Published: October 31, 2009 07:07 pm      

Doctor, charity collecting items to help out for the holidays

Coat and canned food drive will help Center for Lay Ministries

It’s still too early to begin decorating and preparing for the Christmas holiday as Halloween has just passed. However, it’s not too early to think about helping others that will be in need during the upcoming holidays.

Dr. Joe Jacobi’s Advanced Dental Center will begin collecting coats and canned food starting Monday through Dec. 15 and pass the items along to the Center for Lay Ministries in Jeffersonville. The goal for the project is collecting 50 coats and 500 pounds of canned or nonperishable food items.

“We decided our office wanted to do something to give back to the local community,” Jacobi said. “Especially this year, we wanted to get an early start.”

Although it is the first year Jacobi’s office has participated in the collection, the office wanted to begin now because of the high demand expected this year. Requests to the Center for Lay Ministries are up over 35 percent from last year, and are likely to increase as the weather turns colder, according to a press release.

Even with reports last week of an economy on the rebound, there are countless unemployed that will need help making it through the holiday, the release says. Bonnie Ryan, volunteer coordinator for Lay Ministries, said the need for food and clothing is indeed expected to grow.

Last year, 750 people requested assistance from the center’s Christmas Basket program and it is expected to be higher this year, Ryan said.

“The demand is greater now because of people losing their jobs. There is a big increase,” she said.

The program provides clothes and food to families in need. That includes a traditional Christmas meal with a ham, fruit, vegetables and candy.

Collections for Christmas baskets run from Monday through Nov. 20.

Those individuals requesting aid from the center must meet certain qualifications by providing proof of income; showing rental expenses; being a resident of Clark County; and providing birth certificates for children and Social Security cards for all family members seeking help. People can apply for aid by visiting the center, but in addition, Lay Ministries will be visiting several locations in the next month to sign people up to receive baskets.

The on-site registrations are designed for those that are infirmed and have difficulty leaving their homes.

On Thursday, center representatives will be at Clark Arms in Jeffersonville; On Nov. 9, they will be at Fairington Apartments and Yellowwood Terrace in Clarksville; and Nov. 18, they will be at the Claysburg II Towers in Jeffersonville.

Those signing up at the center can pick up baskets Dec. 18 and other baskets will be delivered Dec. 19 or 20.

Donations can be made by bringing clean, wearable coats and nonperishable food items to Jacobi’s office, 1706 Williamsburg Drive in Jeffersonville, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Donations also can be made at the Center for Lay Ministries at 213 E. Maple St. in Jeffersonville.