TLC Community Center to hand out ‘Bundles of Love’ on Saturday
Published 8:23 am Friday, December 1, 2017
- Star Photo/Abby Morris-Frye Volunteers pack school supplies into each Bundle of Love.
For many families, the holiday season is a time of cheer, but for some in our community, the holidays represent a struggle to provide for the needs of their family as well as the “extras” that go with the season.
Seeing that need, the TLC Community Center launched the Bundles of Love program, which is now in its fourth year. On Wednesday evening, groups of volunteers from local churches and civic clubs gathered at the Center to package the bundles.
This year, each “bundle” for a local child will contain school supplies, personal hygiene items, a hat, gloves, canned goods, snacks, a small toy, and fresh fruit.
The TLC Community Center will be delivering the bundles to the children served by the Center’s Summer Food Program on Saturday between 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Bundles will be handed out at all the stop locations for the Summer Food Program.
“Be listening for the horn,” said TLC Community Center Director Angie Odom. “This is the only day we will be delivering bundles on the food truck route.”
Bundles will also be given out at the Center to clients, and some will be distributed through the local schools.
While the program is part of the TLC Community Center, Odom credits the community for its continued success each year. Several local civic groups, businesses, and individuals have helped the Center through either donations or volunteering.
“We are just so blessed to be able to do this,” Odom said. “This community has always supported us.”
Among those helping the program this year were the Elizabethton Elks Lodge, Elizabethton Moose Lodge, and Northeast Community Credit Union.
The Elizabethton Elks Lodge received a $2,500 grant from the Elks National Foundation which they used to purchase school supplies, hats, gloves, and coats.
The Elizabethton Moose Lodge hosted a poker run ride as a fundraiser and donated $500 to the Center along with apples and oranges to be given out to the children.
Northeast Community Credit Union purchased and donated 900 tote bags for the Center to use in packing the “bundles” for the children.
