assemble hospitality snack bags and donate cracker packs, granola bars, & Little Debbie treats (drop these off in the Garden Room. Earmark your monetary donations “Turkey Time”).
Clothing Ministry
Our Clothing Ministry needs volunteers to sort, organize, fold, and hang up clothing! We are also searching for a new Clothing Ministry Coordinator.
AC Isaiah House
Our community is raising funds for an AC Isaiah House, temporary housing for Foster Children, by doing lemonade stands, tshirt sales, and several other things! Contact Amanda for more info.
Isaiah House
https://isaiah117house.com/
Veterans
Veteran’s Day is Nov. 11th! Consider donating to our American Legion Post to help veterans with rent, utilities, & various needs or making “Thanks for your service” cards to pass out at their meetings (15-30 in attendance) or for the Veteran’s Nursing Home (~125 beds). Contact: Leon Jacquet, 865-556-0997. Mail donations to American Legion Post 172, P.O. Box 363, Clinton, TN 37717.
Veterans
https://centennial.legion.org/tennessee/post0172
https://www.anderson-county.com/mayor/veterans/
Homelessness
The pandemic has created greater needs for the homeless—we’re struggling to keep all our children, sick, and disabled living indoors. Consider donating funds, tents & sleeping bags, or Food City or Kroger gas gift cards ($10 each) to help those living in cars idle longer for warmth. Donations to AC TORCH.
Homelessness
https://oakridgetorch.org/
Nursing Homes
Residents & staffs of nursing homes are under quarantine strain with residents separated from their loved ones and support systems. Consider these ways of supporting The Waters of Clinton: making cards, filling bird feeders, decorating the outsides of residents’ windows, putting together memory boxes, organizing a decorated car parade with signs, sponsoring monthly b-day parties, etc. They are also collecting the following items: birdseed, adult coloring books, coloring pencils, jumbo size word searches, snacks, dollar store bingo prizes (seasonal décor, personal cups w/ lids, individual lotions & body washes, etc.). Contact Amanda for more info.
Nursing Homes
http://www.watersofclinton.com/
Caregivers
November is National Caregivers Month! It takes a special kind of person to be a caregiver! Caregiving is one of the hardest jobs there is, yet these folks are sooooo special, needed, and under-appreciated. Caregiving for family members with special needs is especially straining during times of quarantine, when schedules are off, proximities are close, and stress is high. A support group is needed in our area. Take time to love the caregivers around you: Thank a caregiver! Pamper a caregiver! Give a caregiver an hour break!
Frontline Workers
Nursing home & hospital staffs are under added strain! Consider supporting the doctors, nurses, and staff at Methodist Hospital in Oak Ridge. Contact Vol. Coord. Kim Mays (865-835-4170).
Frontline Workers
https://www.mmcoakridge.com/
Refugees & Internationals
Quarantining is making area refugees feel even more estranged during this pandemic. Consider supporting Knoxville Internationals Network (with needs even in AC) by 1) being a face-to-face English language and mentoring partner 2) Have your small group adopt a refugee family for a period of one year (contacting them at least once a month)—help them assimilate, socialize, and navigate the ins & outs of daily life in America—basic support and encouragement. 3) decorate &/or deliver Christmas wreaths that KIN supplies. 4) Consider starting an ESL Class at our church!
Refugees
https://www.kin-connect.org/