Teen Tree added to Alliance projects

The Albany Ministerial Alliance is once again sponsoring the Christmas Basket food program, and for the first time this year, Alliance members are adding a new drive to help with the cost of Christmas gifts for local teens.

“Believe Trees,” similar to Angel Trees in other programs, will be located in several locations around town, according to Alliance president Brad McBee.

Christmas Baskets

Local families can request assistance with holiday meals by picking up an application from a participating church or the Resource Center, filling out the form, and returning it by the Monday, Dec. 3 deadline.

The Christmas boxes include various grocery items to help insure that everyone in the community has healthy food for the holiday, and typically includes turkey or ham, vegetables, and other items for a traditional Christmas meal.

Donations to help fund the Christmas baskets can be mailed to the Ministerial Alliance, PO Box 3084, Albany, Texas 76430, handed to any of the ministers in the Alliance, or turned in at the Community Thanksgiving service this Sunday, Nov. 18.

The food will be delivered on Sunday, Dec. 16.

“The baskets contain perishable items that can not be left on a doorstep where they might be ruined by the weather or eaten by stray animals,” said Alliance secretary Tisha Wilkins. “Applicants who ask for home delivery need to make sure that someone can be at their address when we are scheduled to deliver the boxes.”

Applications for the holiday food baskets include a place for each family member to be listed by age, so that the boxes can be stocked with an appropriate amount of food to meet the anticipated needs.

“We will provide enough food for everyone who lives at that address,” Wilkins said. “But we also want to help out as many families as possible. I am asking folks to make sure that they only turn in one request per home.”

Last year the Alliance provided 84 families with Christmas Baskets.

Tree For Teens

This year the Albany Ministerial Alliance will also sponsor a holiday gift drive to benefit local teenage children.

Representatives of the Alliance will work with Albany’s school guidance counselors and Resource Care to help determine needs.

Christmas trees decorated with an ornament and tag for each teen will be displayed at participating churches, including First Baptist, Friendship Baptist, First Christian, Matthews Memorial Presbyterian, and United Methodist. 

Those wishing to become active in the gift program can pick an ornament and tag for a teen from one of the Believe Trees, complete the registration form, and select gifts to purchase from among the item(s) listed on the tag.

The unwrapped gift(s), with the tag and gift receipt(s) attached, should be returned to the same Believe Tree by Friday, Dec. 7.

Gifts will be wrapped, and then will be available for parents to pick up at The Feed Store on Wednesday, Dec. 12, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

Last year, 29 youth in high school and junior high received specific requested items, clothes, and Albany Lions gear through the ResourceCare Christmas for Teens program.