Community wish lists

Holiday help for nonprofits

If you’re like most Illinois Times readers, your life is safe and secure and the holidays are a time for family fun and delicious meals. Sadly that isn’t the case for everyone in our community. Many won’t have packages to open or a festive celebration to look forward to. Thousands around the area count on help from a nonprofit organization just to have the most basic comforts in life.

Below are several of nearly 20 holiday wish lists IT has assembled from local nonprofit organizations. These groups need your help all year round but they are especially eager for help during the holidays. Look for this feature each week during the holiday season; we’ll publish as many wish lists as space permits in print each week, but a complete listing of wish lists is available online at www.illinoistimes.com. If you represent a nonprofit organization that has not yet submitted a wish list, please send email to swhalen@illinoistimes.com or call 622-6700 for details.

Central Illinois Community Blood Center

1134 S. Seventh St., 753-1530 www.cicbc.org www.bloodcenterIMPACT.org.

Central Illinois Community Blood Center (CICBC), a nonprofit organization, is the provider of lifesaving blood for 14 hospitals throughout central Illinois, including Memorial Medical Center and St. John’s Hospital in Springfield. A division of Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center (MVRBC), Central Illinois Community Blood Center and MVRBC collect more than 180,000 units of blood annually and serve a total of 85 hospitals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin.

Our wish list:

• healthy individuals commit to donating blood regularly

• those who are unable to give will actively encourage others to do so

• all blood types are needed year round

• the need is especially high during the holiday season when regular donors are often unable to help

Who can donate blood?

• All persons age 17 and up (or 16, with parental permission) who are in good health and weigh at least 110 pounds. (Additional restrictions apply through the pre-donation screening process.)

• The process takes about one hour, and you can donate whole blood every 56 days.

To find a nearby mobile blood drive or schedule an appointment, call 753-1530 or visit www.bloodcenterIMPACT.org. Walk-ins are welcome.

Inner City Mission

714-720 N. Seventh St., 525-3940 www.innercitymission.net Caleb Payne, director of operations

The Inner City Mission is a homeless shelter that houses single women and women with children and married couples. The Mission has been in operation since August of 1984.

Our wish list:

• Monetary donations

• Practical items for living: Bus passes, postage stamps

• Nonperishable food items: canned meat, cereal, sugar, coffee, canned fruit and vegetables, kids’ snacks, creamer, cooking oil, spices, etc.

• Personal care items: deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, hair spray, hair grease, combs, brushes, toothbrushes (adult and child), toothpaste, razors, QTips, etc.

• Health care items: Kleenex, Neosporin, hydrocortisone, children’s medicine, cold medicine for adults and kids (no alcohol), baby formula, diapers (sizes 4-5-6), baby wipes, cotton balls, etc.

• Miscellaneous items: trash bags (45 gallon), all-purpose spray cleaner, paper towels, zip-lock bags, aluminum foil, toilet paper, dish and laundry soap, bleach, floor cleaner (wood and tile, no wax), bathroom cleaning supplies

Kumler Outreach Ministries

303 N. Grand Ave. East, 523-2269 www.kumlerministries.org email: kumlerumc@hotmail.com Sharon A. Brown, executive director

Founded in 1976, Kumler Outreach Ministries is a community seeking to love its neighbors by meeting them where they live. Kumler serves more than 22,000 people annually with groceries, the cost of prescriptions for the uninsured, clothing, household and personal hygiene items, a Lincoln Land Community College free GED class and a weekly community meal centered around building relationships with our neighbors struggling with poverty. Services are at 303 N. Grand Ave. East, Springfield, except for the community meal, which meets at Kumler United Methodist Church, 600 N. Fifth St.

Wish list:

• Pantry Partners who provide a week’s worth of a designated staple item for Kumler’s food pantry (e.g. peanut butter)

• Diapers, particularly large sizes (5s and 6s)

• A glass-fronted refrigerator for the food pantry

• Sleeping bags and blankets

• Personal hygiene items, e.g. soap, toothpaste, shampoo

• Fresh produce

• Volunteers interested in helping with Kumler’s community garden

• Food drives and collections through the spring and summer, particularly when children are out of school and demand is high

• A pickup truck or panel truck

• Financial gifts are always welcome In-kind donations are accepted Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to noon.

Habitat for Humanity of Sangamon County

1514 West Jefferson, 523-2710 www.habitatsangamon.com Sarah Mackey, executive director

Habitat for Humanity is a communitydriven nonprofit organization that develops working partnerships with local businesses, churches, community organizations and other individuals to build simple, decent and affordable housing for all people in need. Since its founding in 1989, Habitat for Humanity of Sangamon County has built more than 87 houses in the local community while providing shelter for more than 300 individuals.

Habitat’s wish list:

• Donate building materials and household items to our ReStore. We welcome donations from contractors, suppliers, organizations and individuals.

• Shop our ReStore. All the funds raised go to support our community programs.

• Volunteer. We need volunteers to help on our build sites, to serve on committees and to help in the office. A list of opportunities is available at (https://habitatsangamon. volunteerconnect.com/) or contact Ryan Mobley at 523-2710, volunteer@ habitatsangamon.com.

• Provide meals: We need groups or individuals to provide meals for 10- 40 people at our build sites. Contact Ryan Mobley, 523-2710 or volunteer@ habitatsangamon.com.