Annual school supply fundraiser set for Tuesday
By AMANDA KIMBLE
TheFlashToday.com
STEPHENVILLE (March 16, 2016) – For almost three decades, United Methodist Women (UMW) has turned hundreds of potatoes into thousands of dollars. The women’s organization from First United Methodist Church (FUMC) Stephenville hosts an annual luncheon, selling plates of piping hot baked potatoes to raise money to purchase school supplies for Stephenville ISD students in need.
The 2015 effort – preparing and serving 900 potatoes, pounds of veggies and dozens of homemade desserts – raised $5,000 for the current school year, according to event organizer Cynthia Rives.
While the luncheon and annual school supply distribution was started by UMW and operated for years with the assistance of fellow church members alone, the effort has sprouted into a community-wide organization. Rives said UMC is a leader in the Stephenville School Supplies Project (SSSP), which includes members from other organizations and churches.
But the community service project is not all that’s growing – so is the number of students the organization hopes to serve.
“We need $34,000 to meet the needs of more than 1,700 students at Stephenville ISD,” Rives said, explaining how the old process of applying and qualifying through the church and picking up school supplies from FUMC has also changed.
“The registration process is now through the schools,” she said. “The schools have the information on qualified students, who must be on the free and reduced lunch program. The schools send home a letter with those students and parents who would like to participate respond.”
Explaining SSSP’s $34,000 fundraising goal, Rives said while school supply needs vary by campus, each student’s list includes about $20 worth of supplies and proceeds from Tuesday’s luncheon serve as seed money.
“The school supplies will be distributed August 13 at Henderson Junior High School in conjunction with Stephenville Medical Surgical Clinic’s annual back-to-school health and resource fair,” Rives added. “We (SSSP) are forging community partnerships and hope to have more partners by the time August comes around.”
The baked potato luncheon continues to grow thanks to such partnerships. It all begins with local businesses supplying everything from veggies and cheese to help with the cooking, members of FUMC scrubbing potatoes, baking desserts and preparing plates and hundreds of hungry of community members anting up their lunch money.
The 29th annual baked potato luncheon will be held from 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. The meal includes a large “loaded” baked potato, veggies, bread and homemade dessert for $8.
Delivery is available for groups of five or more, within Stephenville city limits.
Order forms are available at the church office by calling 965-5046 and must be received at the church office by noon on Monday.
Take-out is also available, or diners can enjoy their meal in Fellowship Hall.
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