Wesley House Community Center — Since 1904 , Wesley House Community Center has been in mission to help Meridian ’ s underprivileged , neglected and abused people learn to help themselves . The center provides a hand-up approach of assistance to clients through four separate mission areas : East Mississippi Child Advocacy Center ( EMCAC ),; East Mississippi Sexual Assault Crisis Center ( EMSCAC ), education services and Christian relief . During the holidays , Wesley House provides Thanksgiving food bags to qualified applicants and at Christmas , families can receive food bags and toys for their children . For more information about Wesley House Attendance Center , visit the website wesleyhousemeridian . org or call 601-485-4736
Care Lodge — For more than 39 years , Care Lodge has provided essential services and emergency shelter to victims of domestic violence in East Central Mississippi . Today , Care Lodge provides services to 1,000 victims each year to residents of nine counties in East Mississippi . It is the only certified domestic violence shelter in Mississippi Highway Patrol District VI . All services for victims are free of charge and completely confidential . Services are available to victims in shelter as well as in the community and include : 24-Hour Crisis Line : victim support services ; safety planning ; emergency domestic violence shelter ; domestic abuse protection order assistance ; counseling ; case management ; court advocacy ; information and referrals ; family violence intervention program ; transitional housing program for victims ; training and speakers bureau ; teen dating violence education ; and resources . For more information , visit the website care lodge . com or call 601-693-HOPE ( 4673 ) or 601-482-8719 .
Lauderdale County Habitat for Humanity — Founded in 1989 , the local affiliate shares the mission of the national organization : to develop communities with people in need by building and renovating houses so that there are decent houses in decent communities in which every person can experience God ’ s love and can live and grow into all that God intends . Since its inception , the Lauderdale County HFH has placed more than 70 families in safe and affordable housing , and completed 20 critical home repairs and weatherized more than 30 homes for low-income homeowners . For more information , visit the website www . habitat . org or the Lauderdale County affiliate ’ s Facebook page .
Love & Peas Community Garden Project — Located behind Cater ’ s Market at 5201 Highway 493 , this 8,000-square foot of land located in North Meridian not only provides garden enthusiasts the tools to successful gardening , but also provides fresh produce to residents and local soup kitchens . Sponsored by the nonprofit organization Go Green Meridian , the teaching garden also sponsors children tours , works with organizations such as the Meridian Freedom Project and NFusionX , and has a presence at local health fairs and other wellness events . Love & Peas Community Garden Project also conducts how-to workshops on gardening and sustainable techniques such as eco-dying , as well as presen
tations on solar power and recycling . Participants meet Saturdays at 8:30 a . m . to work on garden as a group .
For more information , visit the website www . gogreenmeridian . com / love-peas-community-garden . html or the organization ’ s Facebook page .
LOVE ’ s Kitchen of Meridian — Founded in 1983 by the late Judge Billy Neville , Lauderdale Outreach and Volunteer Effort Inc ., known as LOVE ’ s Kitchen , is a non-profit charitable organization founded for the express purpose of feeding the hungry in Meridian and Lauderdale County .
The facility ’ s needs change daily , according to its executive director . In addition to financial donations , volunteers can assist with cooking , cleaning , organizing the food pantry and serving meals . The soup kitchens more than 4,000 meals annually , which includes breakfast and lunch Monday through Saturday . Interested volunteers are asked to call before going to the facility .
For more information , call 601-693-1409 or visit the website www . loveskitchenmeridian . com or the facility ’ s Facebook page .
East Mississippi Rotary e-club — Founded in 2014 , the East Mississippi Rotary e-club meets and conducts business online , and comes together for projects and socials .
Committed to Rotary International ’ s motto
“ Service Above Self ,” e-club members identify the needs of the community , then come up with solutions to improve them by contributing time and money to various community causes . Rotary is also committed to youth and the East Mississippi Rotary e-club sponsors several projects including : Reading Between the Lions , a preparatory reading program for 4 year olds ( the e-club sponsors three in-school preschools each year ), Cub Scout Pack 27 at Southeast Middle School and Interact Club at Meridian High School .
For more information , call 601-701-3470 or visit the organization ’ s website at eastmissrotaryclub . wixsite . com or their Facebook page . www . meridianstar . com
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