The Carter County Republican Party has chosen the TLC Community Center as its charity to contribute to this year. The TLC Community Center under the direction of Angie Odom is located at 145 Judge Don Lewis Blvd., Elizabethton.

The Center consists of several family programs, including parenting classes; a grandparents program for those that are raising their grandchildren; a beauty salon for their clients and their children on a year-round basis in a fully equipped salon; and a community kitchen, which provides a free holiday meal for clients and others in the community.

The Center has partnered with the UT Extension Office to provide nutrition programs.

They also partner with Food for the Multitude to provide free hot meals each Saturday. Volunteers prepare the meal at the Center and serve approximately 240-270 people weekly. Serving hours are from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.

When school is not in session each participating child is given a hot meal as well as a breakfast and lunch for the following day. The meals are delivered to several neighborhoods throughout the community Monday through Friday, feeding an average of 425 children each day.

A Guard Your Heart Abstinence Program is taught in all four Carter County high schools and meets the Tennessee Department of Education’s required curriculum.

A clothes closet is also provided for those that have need.

“This amazing Center is solely supported by the community and the generosity of its people,” said a spokesman for the Carter County Republican Party.