— 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.
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.)
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.
A big ACTS fundraiser will happen February 1st. Area Christians Together in Service will host a fish fry at 220 Seafood.
Dinner includes trout, fries and coleslaw. Take out only. 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. For a modest price, you’ll receive a generous portion of food, and you’ll be supporting a great, local cause.
“People can come by ACTS to purchase tickets from 8:30 a.m. until 10 a.m. or from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. any weekday,” Lee Anne Peoples, executive director at ACTS, told WIZS News.
At that same location, 201 S. William Street, you can also drop off a donation of non-perishable food and more.
All of you came through in such a HUGE way when we needed items for the Food Pantry recently.
Now we need your help again….as volunteers!
ACTS desperately need folks who can help us out on a consistent, regular basis. Please consider it, pray about it, and then contact me if you have any questions or want to know more. You will be super blessed by participating–I assure you!
Contact me by email at lapeoples@actsofhenderson.org. We appreciate all the ways we are supported by our wonderful community!
Lee Anne Peoples–Executive Director
On November 19th the Rotary Clubs of Oxford, Henderson, Roxboro and the Kerr Tar Region are joining together to produce Emergency Food Boxes (EFB) for the food insecure in our area. The Rotary clubs will be joined by an estimated 100 volunteers from schools, sororities and other community organizations to produce the boxes.
During the November packing event, 1,200 EFBs will be produced, providing more than 25,000 meals for agencies serving the food insecure, including: ACTS and Vance County Senior Center in Vance County, and Safe Haven, Christian Help Center and a church-based food bank in Person County.
Another packing event will be held on January 21, 2017, producing an additional 1,200 boxes supporting agencies in Granville County. Each EFB contains individual bags of rice, beans and dehydrated vegetables, enough food to make 21 meals and feed a person for a week. More importantly, the box includes illustrated cooking instructions in English and Spanish and menus to feed a family of four for just $75 a week.
Food insecurity is a significant problem in our area, where an estimated 20% (21,000) of the population does not always know where they will find their next meal. Together, the November and January packing events will provide more than 50,000 meals at a total cost of $12,000.
The Emergency Food Box project was funded by the Rotary Clubs of Oxford, Henderson and Roxboro and Rotary District 7710. The Masonic Home for Children in Oxford generously provides storage and production facilities and volunteers to make this project possible.
For more information, contact OxfordNCRotaryClub@Yahoo.com
