John Chidester, Director for the Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County shared with WNZR about their annual collection. Click HERE to hear the full conversation or click the link below. They have been supporting FFTH for decades! Food and monetary donations are being accepted through 12/13 at the libraries in Mount Vernon, Danville, Fredericktown and Gambier. This year, the library has an extra incentive for those that donate. Each time you give a donation, your name will be put into a drawing for a gift card!
Non-perishable items that are at or near their expiration dates, damaged, or in compromised containers will not be accepted. All collected food and money will be given to the 2024 Food For The Hungry Drive. Donations from each community will stay in that local community.
WNZR is honored to partner with the 43rd annual Food For The Hungry Drive. Today, The Morning Thing shared talked with Debbie Ruggles, President of Psi Iota Xi Sorority about this year’s elementary school collection. Psi Iota Xi has been involved with FFTH for 25 years!
Click HERE to hear the full conversation or click on the link below.
The collection is happening this week – 11/18 – 11/22 at all Knox County Elementary schools: Centerburg, Danville, East Knox, Fredericktown, Columbia, Dan Emmett, Pleasant Street, East, St. Vincent DePaul, Twin Oak and Wiggin Street. The Knox Learning Center and 6th Grade at Mount Vernon Middle School are also participating.
Debbie shared that there are rewards for the top collectors: – The Top Class in each school will receive a pizza party from Psi Iota Xi – The top donor from each school will be honored in the Food For The Hungry broadcast at the Knox County Memorial Building on Friday, Dec. 13. The students will be recognized on our live video stream at www.mvnu.tv, as well as on 100.9 FM and 93.7 HD2 – WMVO, with reports given on WNZR and 93.7 the Super Q.
A green flyer went home with the kids this past Friday sharing all the details. This flyer also included the Top 10 food items needed at our local pantries.
The Top 10 items needed for our local pantries include soup (pop-tops or packages), jelly, canned meals (ravioli, spaghettios, etc.), breakfast foods (cereal, oatmeal, pancake mix), canned fruit, canned vegetables, pasta/egg noodles, side dishes (boxed or packaged), peanut butter, and pasta sauce.
Though non-food donations are welcome, cash donations are encouraged because $1 donated is equivalent to $4.56 of buying power through the Mid-Ohio Collective. Checks should be made payable to Food For The Hungry. All donations collected in each school will stay in the community in which they were donated. These students are asked to demonstrate the idea that no one is too young to make a difference and that the community is better when we work together!
Follow FFTH on Facebook (@FoodForTheHungryKnoxCounty) and Instagram (@FFTHCares) to stay up to date on all things FFTH. Get involved by attending events, donating, volunteering, or even hosting your own event for FFTH! If you are hosting an event or collection, make sure to fill out the Community Event/Collection Form on the FFTH website.
To learn more about FFTH, donate, or find photos, videos, and more, visit www.FoodForTheHungryCares.org. To volunteer with FFTH, call or text Kathy Brechler at (740)-409-1866 or email Director@FoodForTheHungryCares.org.
The 2024 FFTH Live Broadcast will take place on Friday, Dec. 13 at the Memorial Theater inside the Knox Memorial. This is a Knox County tradition you won’t want to miss!
Food For The Hungry—Working together to care for our neighbors.
Today on The Morning Thing, we shared some yummy recipes from AllRecipes.com for you. Ridiculously easy soups that are ready in 30 minutes or less! Let’s make dinner!
Captain Christine Moretz shared an exciting ministry update with WNZR. Construction is underway for a new childcare center in our community! Click HERE to hear the full conversation or click on the link below.
She explained how they discovered the need for childcare and decided to build this facility. Christine shared an overview of the facility that will be added to the area that they call “Salvation Square.” This new building is a 13,270 square foot childcare center, that also allows for 36 additional slots for an after-school program. A total of 112 children will be cared for daily in this facility, named “The Salvation Army Learning Lighthouse!”
She listed the areas and facilities in this center that will be used for educational and recreational programs. There will also be renovations made to their existing social services building to better serve those in need in the community!
Christine also shared the timeline for this building project with WNZR. Construction is planned to finish in October 2025, with the childcare center to open in January 2026! Their campaign goal is $6.25 million dollars, and about $4.9 million dollars has been pledged by generous organizations. You can support this campaign at www.salarmy.us/LightTheDay
Christine also shared about the many ways to get involved with raising funds for the Salvation Army this Christmas Season! Kettle Kickoff is Tuesday, November 26th at noon at the Salvation Army! You can keep an eye out for red kettles accepting donations around town, or volunteer to ring a bell.
The community Thanksgiving Dinner will be November 27th at the Salvation Army, and you can volunteer for that event as well.
MVNU’s Cross Country Coach, Simon Taylor stopped by WNZR to chat about the team and an exciting event.
Click HERE to hear the full conversation or click on the picture below.
The team is hosting the “Before the Bird” 5K Run and Walk on Saturday, November 16th! Registration is from 8:15am – 8:45am Race starts at 9am Where – MVNU Campus Chapel.
All proceeds from the event are donated to MVNU Cross Country.
It is Food For The Hungry Kickoff Day! Today, we celebrate a legacy of giving that started in 1982. 2024 marks the 43rd Anniversary of this incredible campaign.
WNZR’s Marcy Rinehart talked with the new Food For The Hungry Executive Director, Kathy Brechler and Olivia Stern, Digital Content and Marketing Director. Click HERE to hear the full conversation.
The ladies covered many topics about this year’s drive:
2024 Drive Goal of $330,000
Why the goal has increased
The power of $1.00 at the Mid Ohio Food Collective ($1.00 – $4.56)
The Value of volunteers and how you can get involved
This is a local effort and donations stay right here in Knox County
Upcoming events to support the campaign
Summer Grant Program (15 local organizations received grants for a total of $29,500)
Top 10 needed food items
Healthy Donation Guide
How to stay connected
The ladies also shared powerful stories of how residents have been impacted by these donations. They also shared about their summer visits to several of our local pantries that benefit from FFTH.
Your generosity is astounding each year and we believe this will be another fantastic season of giving to support the FFTH mission of alleviating hunger in Knox County. We invite you to get involved! Donate, Volunteer, Host an Event/Collection, or Attend an Event!
On Wednesday, 10/23/24, the United Way of Knox County hosted an exciting community event. They launched their All Kids Bike Initiative – a program that aims to teach every child in Knox County how to ride a bike. This is the pilot year. They are introducing the program across all the Mount Vernon City Elementary schools as well as Centerburg Elementary. They hope to extend the program to every school in Knox County by the 2025-2026 school year.
Click HERE to hear from Halle Krajenski, Program Director about this exciting initiative. We also talked with Patrolmen Benjamin Fike from the Mount Vernon Police Department about bike safety.
To connect with the United Way of Knox County and to donate for the 2024 Campaign – click HERE. Your gift makes a difference! Be sure to scroll down and check out the videos!
All the hosts on The Morning Thing yell – YES! If your schedule is like our schedules, you could use help finding balance for your daily schedule.
Marcy found this insightful article from Crosswalk. They share 6 ways to make better use of your time. These tips can become daily habits that will help us find the balance that so desperately needs. Check out the FULL article HERE from author Vivian Bricker. We are including some highlights below.
1. Take Time to Read the Bible. The Bible contains everything we need to know in order to live holy and godly lives (2 Peter 1:3; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). By taking time to read the Bible, we will automatically be making better use of our time. Even if we only spend 15-20 minutes in the Bible, we are practicing using our time wisely.
2. Be Active in Prayer. Prayer is our direct line to God. Whenever we pray, we can rest in the sure knowledge that God hears our prayers. The Apostle John tells us, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us” (1 John 5:14). With this promise in our hearts, we need to be going to Him everyday in prayer.
3. Steer Clear of Distractions. There are many distractions in our lives, such as social media, endless text messages, or nonstop scrolling on the Internet. All of these things need to be put aside. They are a waste of time and impact our lives negatively.
4. Prioritize Your Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Health. By taking time to feed into our wellbeing each day, it will help our lives to become more happier and healthier.
5. Practice Saying “No”. Practicing saying “no” will be difficult, yet it is something that must be done. We don’t need to overwhelm ourselves or stretch ourselves too thin. By saying “no” to things that we don’t need or can’t handle, it will help us make better use of our time.
6. Start a Routine. Starting a routine can help us organize our time better and use it more wisely. By having a routine and sticking with it, our days will become much more predictable and controlled. Rather than doing things on the spur of the moment, we will start outlining time in our day to do specific tasks. This will help us to have more control over our day and feel more organized.
Author Vivian Bricker loves Jesus, studying the Word of God, and helping others in their walk with Christ. She has earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master’s degree in Christian Ministry with a deep academic emphasis in theology. Her favorite things to do are spending time with her family and friends, reading, and spending time outside. When she is not writing, she is embarking on other adventures.
Summer is finally here, and we couldn’t be more excited! With great weather and more free time, we’re always looking for something to do! That’s why today on The Morning Thing we took a look at 15 Fun and (mostly) Free Things to do with the whole family this summer!
We’ve all faced it one time or another. Those creeping thoughts of self-doubt telling us we aren’t good enough and can’t accomplish what we hope to. Today on The Morning Thing we looked at ’13 Things to Remember When You Think You’re Not Good Enough’ from The Positivity Blog and talked about the different ways these tips can be applied to our own lives.
Rise and Shine 