OCR Text |
Show Page A14 Thursday, November 29, 1990 Park Record Project Goodwill begins "...to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven." Before you children of the '60s start singing "turn, turn, turn," between the verses here, it.is important to point out before the Byrds did the song the lyrics were penned in the Bible... Ecclesiastes to be specific. Well, this is the season of goodwill, of charity, "a time for war and a time for peace" which don't feel mutually exclusive at the moment. The holidays are upon us, and the weather outside can be be frightful and the midnights can be clear and cold. The magic of this season, the warmth of shared fellowship can seem pretty distant and downright nonexistant if you are one of the more than 2,500 people who are homeless in Salt Lake City as of this writing. But officials tell us those numbers are growing. Like some kind of social advent calender as the windows open to each new day, more and more people find themselves without shelter or clothes or enough to eat. And here in Summit County, while there are no firm numbers on the homeless, this year more than 84 families have asked for assistance in the Council of Churches Sub-for-Santa program. Those numbers are more than three times what they were just two years ago. And they are growing. grow-ing. ...."there is a time for love and a time for hate" and December traditionally has been a time for love. We don't expect goodwill feelings at Christmastime to cure the social ills that create the homeless and needy, but we think perhaps a few small gestures could go a long way to taking away the chill and the sadness, at least for a while. Editorial So, we begin Project Goodwill. For the next four weeks the Park Record will serve as a clearing house for volunteers and donations for a variety of recognized organizations who need help in reaching others this season. We will list area charities and their needs for time and donations. To make it easy to give, we will collect, at our office of-fice at 1670 Bonanza Drive in Prospector Square, blankets, coats, canned foods and toys and those items most needed by local and Salt Lake City charities, and distribute them for you. "...a time for silence and a time for talk..." And we so we offer a challenge this year, instead in-stead of asking people what they want to get for Christmas ask them what they are going to share their time? their talents? some part of their bounty? The opportunities to experience and .feel the season are many. We promise that if you choose to help serve the Christmas meal under the Fourth Street viaduct, you will be warmed by more than a garbage can fire. We guarantee that long after you have wrapped the bike for the child who otherwise other-wise would not have one, you will know joy. Efforts like these don't save the world, but they might save the season from being a little less bleak for so many people if we just reach out, right now. "...to everything there is a season..." Let's make this the season we share. SUB FOR SANTA Contact: Evelyn Richards-649-7465 All families' names are strictly held in confidence. This year 84 families have asked for assistance and while area churches have generously responded Evelyn says she has "more than 10 families" whose needs she hasn't been able to fill. These are all families in the Summit County area. This group is working with a deadline of gathering all the gifts by Dec. 9 to ensure delivery by Dec. 15. PARK CITY CHAPTER FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE Contact : Mary Ford 649-9321 Each year our local boys and girl in blue gather toys and clothes for a number of families known to them to be in need. Detective Mary Ford says the need has grown this year so greatly, 4his is the first year they feel they need help in providing for the families they are trying to help. They need donations of toys and clothing for specific ages. She can give you the age and sex of a family member to shop for. (And, of course, cash donations dona-tions are always welcome. ) CROSSROADS FOOD GIVEAWAY Contact: Jef f Fox-364-7765 On Thanksgiving, this Salt Lake City based group gave the fixings for a holiday meal to more than 800 families. They expect those numbers and more by Christmas. With support from area churches they also maintain a food bank for the needy. Their shelves are nearly bare. They need cash donations, donations of canned foods, potatoes, turkeys, baby formula, small jars of peanut butter, but-ter, can openers, and time. On Thursday Dec. 20 they need volunteers to help assemble the food baskets. On Friday Dec. 21 they need volunteers to help give away the food. As always, Jeff says they need blankets, sleeping bags and coats. "A lot of people just won't stay in the shelters, so we do the best we can to give them some way to stay warm." THE RANCH CHUCKWAGON Contact: Jennie Dudley 250-4070 hy 3W. Max :IH 1 'MY WAT JAT SALT LAKE COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM Mia i j Every Sunday for five years now, this group has served breakfast under the Fourth Street Viaduct near Pioneer Park. Last Sunday-Jennieeid they served more than 600 people. On Christmas day, volunteers will cook and serve "whatever food the Lord provides." For five years Jennie has counted on donations of food, plates and propane. She says she never knows what will show up, and has never been disappointed. She, too, says blankets, coats, socks and mittens are extremely needed. "And hygiene kits razors, soap, deodorant, wash rags, tampax in zip lock little bags showed up last year and those were very well received." Jennie expects more than 800 people will show up from 8:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. Christmas Day. ContacfcCafhy'HcsKhis 359-2444 ..1 0.' . ; Serving a Variety of needy people in the Salt Lake Valley, this group gave away more than 500 turkeys on Thanksgiving Day. They run a series of food pantries? and need staples canned juices and meats, Ramen noodles, instant foods, can openers, hygiene kits, and baby formula. They also need help. They need volunteers to work Mon-Fri Mon-Fri from 9-4 to help with the holiday programs for their food pantries. And they need money. Besides just filling the? shelves, they have a prescription fund to buy, on a one-time basis, needed medicine for those who cannot pay. On Dec. 19 and 20 they will be giving away their food baskets, and they need help putting them together and distributing themThey, too, say sleeping Bags, blankets, and coats are desperately needed. In addition they try to serve more than 300 families with new toys. SALVATION ARMY Contact : Ma jor 322-1253 Every day this group serves dinner to jnore than 400 people. They need help preparing and serving the meals. In addition they deliver meals to shut-ins shut-ins over 500 senior citizens received a Thanksgiving dinner from this group this year. They need volunteers, money, crafts and gifts to distribute during the holidays..."but we do this year 'round." Did we miss a charity you are aware of? Just call us and we will list them in next week's paper, In the meantime, if you, or someone you know, are in need of assistance this holiday season, you can either call Evelyn Richards at 649-7465 or leave your number and first name with any staff member at the Park Record and we will forward your request. V V Z J Do you think George Bush should be able to commit troops to war based on a United Nations resolution without congressional approval? . v. ? -. ' j U " -J r V v c -JIA V j . f : v i '1 rT7Z- 1 Ml f 1 v ri.:n i sunn real estate sales Jeffrey Parker waiter The makeup of our con- I think George Bush "should stitution says he needs con- be i gressional approval. Government Govern-ment is supposed to be run by a group of people, not just oneperson. Craig Martin Chris Conville butcher, baker, sanwich burger flipper maker No, I don't think that deci- No. I'd rather spend the sion should be made by one winter skiing than shooting man. We need more heads on people in the sand. such an important decision. Denis Orton bartender No. BudOaklund 1 pizza spinner No, because I remember the last time this happened. It turned into a full scale war and we lost a lot of lives. |