Reba A. Terry enters the Clothing Donation center at The Caring Place in Cleveland, Tenn., in this file photo.TO GET INVOLVED
To donate or to seek help, The Caring Place, at 130 Wildwood Ave., is open from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday through Fridays and from 6 -8 p.m. on Tuesday.
The Caring Place warehouse manager Sheila McElhaney tapes boxes together inside the food distribution center at the Cleveland ministry in this file photo.
Reba Terry and Ted Asprodites with The Caring Place’s walk-in coolers in this file photo.CLEVELAND, Tenn. — The Caring Place needs volunteers and donations of food, clothing or money as the community enters the holiday season, officials say.
“Of course, these last few years have not been easy for anyone. But the poor get poorer. The poor get hit by the tornadoes,” Christy Ritzhaup of the Caring Place told MainStreet Cleveland members Monday.
The Caring Place is a non-denominational consortium of 53 churches, founded in 2000 with support from volunteers and donors that includes individuals and businesses. It accepts donations of food, clothing and money and distributes 20-pound bags of groceries to clients, twice a month for families and once a month for others. Clients can also choose clothing in a store-like atmosphere.
With the sagging economy, the Caring Place is seeing more people in tight financial situations, either laid off, of with their hours cut or forced to work minimum wage jobs that don’t cover the bills, she said.