AA meets every Friday at 8:00pm at Almena UMC’s fellowship hall. It is a closed meeting, meaning that it is closed to general observers, but open to anyone who is struggling with alcohol issues and would like some potential help. Please join us if that describes you.
4-H
Almena Happy Helpers meet the 2nd Monday of the Month at 7 pm at Almena UMC. Children and youth ages 6-19 are invited to join in anytime. The Happy Helpers participate in a broad range of traditional 4-H activities, and also include community service projects and leadership training. For more information contact 4-H key leader Lori Alexander at 217-0072.
Eleanors Food Pantry
Food asssistance for Paw Paw and Lawton residents. 415-0444 or www.eleanorspantry.org. Hours: 10-1 M and F, 3-5pm T-W-TH. Check for seasonal hour changes. Three days worth of food provided, once a month per family.
United Christian Services
United Christian Services embraces the teaching of Jesus to care for one another through assistance in emergencies, while encouraging self-sufficiency in Gobles, Paw Paw, Mattawan, Lawton, Lawrence and Decatur. UCS is housed at the Freshwater Community Church at 600 E. Michigan Avenue, Paw Paw. Hours are M & Th from 9:30-2:00 & W 9:00-12:00. Phone number: 415-0767.
Emergency Financial Assistance: Where possible, we assist with situations such as utility shutoffs, evictions, and other emergencies, but we strive to help our clients achieve self-sufficiency.
We have several other services that can help families in need such as:
• Lydia’s Clothing Closet – Providing professional wear, maternity, men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing, distributed for free according to specific need
• The Porch – providing fruit, vegetables, and bread twice a week as a supplement to other food sources, free to anyone in need.
Education Classes – *CURRENTLY INACTIVE DUE TO COVID*
• Dollars and Sense – Free workshop to put you on the path toward financial stability by helping you create a budget, set goals, shop sensibly, manage debt and more
• Learning Kitchen – Teaching nutrition, meal prep skills and how to create healthy, affordable meals.
• Learning Garden – An opportunity to get involved in a community garden, anyone who helps on a regular basis has a share in the crop, plus we offer community service hours.
Free Clothes and Shoes
Available at the Jody’s Closet located at the Calvary Reformed Church, 7829 5th St, Mattawan, MI (Just north of Centre St.) Hours are M-T 10am-12pm Th 6pm-8pm. Also open the first Saturday of each month from 8:30am-10am
Michigan Area United Methodist Church
Visit the Michigan Area UMC Website for information about the United Methodist Church. http://michiganumc.org/
Veterans Guide
Our mission is to assist veterans with the array of issues they may face, including obtaining proper disability compensation, financial assistance, information on the GI bill, and more. We have created some helpful guides and will continuously be adding more. Recently we also made a calculator that helps veterans calculate how much their VA rating should be, especially when it comes to combining ratings and complicated VA math. Check it out:
VA Disability Calculator – veteransguide.org/va-disability-calculator/
VA Disability Appeals – veteransguide.org/va-disability/appeals/
What’s important to us is providing resources and help for veterans and their families. We want to make sure vets have all the resources necessary to ensure they struggle with their health and finances as little as possible.
