NEXT Tuesday, September 3
On Tuesday, September 3, at 11:30 a.m. in the Mission and Fellowship Center of Sylva First Baptist Church, Dining for Jackson will work to support United Christian Ministries. We hope you will come, bring a covered dish and learn more about this amazing organization.
United Christian Ministries of Jackson County, Inc., was founded in 1989 by a consortium of local churches. The purpose of United Christian Ministries is to help the people with urgent physical, economic, social, or spiritual needs so that they can move toward relative independence. We provide a food pantry, personal items, and household items, as well as assistance with necessities (temporary shelter, utilities, heat, rent, medical copays) to residents of Jackson County. We collaborate with many local supportive agencies in order to help our neighbors. We are staffed by two employees and over 40 volunteers.
We serve about 10,000 clients per year and distribute thousands of bags of food each year. The need for help has been growing each year. For example, in 2023 we gave out 152,000 pounds of food which is a three-fold increase from 2019 when we distributed 40,000 pounds of food. To illustrate how the needs have grown, in 2020 we gave out 70,000 pounds of food, in 2021 it was 76,000 pounds, and in 2022 we gave 128,000 pounds of food. The needs of our community have grown significantly!
UCM is fully funded through the generosity of donors—churches, businesses, individuals, and grants. We receive donations of money as well as pantry items. Grantors include Jackson County, Dogwood Health Trust, Great Smokies Health Foundation, Nantahala Health Foundation, North Carolina Community Foundation, WNC Bridge Foundation, Rotary Club of Sylva, Church of the Good Shepherd (Cashiers), Food Lion Charitable Foundation, WNC Community Foundation, Balsam Mountain Trust, and more.
Many local businesses, civic groups, and churches support UCM in two ways: with monetary support, and by collecting donations of items to give to clients, such as canned food, shampoo, etc. Additional funding comes from local businesses such as NAPA, Peoples Golf, and more. The support of our community is crucial to our success.
So please open your heart and your wallet and help us give much needed support to United Christian Ministries.