Mission preparing for the holidays

The Mississippi County Union Mission in Blytheville has been holding several fundraisers both for its residents and the community. Currently they are beginning to work on the holiday Toy Party. The Toy Party is a project the mission undertakes for local residents, where they accept donations for toys as the holiday approaches. After the toys are sorted, vouchers will be given to those in need. Currently the Toy Party is scheduled for December 14.

Sign-ups for the Toy Party began on November 29. Parents and guardians can sign-up for the program. All that is required is the name of the parent/guardian and the names and ages of their children. They will be given a “toy ticket” and on the day of the event, parents can come in and get toys for their children.

“Some people, beyond Ignite, that is all they have. And [Ignite] only has so many and if they miss that they don’t have anything. So we have some kids that this is all the Christmas that they ever get and we have got a lot of toys to go through,” Mission Executive Director Sheri King said.

A holiday ornament and decoration sale is currently ongoing at the mission. The sale takes place from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. every day. During the Toy Party, all remaining decorations from the sale will be given away to those who attend the event. Last year the mission provided toys for 85 kids. All toys associated with the event have been donated to the mission.

Mission residents are also participating in “bell ringing” outside various local stores this season. This past weekend alone, the bell ringing raised $1,000. The bell ringing will continue every Friday, Saturday and Sunday until Christmas weekend.

The mission is currently making plans to start an addiction treatment support group, but with a purely Christian perspective, called an Overcomer’s program. King said that training for the program will hopefully begin in January and that beginning the program will cost approximately $600.

“Even though we have AA [alcoholics anonymous] and NA [narcotics anonymous], they need a thing a little more Christ centered and that is what this will be. We have some pastors that are going to direct that,” King said.

Currently the mission has 21 residents. Residents come from all walks of life. King said that a lot of times people just need someone to talk to. During the holidays it can be especially hard, but every resident is worth it.

“We’ve had college professors in here that lost somebody and turned to a bottle instead of the Lord or another source of comfort. And we have some that this has been their lifestyle for so long, but they are getting older and they just have to make a change,” King explained.

“As bad off as some of the people in the community think that the people staying her are, they’re not. If they are, they come in and realize that how they are doing things isn’t going to work and they leave…everybody has a past,” King said.

The mission has also been busy in these last couple months with other non-Christmas related events. In October residents were able to attend a Halloween party at a church.

Connie Ash, a nurse practitioner in Blytheville and the Medical Director at the Great River Charitable Clinic, has been volunteering her time providing care to ill residents of the mission. According to Mary Lee Johnson, a volunteer at the Mission, Ash was able to assist nine residents who were sick recently. The mission also hosted a flu shot clinic.

Recently the mission has started teaching residents to knit. This is especially useful for those fighting an addiction, as it can be a sort of distraction or replacement for substance abuse.

The MCEOC has also partnered with the mission to help provide transportation for mothers to the doctor appointments.

“They have stepped up and provided through their programs and we get to do that with all the mothers that have children that are going through EOC,” Johnson said.

The mission has several programs they manage for both residents of the Mission and the community as a whole. With the Christmas season approaching they hope to be able to provide for as many in need as they can. For any who may wish to donate or volunteer, the mission is located at 400 E. Walnut Street in Blytheville and their phone number is 870-763-8380.

gwilliams@blythevillecourier.com