Tag Archive for: #acts

TownTalk: Make A Joyful Noise ACTS Benefit Concert

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The fourth annual concert to benefit ACTS will take place Saturday, Oct. 12 at McGregor Hall in Henderson and will feature musical performances by area groups and and churches.

The doors open at 6 p.m. for the “Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord” event. The concert begins at 7 p.m. and all proceeds will go to ACTS, Henderson’s food pantry and soup kitchen, said ACTS Board Member Linda Weaver.

A partial list of those performing include God’s Men of Harmony, First Baptist Church of Henderson, Rep. Frank Sossamon, Clearview Worship Team, Evelyn Couch and Tracy Dalton, one of three paid ACTS staff members, Weaver said.

Tickets are $5 and are available now from board members and at the ACTS facility, located at 201 S. William St.

Tickets also will be available at the door; children 12 years and younger get in free. Weaver said empty pots and pans will be circulated through the audience during the concert for a love offering. Pots and pans because, well, ACTS is a soup kitchen and food pantry!

In 2023, Weaver said the soup kitchen served up 46,257 plates at lunchtime from 11 a.m. and 12 noon. The pantry also prepared an additional 552 boxes of food that to help provide food to 1,442 individuals, which represents about 30,000 pounds – 15 tons – of food distributed to people in need.

An additional 11,000 plates of food was delivered to seniors/disabled in the community through their Mobile Meals program. And 25 backpacks were delivered each week to L.B. Yancey Elementary as part of the Backpack Buddies program.

It’s a huge volunteer effort and Weaver said she’s usually there every day during the week, but there’s always a need for more volunteers.

“I try to be there most days,” she said. “We have a lot of good people who come to volunteer – we couldn’t do this without the volunteers.”

In addition to cooking meals and boxing food items for distribution, volunteers also pick up food from all county Food Lions, as well the local Chick fil a and Starbucks and Strong Arm Baking Co. in Oxford.

Thankfully, they don’t have to purchase much food, Weaver said, adding that they do buy ingredients if the kitchen needs them for meal preparation.

What they do need is donations of canned beans like black beans, black eyed peas and pinto beans, and any canned vegetables EXCEPT corn and green beans, which they have in plentiful supply.

Canned meats like chicken and tuna also are needed.

Non-food items like bleach and that Dollar Tree staple Awesome! also are on the wish list.

Visit https://www.facebook.com/ACTSofHenderson/ to learn how you can help, from dropping off donations to becoming a volunteer. Or call 252.492.8231.

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First Baptist Church To Provide Shuttle From ACTS To RAM Clinic Saturday

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Volunteers from First Baptist Church will be at ACTS, 201 S. William St., Saturday to provide shuttle service for anyone who may need transportation to the Duke RAM pop-up clinic.

Church Deacon Bert Long said the plan is to run two vehicles to the clinic between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Day 1 of the two-day clinic. The clinic doors open at 6 a.m. on Saturday and a cadre of physicians, dentists and other health care professionals will provide free care until 4 p.m. The clinic opens at 6 a.m. again on Sunday and will run through 12 noon or 1 p.m., depending on the number of clients.

This is the third year that the free medical, dental and vision clinic has set up shop in the parking lot of Vance Charter School on Ross Mill Road.

“We don’t know how much demand there will be…we’ll play it by ear,” he said of the shuttle service.

“If folks don’t have transportation, (and) they have a way to get to ACTS, they’ll have a ride to and from the clinic.

Long said providing transportation adds a new facet to the clinic, and he said that Duke University senior Saajan Patel, one of the clinic’s organizers, is excited at the prospect.

ACTS of Henderson Sign

Show ACTS Some Love As Valentine’s Day Approaches By Donating To Food Pantry

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As Valentine’s Day approaches, show some love to others in the community by supporting ACTS with donations to restock the pantry shelves.

Area Christians Together in Service provides food, hope and love to people in the community by providing food to those who need it.

The pantry shelves could use a little love in this season as well. By working together, we can help provide nutritious meals to those who are hungry.

 

Here’s a list of what is most needed now, but please consider donating any shelf-stable or non-perishable items:

  • Canned meat (like chicken, beef stew, pork)
  • Any canned fruits, vegetables, soups or greens
  • Dry pasta
  • Corn muffin mix
  • Baked beans/pork & beans
  • “Helper” meals (like hamburger and chicken)
  • Tomato sauce
  • 16 oz. jars of peanut butter
  • Jelly
  • Crackers in sleeves
  • Non-stick cooking spray
  • Cooking oil
  • Garlic powder and onion powder
  • Sugar (white or brown)
  • Gallon-sized cans of fruits or vegetables

 

Items may be brought to ACTS at 201 S. William St. any weekday between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.

and other times by appointment by calling 252.492.8231.

TownTalk: Rise Against Hunger Pack-A-Thon Set For Monday, Jan. 15; Volunteers Needed

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Volunteers from area churches and other organizations are joining forces on the upcoming Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to pack food that will be used to feed hungry people across the world.

Sandra Wiggins is one of the event organizers and she said that over the course of four hours or so on Monday, Jan. 15, she expects to be able to pack 60,000 meals for Rise Against Hunger.

“We did 30,000 in about three or four hours last year,” Wiggins said on Monday’s TownTalk. “We know we can definitely hit this mark this year – we’re just really excited to do this…on Martin Luther King Day,” she said.

The Rise Against Hunger pack-a-thon will take place at the Vance-Granville Community College Civic Center from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Wiggins represents The First Baptist Church of Henderson, but she said numerous churches and school groups from Henderson and Oxford are signed up to participate as well.

So far, the following groups are participating: First Baptist Church, First United Methodist Church, Henderson, South Henderson Pentecostal Holiness Church, Oxford Preparatory School, Flat Rock United Methodist Church, Fuller Chapel, Davis Chapel, South Henderson Church of God, Clearview Church and Cornerstone Christian Community Church. Wiggins said Vance Charter School and Oxford United Methodist Church plans to send volunteers as well.

“This is really a community event,” Wiggins said. About 100 people have signed up so far, and there’s still time to register – they need several hundred volunteers to sign up to work a two-hour shift. The first shift is from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and the second shift is from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Participants should report to the civic center and sign in, and from there, they’ll head to a packing station where they will help measure out individual bags of rice, seasonings and vitamins.

Most of the food packs will be transported overseas, but Wiggins said some are kept here in the U.S. for use when disaster strikes.

Register or give online at events.riseagainsthunger.org/VGMLK24. There’s a $25,000 fundraising goal that goes along with the pack-a-thon. Wiggins said $45 provides 100 meals.

But the event is about more than packing nutritional food and sending it to impoverished areas across the world.

Wiggins said next week’s event also shines a light on two local organizations that work to fight hunger right here in Vance and Granville counties.

She invites all participants to the Rise Against Hunger event to bring canned goods or other non-perishable items to be delivered to ACTS and ACIM, the food bank in Oxford.

Wiggins shared one of her favorite quotes attributed to King, the slain Civil rights leader whose work is honored and remembered on Jan. 15.

“Love has to be put into action and that action is service,” Wiggins said, adding that “when we have the ability to do, we should.”

TownTalk: ACTS To Hold Concert At McGregor Hall

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The third concert to benefit ACTS – Area Christians Together in Service – will take place at McGregor Hall on Saturday, Sept. 16. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the program will begin at 7 p.m. ACTS Executive Director Lee Anne Peoples invites the community to come out and enjoy the music – it’s for a good cause.

Tickets are $5 to attend the “Make A Joyful Noise Unto The Lord” benefit concert, Peoples said. Children 12 and under get in free.

Tracy Dalton is cook and kitchen manager for the food bank and meal ministry that operates on William Street, and she’s just one of the featured acts on the program. ACTS volunteer and vocalist Evelyn Couch will perform as well. And Peoples said there is plenty of room on the program for additional individuals and groups to join in.

“The money goes into our general operating fund,” Peoples explained on Wednesday’s TownTalk. In addition to the cost of the food itself, there are the indirect costs associated with the Monday-Friday hot meal distribution that takes place from 11 a.m. to 12 noon.

On a normal day, she said more than 200 folks come by to pick up plates. Add the 40 or so mobile meals that go out and the daily number of meals served can easily be between 250 and 275.

Those associated costs include things like paper products needed to package the meals, as well as utility bills, she noted. “There’s a lot of dishes to wash up” after preparing all that food, she said.

“Everything has really gone up,” Peoples said, referring to increased prices for everything that goes into providing the hot meals and food boxes for households.

What else has gone up?

The need in the community.

“We have seen an increased need,” she said. ACTS served close to 50,000 meals in 2022, and that number is not going down.

The first concert was held in 2018, and Peoples said this year’s event is sure to please.

There are sponsorship levels available for the concert. Sponsor names will appear in the glossy, full-color program that will be available at the concert. Platinum level is a full-page ad for $1,000; Gold level is a half page for $500; and Silver level is a business card size for $250.

It probably comes as no surprise that the food pantry shelves could use some more items, too.

“We’re really low in the pantry now,” Peoples said.

Donations of shelf-stable food can be made any time between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, although it would be wonderful to avoid the 11 a.m. to noontime hour when they’re serving meals, Peoples said.

There is a list of useful items on the ACTS of Henderson Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ACTSofHenderson/

Any type of canned meat, vegetable or fruit would be a big help – but they have ample green beans, green peas and corn at this time.

Mail monetary donations to: ACTS of Vance County, Inc.

P.O. Box 25

Henderson, NC 27536

Learn more about how to help ACTS through donations or by volunteering by contacting Peoples at lapeoples@actsofhenderson.org.

 

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Area Christians Together in Service Needs Short-Term Meal Delivery Drivers

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— submitted by The First Baptist Church of Henderson, NC

ACTS is in serious need of help delivering meals on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the next couple of weeks. Their regular drivers are out with illness and such.

Please contact Lee Ann Peoples by phone (252) 492-8231 OR email lapeoples@actsofhenderson.org if you can help them out.

The Local Skinny! Lee Anne Peoples, ACTS

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Area Christians Together in Service (ACTS) had a successful fundraiser Monday which Executive Director Lee Anne Peoples said probably would bring in more than $2,000 for the local agency that provides food to hungry people in Vance County.

“We are excited about it,” Peoples said, referring to the fundraiser held at 220 Seafood. She said the final total isn’t in yet, but 947 have been turned in and she expects the proceeds to be in the $2,000 to $2,500 range. It’s always a good time when you can raise money and have fun in the process, she told John C. Rose on Thursday’s The Local Skinny! segment.

The money raised “turns right around and helps (ACTS) minister to others,” she said. Similar to running a household, there are costs to keeping ACTS open – like paying for electricity and water. Fundraisers like the one held Monday “go a long way toward helping us out,” Peoples said.

The volunteers stay busy during the week with all that is involved in preparing the daily meal distributed between 11 a.m. and noon. “Anybody can come by and get a nice, hot plate of food,” she said.

In addition, food boxes are given out on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Call 252.492.8231 if you need food.

The volunteers help make and distribute the meals, but they also have to clean up and get the food boxes ready, too. Peoples welcomes anyone who would like to stop by for a tour or wants to become a volunteer. “We can always use volunteers, of course,” she said.

Donations are accepted most any time during the week, but if people could avoid dropping off donations when the meals are being distributed, Peoples and the ACTS volunteers would appreciate it.

The 220 fundraiser originally was the only planned fundraiser for this year, but Peoples said she and others are looking at another possible fundraiser – one that would make good use of the commercial kitchen facilities at ACTS.

“We’re looking at possibly doing a spaghetti plate fundraiser,” she said. Stay tuned for more details about that.

Besides monetary donations from individuals, businesses and churches in the area, fundraisers and grants are the chief ways that ACTS gets funded. And grant season is just about in full swing, she said. One grant has been submitted, but several others will be completed as well. “The summer and into early fall really opens up the grant window that we apply for,” she said. “It’s getting to be crunch time as far as those things go,” she said.

Learn more at https://actsofvancecounty.tripod.com or stop by ACTS at 201 S. William St., Henderson.

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ACTS Donations, Fundraising and Volunteers Key to Providing Meals

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Imagine hosting the biggest Thanksgiving meal ever, providing all the food for the biggest family imaginable. Every day. There’s the food preparation, then serving, then the cleanup. That’s how Lee Anne Peoples describes the operation at ACTS – the executive director said it takes dozens of volunteers to provide the hot meals five days a week for area residents.

It takes volunteers – and money – to feed sometimes as many as 200 people each day, Peoples said recently on WIZS Town Talk.

Area Christians Together in Service is sponsoring a fundraiser on Sept. 25 at McGregor Hall that Peoples said will serve the dual purposes of raising money for ACTS as well as providing entertainment for the community.

“Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord” is set for Saturday, Sept. 25 at McGregor Hall and will feature local talent for an evening of inspirational entertainment for the whole family.

The doors open at 6 p.m. and the performance begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 and children 12 years and under get in free.

Tickets are available from any ACTS board member or from the ACTS office at 201 S. William St. Tickets and also are available at the door.

There are several sponsorship levels that businesses or individuals can purchase, she said, adding that the community has long been supportive of ACTS and the work it does to feed hungry people. Sponsor levels are platinum ($1,000), gold ($500) and silver ($250).

Reach Peoples at lapeoples@actsofhenderson.org.

In 2020, Peoples said ACTS served 25,527 meals. She’s done the math for 2021 and if the numbers continue as they are now, 2021 will top 30,000. In a city with a population of about 15,000, that’s a lot of meals, she noted. “I’m surprised at how the numbers have jumped up” in the past couple of years, Peoples said.

In addition to the hot meals, ACTS provides food boxes, dozens of Backpack Buddies (weekend bags of food for schoolchildren) and Mobile Meals for people who can’t make it to the ACTS location.

All these ongoing projects get done largely through the work of about 45 loyal volunteers who come on a regular basis. “There is absolutely no way we could do what we do without volunteers,” Peoples said. And there is always a need for more help, especially in the afternoons. Many of the volunteers leave at noon or shortly thereafter, but there are still things that need to be done in the afternoons. “Even if you just have a few minutes between 12 and 2, it would be a big help.”

Just like that gigantic Thanksgiving dinner – the food has to be put away, the kitchen cleaned up and ready for the next day.

(The original version of this story appeared on WIZS.com on 9-14-21 and was written by Laura Gabel.)

TownTalk: ACTS Makes a Joyful Noise with Benefit Concert

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Imagine hosting the biggest Thanksgiving meal ever, providing all the food for the biggest family imaginable. Every day. There’s the food preparation, then serving, then the cleanup. That’s how Lee Anne Peoples describes the operation at ACTS – the executive director said it takes dozens of volunteers to provide the hot meals five days a week for area residents.

It takes volunteers – and money – to feed sometimes as many as 200 people each day, Peoples told John C. Rose Tuesday on Town Talk.

Area Christians Together in Service is sponsoring a fundraiser on Sept. 25 at McGregor Hall that Peoples said will serve the dual purposes of raising money for ACTS as well as providing entertainment for the community.

“Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord” is set for Saturday, Sept. 25 at McGregor Hall and will feature local talent for an evening of inspirational entertainment for the whole family.

The doors open at 6 p.m. and the performance begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 and children 12 years and under get in free.

Tickets are available from any ACTS board member or from the ACTS office at 201 S. William St. Tickets also are available at the door.

Anyone interested in performing for the concert can contact Peoples for details at  252.492.8231 or lapeoples@actsofhenderson.org.

There are several sponsorship levels that businesses or individuals can purchase, she said, adding that the community has long been supportive of ACTS and the work it does to feed hungry people. Sponsor levels are platinum ($1,000), gold ($500) and silver ($250) and include ads in the concert program.

In 2020, Peoples said ACTS served 25,527 meals. She’s done the math for 2021 and if the numbers continue as they are now, 2021 will top 30,000. In a city with a population of about 15,000, that’s a lot of meals, she noted. “I’m surprised at how the numbers have jumped up” in the past couple of years, Peoples said.

In addition to the hot meals, ACTS provides food boxes, dozens of Backpack Buddies (weekend bags of food for schoolchildren) and Mobile Meals for people who can’t make it to the ACTS location.

All these ongoing projects get done largely through the work of about 45 loyal volunteers who come on a regular basis. “There is absolutely no way we could do what we do without volunteers,” Peoples said. And there is always a need for more help, especially in the afternoons. Many of the volunteers leave at noon or shortly thereafter, but there are still things that need to be done in the afternoons. “Even if you just have a few minutes between 12 and 2, it would be a big help.”

Just like that gigantic Thanksgiving dinner – the food has to be put away, the kitchen cleaned up and ready for the next day.

For complete details and audio click play.

 

Noon News 1-19-21 Food Insecurities; Food Drive; ACTS Fundraiser; Leaf Collection

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Stories include

– Food insecurities in the area

– local food drives

– Area Christians Together in Service (ACTS) fish fry fundraiser

– City of Henderson leaf collection

For complete details and audio click play.