Albany Chest board sets $41,000 goal

By Donnie A. Lucas

The Albany Chest campaign is off and running, with directors setting a 2020 goal of $41,000, $1,000 less than last year. 

Twenty-five different organizations submitted requests for this year’s funding, all of which were considered and approved by the board during a meeting held on Wednesday, Oct. 7. 

“The goal of the Albany Chest is, and has always been, to enhance the lives of the citizens of Albany through the money that is gifted to us,” said board president Amy Kelly. “We do our best to place the money where it will benefit the most individuals across the broadest range of our population.”

Letters are currently being addressed to past and prospective donors, with plans for them to be in the mail early next week.

“The Chest continues to be a great way to support our community and the organizations who benefit our community so much,” said board vice president Melinda Lucas. “We hope that everyone realizes how much these organizations need our support.”

The actual amount of the 25 requests was $50,250, not including two organizations that didn’t specify amounts.

Chest Beneficiaries

In each issue during the next few weeks, a brief look will be taken at two or three of the benefitting organizations in order to give prospective donors an idea of their activities.

The Chest board urged local residents to take a close look at the list of organizations. 

“We think you’ll see that most local citizens, if not all, are touched by or have benefitted from the activities of one or more of these groups,” Lucas said. “And there are also a large number of children involved.”  

Funding Requests

All of the 25 organizations approved for funding have been on the list before, even though the Senior Citizens Activity Center submitted last year’s request after the deadline because its nonprofit status hadn’t yet been established. 

Other requests came from Albany 7 on 7, Albany Boy Scouts, Albany Cub Scouts, Albany Volunteer Fire Department, Albany Flag Football, Albany Youth Softball, Albany Little League, Cause for Paws, Chelsey’s Project (diaper ministry), Cub Mart, and First Love Day Care.

Also the GED program, MMPC Mother’s Day Out, Neighbors in Need, Project Graduation, -ASPIRE, Day Camp, Vittles by Vehicle, Rural Fire Department, Shackelford County 4-H, Shackelford County Library/Study Club, Stepping Stones Christian School, The Feed Store, and West Texas Rehab. 

The Chest board traditionally waits to see how the money comes in before setting final allocations.

The Albany Chest fundraising drive will end on Dec. 31. Board members hope to distribute checks to the organizations soon after the first of the year.

Contributions can be given to Paige Adair at First National Bank or Jana Kitchens at First Financial Bank, or they can be mailed to Albany Chest, PO Box 2019, Albany TX 76430.