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Thanksgiving Day is just under five weeks away and the People Loving Peopleorganization is making plans to help feed thousands of Hawkins County citizens again this year.In cooperation with Of One Accord ministries in Rogersville/Church Hill, plans are being madeto distribute at least 750 food boxes to the needy on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. “OnSaturday, November 18th , we will plan to distribute food boxes to families who would not be ableto otherwise have a Thanksgiving Dinner” said organizer and People Loving People President,Dr. Blaine Jones. “We normally would like to prepare the meals and serve them locally ordeliver them, but many things have influenced this change to food boxes over the last few years”Jones went on to say.Hawkins County Mayor, Mark DeWitte, serves as the Treasurer for the non profit andworks with Dr. Jones with the People Loving People effort. “This will be the 20th year thatBlaine and I have worked on feeding some of the neediest folks in our area and it has alwaysbeen one of the most important and rewarding things our People Loving People organizationever does. This year, we again plan to raise the money and turn it over to Of One Accord topurchase food boxes for distribution” said DeWitte. “We will continue to make our best effortand continue to serve as best we can” DeWitte assured.Sheldon Livesay and Monte Emerson at the Shepherd’s Center/Of One Accord ministriesin Rogersville are looking forward to the food box distribution process again this year and willbe doing the coordinating of the event. “Last year was a tremendous success as we worked withPeople Loving People to continue their annual tradition of providing a Thanksgiving meal” saidLivesay, Director of the Of One Accord ministries. “We work hand in hand with our resourcesto make sure we get the food boxes and get set up at Cherokee High School to get themdistributed” said Monte Emerson who will oversee the Thanksgiving project logistics.Livesay, Emerson and Of One Accord will handle the applications for the food boxes andthen later the distribution of the food boxes. Applications will be taken beginning on Monday,October 16 th at Emergency Services Food Pantry in Church Hill located in the Church HillShopping Center, Suite #2. Applications will be taken on Mondays and Fridays at that site from10am till 1pm. For more information at the Church Hill site, call 423-357-7228. In Rogersville,at the Of One Accord building (Shephard Center) at 306 East Main Street, applications will betaken at the front desk beginning Monday, October 16th , Monday through Saturday from 10am to5pm. For more information at the Rogersville site, call 423-921-8044. Residents/applicants willfill out a simple application that will be numbered so a count can be maintained at all sites and so
the total number of boxes are not over-promised. One box per household will be the limit aseach box is anticipated to feed four people. Applications must be made in person.Distributions will take place all on Saturday, November 18 th . Lineup will begin at 8:30am. Distribution will begin at Cherokee High School at 10:00 am. Applicants will need to taketheir number and application tear-off to pick up their meal. “We are pleased to be able toparticipate in the Thanksgiving box distribution again this year. We do Christmas food boxesevery year, so everyone was so happy to hear that People Loving People was going to sponsor750 food boxes for Hawkins County Thanksgiving dinners. That just means several thousandpeople will get to eat a Thanksgiving Dinner again this year even though People Loving Peoplewas not able to have their usual hand prepared meal” said Director of One Accord Ministries,Sheldon Livesay. Monte Emerson who will be coordinating the distribution said “we will needplenty of volunteers to help us with the distribution. We will need help starting at 8:30am andending around 1:00pm. Any and all are welcome to join in – clubs, students, teams, anyone thatcan offer assistance”.“Obviously, this will cost a lot of money, so Mark and I agreed to take on the fund-raising effort through our People Loving People ministry” Jones said. Each box costs $25 andwill contain the food for a Thanksgiving Dinner as well as several items to fix a breakfast or two.Each box will also contain a Holy Bible. “We are committed to providing at least 750 boxeswhich should feed at least 3000 people one or more meals. If we get enough to supply morefood boxes, we definitely will” said DeWitte. Churches, Church groups, organizations, families,individuals and businesses are all encouraged to financially support this Thanksgiving dinnerproject. Donations to support this effort would be greatly appreciated and they can be made bysending to People Loving People, P.O. Box 35, Rogersville, TN 37857. People Loving People isa nonprofit, 501c3 organization so portions, if not all, of your donation may be tax deductible.For more information on how to make a contribution or support this event, you can contact Dr.Blaine Jones at 423-272-3150 or by email at docjones57@hotmail.com .