A community of nurses and counselors are there to help when a child lacking proper clothing or has hygiene needs walks through the doors of a school in the Pea Ridge School District.
There are organizatons such as Heart ’N Sole, the Optimist Club and the Lions Club, as well as the Ministerial Alliance, which provide to families in need. Another source of help is from the annual Community Christmas Card sponsored by NWA Media which gives readers a chance to donate and help school districts provide basic needs.
“I’m very enthusiastic about the Pea Ridge community and the way the community and school work together and the emphasis they put on making sure all young people have nutritious meals and proper clothing,” Dr. Roland Smith, interim school superintendent, said. “All of the money that comes in from this goes directly to students with the greatestneed. All additional contributions are welcome.”
The readers of NWA Media’s newspapers have given hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years to help an untold number of children by placing their name on the Community Christmas Card.
For each $2 donation, newspapers will publish a name in a fullpage Community Christmas Card that will be published Christmas day in the local dailies and the week of Christmas in the company’s weekly newspapers. Contributors can designate the school district they want to receive their donation.
It is a gift that gives long after the lights and ornaments are packed away after the holiday season.
A total of $26,917 was contributed last year and distributed to school districts across northwest Arkansas and southwest Missouri.
Donations will be accepted through Dec. 31.
“The Community Christmas Card is one of the most fulfilling projects we do. By providing a chance for our readers to directly help at risk children in our schools, our company participates in establishing an important bond between the community and these struggling families,” saidRusty Turner, editor and publisher of the local dailies operated by NWA Media. “When times are tough, like they are now, the money that goes to programs like the Community Christmas Card is all the more vital. Our readers havenever failed to meet the challenge of offering a hand to kids who really need it.”
“We have a caring community,” Annette Beard, Times editor, said. “This is just one more vehicle through which to give.”
Donations must be received by noon Dec. 23 to be listed by name on the Christmas Card. Donations can be mailed to Community Christmas Card, Northwest Arkansas Media, P.O. Box 7, Springdale, AR 72764. Contributions also may be dropped off at all NWA Media newspaper offices, including TheTimes of Northeast Benton County.
NWA Media partners with Springdale’s Endeavor Foundation to collect and distribute the Community Christmas Card donations.
Each contribution is tax deductible. NWA Media pays the processing fees for the donations so 100 percent of the money collected can be distributed to the schools.
The Community Christmas Card will be published in the Springdale Morning News, Rogers Morning News, Bentonville Daily Record and Northwest Arkansas Times on Christmas Day.
News, Pages 1 on 11/30/2011