The Board of Directors of the East Ridge Needy Child Fund met Thursday afternoon at City Hall and got down to the real business of helping less fortunate children in our city.
NCF Board Chairwoman Mimi Lowrey said 35 families with 84 children have been identified as recipients of this year’s work. Volunteers from the organization will be out in the community in coming weeks visiting these families at their homes getting more specific information about their needs.
Lowrey said all the volunteers visiting homes in East Ridge will be wearing an identification tag supplied by the city. She told the board that she was somewhat concerned that some residents could be alarmed by the volunteers who may be strangers to the neighbors. The two-person teams pose no threat and are only trying to help those less fortunate in the community. They will be visiting homes early next week and then after Thanksgiving.
The NCF is excited that they will have an antique fire truck in the East Ridge Christmas Parade on Saturday. The unique truck will be clearly marked with ER Needy Child Fund Banners, officials said. There will be volunteers, including a local Cub Scout troop and students from East Ridge High School, marching alongside the fire truck in the parade who will be taking donations from those along the parade route.
Board member Ora Citty announced that her husband, James, has built a decorative donation box that will be placed at “Helton Hill” throughout the holiday season. People visiting the popular site known for its festive Christmas decorations are encouraged to drop off monetary donations for the NCF there. Any donations in the box, she said, would be collected on a daily basis.
Lowrey noted that students at East Ridge High School will begin a canned food drive, with the intention of collecting 1,000 cans of food to be donated to the NCF.
She noted that the Delta Theta Chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is having a Christmas party in early December. The active chapter is collecting toys for small children and gifts for adolescent boys and girls which will be donated to the Needy Child Fund.
She is anticipating a significant monetary donation from the River City Corvette Club in early December, as well as donation from the Chattanooga Networking Connection, a group of area businessmen.
NCF members will also be present at the Mission Oaks Candle Lighting event on Dec. 11 collecting donations.
All of these efforts lead up to the more than three dozen folks who have volunteered their time and effort to the NCF sorting and wrapping gifts for the families the week before Christmas. The big event, A Santa Party at the Community Center, is scheduled for Saturday Dec. 23, where kids will get a gift and families will get the help they need for the holidays.
