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Local relief efforts listed

• Fayette Samaritans, one of the main food banks serving Fayette County, was down to a two- to three-day supply of food for local needy families and refugees from Hurricane Katrina Wednesday morning.

Companies that normally provide the Samaritans with food have been instructed to divert the food to victims of the hurricane, said Charlie Charping, administrator of the all-volunteer Fayette Samaritans.

Money donations are crucial at times like these, so the Samaritans can buy food that’s lacking on their shelves, Charping said. Checks can be made out to Fayette Samaritans and sent to P.O. Box 1071, Fayetteville, GA 30214.

Tuesday, 22 families were served in the 9 a.m.-noon time period the agency is open at 126 Hickory Road, just south of New Hope Road at the rear of the Fayetteville Christian Church campus. Food donations can be dropped off during that time period Monday through Friday.

The Samaritans have a special need for the following items: Peanut butter and jelly, canned meat and tuna, canned fruit, beans and rice, pasta and sauce, fruit juices, personal care products, new packages of men’s underwear and of course, cash donations to help buy necessary food and products that aren’t donated.

Only 1.4 percent of the Samaritans budget is dedicated to expenses such as utilities, Charping said. And local stores partner with the Samaritans so they can stretch the dollars used to purchase food, typically ground beef, ground turkey and chicken that aren’t normally donated, he added.

• An interdenominational community effort is underway to load a truck headed to Biloxi and Gulfport. The truck, driver and gas to make the trip have been donated by Tim Pope and Company.

Donations may be dropped off at 1522 Hwy. S. Fayetteville at the BP station across from Christ’s Church Whitewater. Please, no clothes and no water. Items needed are nonperishable food, toiletries, baby supplies, cleaning supplies, cots, pillows, towels, and 16 gallon trash bags. Donations must be dropped off by Friday, Sept. 16. Drop off is open daily from 3 to 6 p.m.

For more information contact Melanie Fienemann at 678-817-7080.

• The Fayette County Chamber of Commerce and the Fayette County Development Authority have partnered together to provide local residents with job seeking resources. Please keep in mind that both organizations are not job placement agencies. The purpose of this information is to provide as many resources as possible for Fayette County residents.

Job searchers can find information about staffing companies, local job fairs and the Georgia Department of Labor on both organizations’ Web sites at www.fayettechamber.org and www.fayettega.org. The Fayette County Development Authority will also post local job openings and resumes. If you have a job available that you would like to post, please contact Amanda Fields with the Fayette County Development Authority at 770-461-5253. Those looking for work can send a resume or description of job skills to also be posted on the website. This site is in progress, so please check often for updates.

The Fayette County Chamber of Commerce is an association of businesses and organizations that work together to promote economic prosperity and to enhance excellent quality of life through strong leadership, networking, education and a variety of programs that encourage partnerships between businesses and our community.

• The newest need for families who have moved here fleeing hurricane damage in the gulf states is for bookbags and school supplies.

Because of the volume of families still registering, there is still a significant need for gift cards and gift certificates to pay for food, medicine, clothing and gas, officials said.

The school supplies will be necessary as many families who have fled the destruction of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama will be staying here for some time and their children will enroll in Fayette County schools.

Both gift cards/certificates and bookbags with school supplies can be dropped off at the offices of the Fayette County Department of Family and Children Services, located just south of the Towne Center Kroger shopping center in Fayetteville on Ga. Highway 85 south.

Some 11 families will be able to move in to their own residences Tuesday thanks to a local church, and that number is expected to increase in coming days.

• Heritage Bank at Towne Center located at 855 S. Hwy 85, Fayetteville is happy to offer their facility as a drop off point for Katrina Disaster Relief items. Any items from school supplies to gift cards from local clothing stores will be appreciated. All items collected will be delivered to Fayette County DFACS for distribution. Please call Heritage Bank at 770-515-7088 for further information.

• If you have a sweet tooth and want to help victims of Katrina, plan to attend Stonebriar subdivision’s bake sale set for Saturday, Sept. 17, from 9 a.m. until noon.

In addition to selling brownies, cookies, cakes and other sweets, Stonebriar residents will collect non-perishable food, new underwear and socks and clothing for misplaced victims now in Fayette County. All funds raised will be deposited into a special Hurricane Relief Fund managed by the Fayette Department of Family and Children Services. All goods will be given to The Real Life Center, a ministry of Peachtree City’s Dogwood Church, and distributed to victims.

Awesome Adventures has donated an inflatable castle and children are asked to bring their piggy banks and make a donation to jump. This event is also supported by Fayetteville First United Methodist’s Sunday/Monday Connection Sunday School class. If you have questions or would like to make a donation, contact Tina Moore at 770-716-7704.

To reach Stonebriar, take Ga. Highway 54 between Fayetteville and Peachtree City and turn south on Huiet Road or Old Norton Road until you reach Lester Road. Turn onto Stonebriar Pass, and the pavilion is on the right.

• City Cafe in downtown Fayetteville will hold a lunch buffet fundraiser to benefit the American Red Cross Sunday, Sept. 18. For $16.95 per person, patrons will receive “good comfort food” with music in the background, said Doreen Schatte of City Cafe.

Customers will have the chance on their bill to donate more if they wish, and the employees are donating their time and any gratuity they receive during the fund-raiser.

• Unrestricted Ryders Motorcycle Club and Personal Touch Mobile Detailers are sponsoring a car/bike wash to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17 at Cycle Specialty in Fayetteville.

Unrestricted Ryders M/C is a newly formed motorcycle club based in Clayton County and led by President Daran Casey. The club is dedicated to serving their community and helping mankind. Mitchell Gibbs, owner of Personal Touch Mobile Detailers, is also a member of the club. The sponsors recognize how Hurricane Katrina has devastated and claimed the lives of thousands of people, and they want to help those individuals affected by the wrath of the storm as much as possible. They will be accepting donations of toiletries, clothes, non-perishable items, money, and any other items that may benefit those in need.

Cycle Specialty is located on Ga. Highway 85 north of the intersection with Ga. Highway 279 (Old National Highway). Call 770-912-6757 or 404-606-4305 for additional information. The sponsors are grateful any support you can provide.

• Popular Atlanta-based band Keltic Kudzu (www.keltickudzu.com), just back from their successful tour in Canada, will be donating all proceeds from their CD release party, Saturday, Sept. 17, at the Red Light Café to the Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina relief.

A $7 donation at the door gets you in to hear some great “Celtic music with a Southern accent” at 8 p.m., as well as local indie electronica band Twelfth Planet (www.twelfthplanet.org) at 10 p.m.

In addition, Keltic Kudzu’s new CD, the appropriately named In Our Own Country, will be available for $15, and all proceeds from their CD sales will be donated to the relief fund.

The Red Light Café is located at 553 Amsterdam Avenue in Atlanta. Phone 404-874-7828 for more information.

• The Holy Trinity Catholic Church family would like to extend its deepest condolences to those affected by Katrina and extend its support at this time in the way of food and clothing.

Throughout the remaining month of September the Food Pantry hours will be 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Food Pantry is located in the Old Rectory, across the parking lot from the church (101 Walt Banks Road in Peachtree City).

The church’s thrift store, Clothes Less Traveled, is at 216 Fulton Court and Huddleston Road. Volunteers are on hand to serve you Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

For more information, visit www.HolyTrinityPTC.org.

• Mississippi’s commissioner of agriculture is requesting assistance with livestock in his state following Hurricane Katrina. Commissioner Lester Spell said that the livestock industry in Mississippi needs the following barbed wire, t-posts, t-post clips, t-post drivers, water troughs, hay rings, electric fencing supplies, solar fence chargers, bagged livestock feed, poly wire, chains and chainsaws.

Donations of the above items should be directed to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce. The Department has storage, loading, and dispersal capabilities from the State Fairgrounds in Jackson and will be working with the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association to dispense the donated supplies.

Cash donations can be made payable to the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Foundation and mailed to 680 Monroe Street, Suite A, Jackson, MS 39202, to the attention of Sammy Blossom.

“I encourage anyone in Georgia who can provide a helping hand to do so,” said Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin.

• As the Hurricane Katrina relief effort continues, soldiers, family members of soldiers, retirees and family members of military retirees who need assistance can phone Army Community Services at 404-464-4070 from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. Additional information may be found at www.mcpherson.army.mil.

• Burger King Corporation has announced a program to source, recruit and hire displaced Burger King restaurant employees into new or existing jobs at Burger King restaurants in more than 13 cities nationwide, as well as hurricane evacuees in general.

Franchise and company restaurants in cities with the highest concentration of displaced employees are participating in the Displaced Employee Assistance Program. These cities include Atlanta, Austin, Baton Rouge, Birmingham, Dallas, Houston, Montgomery, Orlando, Pensacola, San Antonio, Savannah, Shreveport, Tampa and several others. The program was created solely in response to the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina.

As part of the program, displaced employees may be eligible to receive limited cash assistance to help with the transition.

Hundreds of jobs are currently available. Positions range from the crewmember level to the restaurant manager level. Displaced Burger King restaurant employees may call, toll-free, 877-BKC-4AID for job information in their area. Phone lines will be open from 8 a.m. EDT to 7 p.m. EDT (7 a.m. CT to 6 p.m. CT). This information is also posted on www.bk.com.

• OM, an international Christian mission agency with its U.S. office in Tyrone, is providing help following Hurricane Katrina. OM is working with churches linked to the organization but not affected by the storm, connecting them with churches and ministries which were affected. In addition, financial contributions are currently being used to help operate two shelters, and will be used for other needs as funds become available. OM is also exploring opportunities to send medical relief teams to the area.

OM has nearly 4,100 workers in 110 nations, and the Tyrone office is home base for nearly 500 American adults serving with the ministry.

Financial contributions to OM for hurricane relief can be made online at www.usa.om.org (online giving requires a minimum of $25) or by sending a check payable to OM and marked Katrina Hurricane Relief to P.O. Box 444, Tyrone, GA 30290. For questions regarding OM’s involvement, please call 770-631-0432.

• Peachtree City United Methodist Church has established a temporary clothing and food distribution center for the victims of Hurricane Katrina who are in this area. The center is set up in the all-purpose room of the Windgate Campus (400 Windgate Road), at the intersection of Peachtree Parkway and Windgate Road.

It will be open Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 12-13, 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m. and Wednesday, Sept. 14, 9:30 a.m.-noon.

Victims without transportation can call Rev. Stephen Soulen or Patty White at 770-487-6499.

Volunteers can call the church at 770-487-6499 to help with the distribution. (There are plenty of clothes; no more are needed at this time.)

• The Catholic Church of St. Gabriel has received many requests for assistance from individuals and have been working with them on an individual basis, according to Jim Winkler, St. Gabriel’s parish operations representative.

St. Gabriel is working with Catholic Charities at the request of the Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory and taking up a collection for the hurricane victims and will forward this collection directly to this organization for distribution. Catholic Charities has always come forth in assisting in devastated areas not only in our own country but throughout the world.

Also, St. Gabriel is working closely with Square Foot Ministries to add a room onto a house that had to greatly expand with family members who moved in from the Louisiana area. Chuck Leonard of St. Gabriel is on the board of Square Foot and has been coordinating assistance in this area.

• Digital DJs has announced an UNPLUG event for Atlanta Community Food Bank scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 18, from 2-7 p.m. at Perkerson Park, 770 Deckner Avenue in southwest Atlanta.

Fun and games included. The event is free but donations will be accepted for the Atlanta Food Bank, which is currently providing food and supplies to support the immediate needs of families and individuals who have evacuated to Atlanta from areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Bring canned goods or other non-perishable items and you will become eligible to win CDs and T-shirts.

For more information, visit www.digital-djs.com.

• Wags to Whiskers Boutique & Barkery in Peachtree City is sponsoring a raffle to benefit the animal victims of hurricane Katrina. Tickets are on sale now at the store’s location at 100 North Peachtree Pkwy (behind Chick fil-A).

First prize is 10 dozen freshly baked dog treats, and second prize is a free pet portrait session. Tickets are $3 each or two for $5. Drawing will be held at Sept. 30 at 5 p.m. You need not be present to win.

All money raised from ticket sales will go to The Best Friends Animal Society. Wags to Whiskers is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday. For more information contact the store at 770-486-4924.