Social Services

By Nicole Scott The Platte County, Missouri, Sheriff’s Office brought comfort and joy to area children this past Saturday. The Platte County Sheriff’s Office shared through social media that last Saturday, Dec. 7, they held their 30th Annual “Shop with a Deputy” event and were able to help 46 children in need. The Sheriff’s Office

By Ashley Luthans Central High School’s new volunteer club is spreading holiday cheer in St. Joseph. Students in the club visited Downtown businesses on Tuesday afternoon to deliver homemade cards and treats. “Unity for the Community” was created for the 2024-25 school year by two juniors at Central: Taevyn Hanson and Lily McClain. McClain shared

By Charles Christian A local nonprofit is set to give away free new toys for kids just in time for the holidays. Grace House, 2638 Lafayette St., will begin offering items for infants and children up to age 12 at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14. Grace House Executive Director Ruth Costello said that in

By Kendra Simpson Second Harvest Community Food Bank kicked off the “12 Days of Giving” food drive for campus cupboards across St. Joseph. The food drive goes until Dec. 31 and is asking for donations of 12 food items, including bagged rice, canned beans, soup, canned fruit and vegetables, granola bars, mac ‘n’ cheese, peanut

By Kendra Simpson MidCity Excellence Community Learning Center hosted its 16th annual “Tis Better to Give than to Receive” toy drive Thursday evening. The community showed up to help make spirits bright for the 48 students at MidCity Excellence with monetary and toy donations. MidCity Excellence helps keep kids off the street, out of jail

By Kyle Schmidt A local agency is seeking some community Santas to help provide a merry Christmas for those in need. The annual AFL-CIO Adopt-A-Family program is in its final days for people to sign up for holiday assistance. Executive Director Nichi Seckinger said the agency sees a big push of applicants at this time

By Nicole Scott The Noyes Home for Children is sharing a holiday wish with the community.  The agency posted on social media about the need for 30 to 40 shower caddies this holiday season so that each child in its care can have one.  The specific shower caddy asked for is from the brand EUDELE

By Ashley Luthans Hy-Vee, in collaboration with local first responders, distributed 200 free hams to community members on Wednesday. As part of the “Hams for the Holidays” program, the St. Joseph Hy-Vee is one of 18 participating locations giving out a total of 5,000 hams this year. The distribution event began at 3 p.m. at

By Leah Rainwater The Noyes Home for Children hosted its annual holiday open house on Tuesday. Visitors enjoyed refreshments, music and activities including gingerbread house decorating, ornament making and Christmas stories narrated by Will Stuck. Santa was also in attendance and community members were able to tour the Noyes Home and also see the “Help

By Ashley Luthans This is the last week for people to apply for assistance from the Adopt-A-Family program. Those seeking to be adopted through the AFL-CIO program must have children ages 18 or younger in the home, be over the age of 63 or be actively receiving disability assistance. Applications are due by 5 p.m.

By Jazmine Knight It’s Giving Tuesday and many St. Joseph organizations are encouraging the community to support generosity by giving back to local nonprofits. Giving Tuesday is a worldwide mission to support and spread generosity in the community. According to Mellissa Birdsell, executive director of Voices of Courage, the idea originated as a response to

By Charles Christian One St. Joseph agency’s program is helping combat the recidivism rate by helping ex-prisoners re-enter society. Though The Crossing may be best known for its food distribution center, which reaches more than 1,500 people per month, its re-entry program, which houses around a dozen men at a time, is providing a new

By Leah Rainwater Crafts, Christmas stories and a visit from Santa are part of an annual holiday celebration set for next week. The Noyes Home for Children will be hosting its Holiday Open House from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 3, at 801 N. Noyes Blvd. There will be gingerbread house and ornament

By Nicole Scott The St. Joseph YWCA is asking community members to think of area nonprofits and those in need this holiday season Giving Tuesday, which falls on Dec. 3, is a nationwide annual initiative for community members to donate to area organizations. YWCA Executive Director Danielle Brown said her agency is happy to receive

By Jazmine Knight The Bartlett Center is set to host its first annual Holiday Mart fundraiser. Guests can support kids who use the facility and local businesses from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 1, at the center, 409 S. 18th St. The mart will feature an array of vendors including a permanent jeweler,

By Ashley Luthans Registration for Second Harvest Community Food Bank’s Holiday Express food distribution will be on Thursday, Dec. 5. Second Harvest distributes free hams, holiday boxes, and produce through this program. Registration begins at 2 p.m. and will last until 7 or supplies run out. If anyone arrives before noon, they will be asked

By NewsPress Now If you’re looking to help those in need this holiday season with donations of money, items or just your time, the United Way can point you in the right direction. The agency has compiled a guide of holiday-specific opportunities in the 2024 United Way Holiday Volunteer and Giving Guide. Whether you want

By NewsPress Now With a delay leading to a donation shortfall, officials with the Adopt-A-Family program are asking the community for help. Due to an issue with a local printer, the holiday edition of AFL-CIO Community Services’ newsletter did not hit mailboxes until this weekend, which is three weeks behind schedule. The newsletters are one

By Charles Christian Cold weather is here and community shelters are spending time and money to provide a safe place for the homeless community. Major Ron Key of the Salvation Army said winter presents safety challenges for those without homes, and his agency does its best to meet their needs. “We have nine apartments and

By Kendra Simpson St. Joseph residents can help bring holiday cheer to those in need by donating to the 2nd annual “Miracle on 8th Street” donation drive. The YWCA has asked for help from the community in providing new gifts for their shelter residents and other program participants. “I think that a lot of people

By Ashley Luthans A wheelchair drive is happening in St. Joseph on Friday, Nov. 22, asking people to donate wheelchairs, walkers and canes. Spine and Sport Physical Therapy is hosting the drive for “Wheels for the World” which is part of the Joni and Friends organization. The drive aims to bring mobility devices to people

By NewsPress Now The New Nodaway Humane Society, a “no-kill” shelter in Maryville, Missouri, is hosting a “Home 4 the Holidays” pet adoption event. The shelter is located at 829 S Depot St. and is open from 1 to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays and from 1 to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays. All

By Ashley Luthans Cars lined Grand Avenue on Thursday morning as residents claimed boxes filled with all the ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner. Volunteers assisted at Second Harvest Community Food Bank with the 14th annual free annual Turkey Day distribution. Vouchers were given out to qualifying community members last week, inviting them to pick up food for

By By: Nicole Scott The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office is accepting donations for its “Officers with Kids” Christmas program. Each year, community members donate money to the sheriff’s office so deputies can take area children and families shopping for the holiday. Donations can be dropped off at the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, which also accepts

By Leah Rainwater Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and some community organizations are working to make sure everyone has a turkey on the table. On Wednesday, InterServ handed out turkeys and sides to families in need for the holiday. “We gave 100 vouchers, so we have 100 turkeys and 100 bags of sides that

By Chris Fortune Red Kettle campaigns are well underway nationally, but fewer bells are ringing at St. Joseph storefronts this year. The local Salvation Army at 602 Messanie St. has four paid bell ringers instead of the usual six or seven, but support from volunteers is helping set a Red Kettle goal of $100,000. Bell

By Kirsten Stokes Those who enjoy reading and have an hour a week to spare are being asked to join the United Way on an adventure. Volunteers with the United Way Reading Adventure program visit local elementary schools once a week to read to children to help develop their skills. Jodi Flurry, director of community

By Leah Rainwater As the holiday season approached, the Noyes Home for Children shared their plans to fundraise throughout the season. In the past, donations, monetary or otherwise that were collected during the holiday season typically went toward helping with operational costs, food and the needs of families. “We have our annual Holiday Open House

By Jazmine Knight A collection effort next week will help make Christmas brighter for children all around the world. Operation Christmas Child is sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse and is a program where people take a simple shoe box and turn it into a gift for kids all around the world. “Anyone can pack a box,”

By Leah Rainwater Preparing your wallet for the holidays is never an easy task, but there are some community programs that are able to help prepare your pantry. The Second Harvest Community Food Bank and InterServ are services that usually help with food assistance in St. Joseph during the holidays. Alchemy Tea Co. is also