Local charity efforts make a global impact during holidays

Between studying for finals and shopping for the holidays, students find the need to divide their time and money accordingly. But in the midst of December chaos, contributing even just a few hours or a few dollars can make a massive impact on the lives of families in need during the holiday season.

Several charitable organizations exist to support those in need during the holidays and offer donation and volunteering opportunities for students who want to give back to the Cape Girardeau - and even global - community. Three of these efforts include: Feed My Starving Children through La Croix Church, Southeast Missouri (SEMO) Toys for Tots and The Salvation Army Cape Girardeau.

La Croix Church will host their annual MobilePack event from Dec. 6-8 at the Osage Center, partnering with charity organization Feed My Starving Children to pack meals that will be delivered to children around the world. Online sign-ups to volunteer for 2-hour meal-packing shifts will open on Tuesday, Nov. 26. Both individual and group sign-ups are welcome.

La Croix Church has hosted the Feed My Starving Children meal-packing event for 10 years. This year, the church will pack its 10 millionth meal.

Cindy Walton, project manager at La Croix Church, describes the feeling of knowing that a brief time contribution can make such a global impact.

La Croix Church encourages its congregation to donate $1 for every dollar they spend on holiday presents to the church’s Christmas Eve Offering. This offering funds food and shipping for the MobilePack event, and the excess money goes toward building wells in Africa. To find out more about the La Croix Church MobilePack event, visit the event page or lacroixchurch.org. To contribute to the church’s Christmas Eve Offering, visit the donation page.

While the impact that volunteering has on the lives of families in need is far-reaching, the impact on the volunteer is internal. Taking the time to volunteer or donate brings the knowledge of being part of something bigger than oneself.

Josh Reeves, creative arts director at La Croix church, identifies how volunteering impacts the volunteer themself.

“I think what [volunteering] could do for someone just here in Southeast Missouri, I think, is just knowing that they're truly, deeply impacting someone's livelihood at a very deep level,” Reeves said.

Another organization geared toward making a community impact during the holidays is SEMO Toys for Tots.

Darlene McCubbin, coordinator at SEMO Toys for Tots, said the organization works to “play Santa” and deliver toys to children at Christmastime. She emphasizes that the organization needs volunteers and offers to walk prospective volunteers through the program herself if they reach out to her at darlenemccubbin@gmail.org. For more information about SEMO Toys for Tots, go to toysfortots.org.

Toys for Tots will host a series of Distribution Days in Southeast Missouri from Dec. 17-21. Volunteers have an opportunity to make children and parents smile by gifting toys to children who may otherwise not receive them.

“If you really want to get a feel of what Toys for Tots does for the community [then] help out on the Distribution Day, which will be the 17th of December, right here at our toy store. The look on the parents' faces is unbelievable,” McCubbin said.

The Salvation Army Cape Girardeau is one more organization that works to give back to the community during the holiday season. Locals may recognize the organization from their signature red donation kettles and bell-ringing collectors that stand outside businesses during the holidays.

Although the red kettles and bells are only around during Christmas-time, The Salvation Army provides a range of financial assistance services to nationwide families year-round.

According to The Salvation Army 2023 Annual Report, last year the organization provided over 155 million meals, provided emergency shelter and transitional housing for approximately 8.1 million people and provided rent and utility assistance to approximately 3.1 million families.

To learn more about The Salvation Army Cape Girardeau, visit centralusa.salvationarmy.org.