Donations to these charitable groups help them support, assist residents here

Recognizing that many Ozark County residents consider making financial donations to charitable organizations this time of year, the Times is sharing information about some of the deserving charities that serve our area.

More organizations will be listed in next week’s Times or other upcoming editions. To have a charitable organization that serves Ozark County included in an upcoming list, contact Jessi Dreckman: 417-679-4641 or Jessi@ozarkcountytimes.com

American Veterans (AmVets)

AmVets Post 154 in Isabella provides a scholarship to a Lutie High School senior each year. Post commander Ed Bell told the Times recently, “Our whole goal is to give back to the community.” Most recently, the post spent about $1,700 to purchase 134 grave markers that AmVets members placed on veterans’ graves in the Isabella, Lutie and Hart cemeteries. The post’s long-term goal is to acquire land and erect a building as a headquarters for its community efforts. To help, make checks payable to AmVets Post 154 and mail to P.O. Box 344, Isabella, MO 65676. For more information, call Bella at 417-989-0630.

Masonic Lodges

All three of Ozark County’s Masonic lodges participate in the Creating-A-Partnership Program sponsored by the Masonic Home of Missouri, which supports certain benevolent initiatives related to the health and well-being of children. All three lodges – in Bakersfield, Gainesville and Theodosia – host fundraisers for this program, which matches locally raised funds. Cash donations to local lodges are also doubled when they’re matched by the Masonic Home.

Each lodge supports specific schools in their area, usually through donations to the school’s supplemental food program that sends students home with food for the weekend. To donate, make checks payable to the lodge you wish to help, noting “Creating-a-Partnership” in the memo line, along with the school’s name. 

Bayou Lodge # 365 in Bakersfield supports Bakersfield School. This lodge funds its benevolent work by hosting Friday night fish fries on the second Friday of each month. The meals have been canceled in recent months due to the covid-19 pandemic. However, it’s expected that the dinners will resume on Friday, Jan. 8. To make a donation, which will be doubled by the Masonic Home of Missouri, mail checks to the lodge at P.O. Box 265, Bakersfield, MO 65609.

Robert Burns Lodge #496 in Gainesville supports Gainesville and Dora schools. Masons, led by Bobby Grisham, sell microwave popcorn at basketball games in Gainesville and Dora to support their work. To make a donation, which will be doubled by the Masonic Home of Missouri, mail checks c/o Grisham, P.O. Box 223, Gainesville, MO 65655. 

Sampson Lodge #298 in Theodosia supports Lutie, Thornfield and Mark Twain schools. During normal times, it hosts popular first-Saturday community breakfasts each month to fund its programs. Recently the breakfasts have been canceled due the pandemic. To make a donation, to be doubled by the Masonic Home of Missouri, send checks to P.O. Box 301, Theodosia, MO 65761.

Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)

VFW Post #5366, Isabella 

VFW Post #5366 at Highways 160 and HH in Isabella supports both veterans and non-veterans in the community. Its activities include serving a free community meal on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. It also hosts an Easter event for families, including bicycle give-aways. Sixty people enjoyed the VFW’s recent free Thanksgiving Day dinner, said facility manager Ruby Winslow. 

The post now is planning a free Christmas Day dinner for the community to be served on Dec. 25 beginning at 11 a.m. Covid-19 precautions will be observed, and diners are asked to call 273-5008 to make timed reservations so the number of people inside the building at one time is controlled, or to request to-go meals. In some cases, nearby deliveries may also be made.

Donations of cash and food are needed and welcome. Call Winslow at 273-5008 or 989-1971 for more information, to make reservations, arrange for home delivery or pickup, or to let the staff know what food is being donated. To send a tax-deductible cash donation, make checks payable to Isabella VFW Post 5366 and mail to P.O. Box 323, Isabella, MO 65676.

Ozark County Fire Chiefs Association

The Ozark County Fire Chiefs Association, formerly the Ozark County Mutual Aid Association, comprises the 13 volunteer fire departments that operate wholly in Ozark County, as well as two additional departments whose districts extend into both Howell and Ozark counties. The Oakland, Arkansas, VFD, which assists with emergency calls in Ozark County when needed, also participates. The chiefs of these 16 departments meet regularly to discuss how they can work together to serve area residents. 

“It’s also our mission to make sure every department in this county stays up and running. We want to do fundraising so that no departments close in this county,” said Pontiac / Price Place fire chief Khristie Sansone Jacquin, who serves as vice president of the fire chiefs association.

Pontiac-area resident Sheli Lunik is leading an effort to sell the promotional window decals (see photo, page A3) to help raise funds for the fire chiefs association. Funds generated by the sale of the decals will go to help pay for materials (such as textbooks and manuals) and medical or other supplies used during training sessions and classes. 

Lunik was inspired to support Ozark County’s firefighters after coming upon a serious vehicle crash and seeing how professionally and competently the volunteers worked to save the lives of the crash victims. 

The decals, intended for placement on vehicles’ rear windows or on office and home windows, are available for a minimum donation of $5 each. (Larger donations are, of course, welcome.) To purchase decals, make checks payable to Ozark County Fire Chiefs Association and mail to P.O. Box 552, Gainesville, MO 65655. They’re also sold at the Times office in Gainesville.

Ozark County Christian Thrift Store

The Ozark County Christian Thrift Store, which sits quietly on Main Street a few blocks from the Gainesville square, is a nonprofit organization that helps local residents in need all year long. 

The thrift store is full of items that residents can buy at bargain prices, but the real goodwill goes on behind the scenes. After operating expenses are paid each month, any extra funds generated from the store’s sales are used to help those in the community who need it most. 

“We help with utility bills for those who are in a hard place. Electric bills and water bills are our specialty,” OCCTS manager Lori White told the Times. “We give a lot of items away to families who are just in need of different things. We give household items to people who have lost everything in a fire, or maybe a family who has just moved here and they don’t have anything.”

Tax deductible donations and donated clothing and household items can be brought to the store during its regular business hours, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Cash donations may  also be mailed to PO Box 826, Gainesville, MO 65655. For more information call the thrift store at 417-679-3351. 

Hammond Mill Camp

Hammond Mill Camp, off CC Highway southeast of Dora, is a former CCC Camp that has been restored and modernized and has been used by community and church groups, as well as for family unions, weddings and other smaller events, for more than 70 years. A nonprofit group, Hammond Mill Camp, Inc., manages the facility on long-term lease from Mark Twain National Forest. Volunteers gather on specified workdays to do maintenance and clean-up of the beloved facility. The camp’s annual income was drastically curtailed this year due to the covid pandemic, which caused almost all camps and events to be canceled.   

To make a tax-deductible donation to Hammond Mill Camp, Inc., mail checks to Hammond Mill Camp, 139 Hammond Mill Drive, Pottersville, MO 65790. Gifts may also be made through the camp’s Facebook page or through its Paypal account: paypal.me/hmcamp65790. For information about renting all or part of Hammond Mill Camp, contact Zohn or Shanda Engelhart at hmcamp139@gmail.com or 417-256-2025.