Richmond Centre obviously will be a hot spot for holiday shopping, but this weekend, it also will be a place of holiday giving.
The Holiday Market, which is a Madison County Backpack Club/Wingspan fundraiser, will be located at Richmond Center Friday through Sunday inside two vacant store lots, one being next to DEB and the other next to Maurice’s.
The market’s hours will be from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
The Wingspan program, better known as the Madison Backpack Club, was created last year as a service of Kirksville Baptist Church where Tara Mitchell, Wingspan president, is a member.
God’s Outreach Food Bank in Richmond also has helped with the initiative that was created to provide a weekend’s worth of food to local school children in need.
However, the cost of the project is now almost 10 times more than it was at the beginning, according to Tara Mitchell, president of Wingspan/Madison County Backpack Club.
“It was about $120 a month (when the Backpack Club/Wingspan started),” Mitchell said. “Now, it’s over $1,000 per month. We have received lots of donations, but the amount of children we are feeding has also increased. People are losing jobs and are in a tougher financial bind now.”
A free raffle ticket will be given to anyone who brings a donation for the Backpack Club/Wingspan. There is a list of acceptable food items for the backpacks, but other non-perishable items that are appropriate for a child’s lunch also can be donated, Mitchell said.
The list includes: breakfast pastries (i.e. Pop Tarts), fruit cups, oatmeal packets, cheese crackers, microwavable macaroni and cheese, single-serving cereal boxes, soups, raisins, granola bars, pudding, single-packs of potato chips, fruit snacks and tuna.
All food items donated will be made into a Christmas tree that will be on display at the vacant store lot next to Maurice’s clothing store.
Refreshments also will be on sale at both locations, with 100 percent of donations going to the Backpack Club/Wingspan.
Wingspan/Backpack Club volunteer Jenny Spurlock said Richmond Centre representatives were very receptive to the idea of using the two vacant locations to host the Holiday Market.
“They have been wonderful,” Spurlock said. “They even mentioned doing this again in the spring.”
The Holiday Market has 12 local business sponsors that are offering items for the raffle, but there is room for about eight more sponsors, Spurlock said.
“For our first time doing something like this, I think we’ve had a good turnout (of vendor sponsors) and hope to grow in the future,” she said.
“The reason we do what we do is for the children,” Spurlock said. “There are children in the Madison County school system who do not eat on the weekends. Everything we do is for them. It’s worth it when one little child comes back and says that they enjoyed their backpack. When one child comes back with that smile on their face, then it’s worth it.”
Mitchell also said the Kirksville Clothing Bank remains in operation for anyone in need, and is open on the third Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the community center on Kirksville Road.
Clothing is available for men, women, children, toddlers and babies, however, donations also are being accepted.
Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 624-6608.
Local News
‘Holiday Market’ for giving, not taking
Fundraiser event features raffle prizes
- Local News
-
-
‘She wasn’t just a teacher’ : Lambert retires after 43 years at Berea
Scroll to the bottom of the story to read "Love for Lambert: Berea graduates share memories of their teacher," as well as a list of other Berea retirees this year.
Writer’s Note: Brenda Lambert is the reason I write articles today (Class of 2000).
Years ago, a little blonde-haired girl from Rockcastle County gathered her friends to “play school” in a 10-by-10 foot playhouse her father built.
Even at 12 years old, Brenda Lambert knew she wanted to be a teacher one day.
“I always felt like an old person trapped in a young person's body,” said Lambert, who is retiring after 43 years of service to Berea Community School. -
Special Olympics return for 18th year at EKU
Next weekend, the Special Olympics Kentucky State Summer Games return to Eastern Kentucky University campus. This is the 18th consecutive year EKU has hosted the event.
The games will be Friday through June 2. About 1,300 athletes will compete this year. -
Assault charges reduced, dismissed by grand jury
Two men arrested in connection with serious assaults had their charges reduced, and in one case dismissed, by a Madison grand jury.
Jerry Wayne Edington, 34, of Berea Road, was charged Jan. 19 with second-degree assault after an altercation at the Blue Moon bar on East Irvine Street, according to a Richmond police report. -
Dump of the Day
The Dump of the Day is a recurring series the newspaper publishes to highlight illegal trash piles and push local governments to cite perpetrators and get illegal dumps cleaned up. See Page A7 in Sunday's paper to read a copy of the city’s ordinance related to trash pickup.
-
Paradise Cove open through Labor Day
Opening day of Paradise Cove Family Aquatic Center coincided with a spike in temperatures Friday which reached 90 degrees. The facility, located in Richmond’s Lake Reba Park, will be open through Sept. 3. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday.
-
Dump of the Day
An old mattress, a car seat and other debris sit Friday afternoon on North Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets where it was first spotted Thursday. The “Dump of the Day” is a recurring series the Richmond Register publishes to highlight illegal trash piles and push local governments to cite perpetrators and get illegal dumps cleaned up. See Sunday’s Richmond Register to read a copy of the city’s ordinance related to trash pickup.
-
Undefeated academic team brings pride to Madison Middle School
Madison Middle School 6th and 7th grade academic teams have been undefeated for the last two years.
The 8th grade team also has done well, having some students qualify to compete at the state level. -
Woman fends off burglar with knife
A Berea woman used a kitchen knife to fend off an alleged burglar early Wednesday morning, and police say they were able to catch the man in the act.
-
Man is indicted on additional sex charge involving teen in 1998
A man already accused of sex abuse in November 2011 has been indicted on a charge of first-degree rape involving a child in 1998.
Charles W. Peyton, 63, of East Irvine Street, was indicted Wednesday by a Madison grand jury. He used “forcible compulsion” to have sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl between March 1 and May 1 in 1998, according to the indictment. -
Woman fends off burglar with knife
A Berea woman used a kitchen knife to fend off an alleged burglar early Wednesday morning, and police say they were able to catch the man in the act.
Officers responded to a call in the 1000 block of Scaffold Cane Road about a man trying to break into a home, according to a release from BPD Public Information Officer Jake Reed. - More Local News Headlines
-
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
