Donations to local food pantries often drop off during the warm-weather months, even though need continues regardless of season. This year the summer slump seems to have come early, and hit harder, said Boise Rescue Mission Director Bill Roscoe.
“Ordinarily we have enough canned and dry goods on hand to supply our kitchens and provide emergency food boxes to families. Right now we are having to cut back on the food boxes because we have to be sure we can supply our kitchens,” he said.
“While the donations drop off, the numbers of people being served remains pretty steady.”
In addition to its three community dining rooms where it serves meals, the Mission also provides more than 125 food boxes to families each month. Food boxes are made based on the numbers in the family and usually include canned goods, peanut butter, bread and fresh produce when available.
Roscoe said the Mission is able to provide collection barrels for any group or office that would like to hold a food drive. The Mission will also pick the food up at the end of the drive.
Interested in learning more about how you can help? Contact the Mission office at 343-2389.
The Boise Rescue Mission is a nonprofit organization. All donations are tax deductible.
HOURS EXPAND AT IDAHO SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINE, VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-273-TALK) recently received $75,000 thanks to donations from the J.A. Kathryn Albertson Foundation and St. Luke’s Health System. The United Way of Treasure Valley helped make connections among the groups.
The money is paying for the hotline to add an additional evening phone responder shift and expand its hours of operation from the current 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
The ISPH will be able to handle more crisis calls and also make follow-up calls to the people who called for help.
The hotline team is also looking for more volunteers. All volunteers receive 32 hours of training to become crisis phone workers and also serve apprenticeships.
Volunteers commit to one four-hour hotline shift each week for one year. If you think this might be a fit for you, visit the ISPH home page for more details about getting involved.
Link through this column at idahostatesman.com.
BOISE PUBLIC LIBRARY AT HILLCREST OFFERS FREE MOVIES
Here’s something free and fun for the community: weekly movies every Thursday at the Boise Public Library’s Hillcrest branch.
In the afternoons, the library will screen classic movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood at 2 p.m.
Evenings will alternate between action/adventure and romance, starting at 6 p.m.
Here’s the line-up for this week’s shows:
“Citizen Kane,” 2 p.m. Thursday. Orson Welles stars in this unforgettable drama tracing the rise of publishing mogul Charles Foster Kane, from humble beginnings to riches and accolades. (1941, BW)
“Safe House,” 6 p.m. Thursday. When a CIA-operated safe house is targeted by a group of bad guys, the facility’s house-sitter is tasked with the dangerous job of moving the criminal who is being hidden there to another secure location. (2012, R)
The library at Hillcrest is located in the Hillcrest Shopping Center at Orchard Street and Overland Road. For more information, call 562-4996 or go to the website.
Link through this column at idahostatesman.com.
NHS PLANS SURVEY IN VETERANS PARK NEIGHBORHOOD
Neighborhood Housing Services will conduct a survey in the Veterans Park area and in cooperation with the Veterans Park Neighborhood Association on July 20. Volunteers are still needed to help with the project.
“This is about two things – good information and good neighbor relationship building,” said NHS Community Development Director Gina Lyon.
The survey, conducted door-to-door by volunteers, focuses on local issues, neighborhood safety and conditions, services and general neighborliness.
Lyon said there is still room for volunteers. Community service credit is available for students. Find a link to the website to sign up through this column at idahostatesman.com or call Gina Lyon for more information: 258-6216.
Anna Webb: 377-6431