Morgan-Scott Project

Group from Big Spring Congregational Church in Wisconsin Dells

In late March a work group of nine people from Big Spring Congregational Church in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin visited Morgan-Scott Project.  Led by Rev. David Bowman, this group built a ramp for Danny and Linda in Deer Lodge, TN.  Danny has cancer and was having a leg amputated at the knee the day the ramp was built.  This hard-working group also built a small ramp leading into the upper storage building of the Project and put a fresh coat of paint on the fence at the Project office.  Thanks to this wonderful group of Christians who took time to help their friends in Morgan County, Tennessee.

Article by Ella Smith

Senators Howard Baker and Nancy Kassebaum Baker with MSP Workgroup

A summer workgroup from Kansas received a special treat recently.  Former Tennessee Senator Howard Baker is from Scott County and attends Huntsville Presbyterian Church with his wife, Nancy Kassebaum Baker, who is the former senator from Kansas.  Morgan-Scott Executive Director Ella Smith called the Bakers and asked if they would go by the church and speak to the group.  Instead, Mrs. Baker called back and asked the group to dinner.

Senator Baker, known as the Great Conciliator, is one of the most respected politicians of our time, serving in the Senate from 1967 to 1985, as Chief of Staff to President Reagan in 1987-1988, and as U.S. Ambassador to Japan from 2001 to 2005.  Senator Kassebaum served in the Senate from 1978 to 1997 and was chair of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources for the 104^th Congress.  She is best known for her legislation on health care, cosponsoring an important health care bill with Senator Ted Kennedy.

This group spent a lovely evening at the Bakers, with Senator Baker showing the boys his antique car collection and Senator Kassebaum talking to the girls about careers in politics.  What better way to learn about the volunteer spirit than to spend an evening with two people who have dedicated their entire lives to public service!   Thank you, Senators, for inspiring a Morgan-Scott Project workgroup.

Article by Ella Smith and Ray Boles

Morgan-Scott Project is pleased to have youth work groups all summer from FAST (Faithful Advocates Serving Together), headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.  These groups will include young people from United Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ churches throughout the U.S.  This is in addition to the usual volunteer work groups that visit us each summer, so we expect to accomplish a lot this year.

The first group included 15 people from Northside Christian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, under the leadership of Rev. Frits Havenkamp, and six people from Carl Road Christian Church in Columbus, Ohio, led by Seth Stout.

This group placed underskirting around the trailer of a lady named Maeona, and painted and stained the wheelchair ramp and porches of a lady named Georgetta.  Both ladies are in their 70’s and live alone.  (Georgetta gives back to the community by hanging clothes at the MSP Thrift Store.)  In addition, this FAST group scraped, sanded, and painted the Gazebo in the Town Square of Deer Lodge, so the entire community benefited from their visit.

We appreciate the work of these young people who are dedicated to making a difference in the world.

Article by Ray Boles

Left to right: Robin Sparkman, Tracy Smith, MSP Executive Director Ella Smith

Each year the Farm Bureau Insurance Office in Morgan County has a food drive for a local charity to celebrate all of the good foods produced by the farms they represent.  This year, they chose the Food Bank at Morgan-Scott Project as the recipient of the food collected.

We sincerely thank Farm Bureau for supporting Morgan-Scott in their efforts to provide food for those in need.

Article by Ella Smith

This year’s home repair program got off to an early start with a visit by nine college students from the University of Illinois at Chicago on March 21.  This wonderful group represented eight countries.  Only one girl was from the U.S. and only two were from the same country.  All spoke fluent English, and all were hard workers.

They began by helping an elderly gentleman named Wally from Winfield, who is confined to his bed and relies on home health care.  They built him a back porch, and then cleaned up his yard, tearing down an old building in the process.  The next day they built a wheelchair ramp for Artie of Helenwood. After a free day visit to Nashville, they returned to help one of our local volunteers tear down a building and clean up a yard for an elderly lady.  Finally, they spent a day at the MSP office, cleaning out the upper storage building.

The Morgan-Scott community sincerely appreciates these young people who use their energy and resources to help the less fortunate of our community.

Article by Ella Smith and Ray Boles

Mrs. Mary Anne Ogilvie

Morgan-Scott Project recently received a gift of $750 from Gurnee Community Chapel in Gurnee, Illinois, in memory of Mrs. Mary Anne Ogilvie who passed away on July 11, 2009.  Mrs. Ogilvie found a unique way of supporting one of her favorite charities while serving as a member of the mission committee of that church.  While suffering from macular degeneration, Mrs. Ogilvie knitted and crocheted hats, scarves and beautiful afghans, which she donated to fund raisers.  Some of the proceeds of these fund raisers were used to buy seeds for the Morgan-Scott Good Earth program.

We are thankful for Mrs. Ogilvie for her support and to her friends at Gurnee Community Chapel who remembered her with their gifts.  It is volunteers like these who sustain the work of Morgan-Scott Project.

Article by Ray Boles

MSP Treasurer Tamia Bible

The Morgan Scott Project completed the first quarter of 2010 with total receipts of $33,000 and total expenditures of $47,000.  (All numbers are rounded.)  The majority of this loss, or negative change in net assets, is due to a drop in contributed support. 

Total expenditures are actually almost the same as last year, $47,000 vs. $46,000.  In mission-related programs, we spent a total of $29,000, $12,000 in emergency aid, $9,000 in the New Light Educational Support Program, and another $8,000 in food boxes, garden supplies for the Good Earth Garden program, and assistance to the Scott County Homeless Shelter.  Overhead, or the expense of running the Morgan Scott Project, was $18,000 and was on budget as of the end of the first quarter.

We are very concerned about the drop in donations.  The Project is closely monitoring overhead and cutting expenses wherever possible.  However, we fear that soon we may have to begin cutting services to those who desperately need our help.  Almost all of our funding comes from donations from churches and individuals.  We know that all of us are facing problems in this economy, but we hope that all who are able will consider making a small donation.   Your donations, be they money, time, or items for our thrift store, do make a difference.

Article by MSP Treasurer Tamia Bible

MSP Christmas Gifts 2009

It has been over four months since Christmas and I have neglected to write about one of the greatest events of the year in the Morgan-Scott community – the annual Christmas Store.  This is not an ordinary store.  We are not selling anything.  We are making sure that all children in Morgan and Scott counties, regardless of their family’s circumstances, have Christmas gifts.

Started in 1976 when 75 families (approximately 250 children) were served, the Christmas store has grown over the years.  It served 2200 children in 2007, 2410 in 2008, and a record 2832 children from 858 families in 2009.  This year each child received two large gifts, a stuffed animal, and a pair of mittens.

The families that are helped are selected on the basis of family income and need.  After the donations are received, our director and local volunteers take inventory of the gifts and use the cash to purchase additional gifts from Walmart and other local stores.

This event could not happen without the help of many donors.  For the past several years, the Unicorn Fund and the Salvation Army have worked with MSP to sponsor this program.  Like MSP, they accept gifts and cash from donors for this cause.  Many churches and individuals send toys and/or money for this event.  Among these have been the Fairfield Glade Community Church, Concord UMC, Church of Our Savior (UCC) of Knoxville, and Spring City UMC.  By naming these churches, I am sure that I am leaving out many others who have demonstrated their love of Christ through these gifts to underprivileged children.

Article by Ray Boles

Throughout its history, Morgan-Scott Project has enabled this community by sponsoring needed projects, then spinning them off as independently managed organizations.  Examples have been Appalachia Habitat, Plateau Home School, and Highland Hope School, as well as several libraries and clinics.  This year we completed the spin-off of the Scott County Homeless Shelter.

In 2008 it became apparent that many families who applied for help at Morgan-Scott Project were in need of shelter.  Local law enforcement made us aware that many families were living in tents near the rivers.  Some refused to ask for help because they were afraid of losing their children if Children’s Services became aware of their circumstances.  These families were able to survive during the summer, but were in great need in the winter.  With this in mind MSP decided to sponsor a homeless shelter in Scott County.

Late in 2008 MSP Executive Director Ella Smith applied for and received a $14,000 start-up grant from the Housing Assistance Counsel.  Scott County agreed to provide a run down school building in Huntsville for $1 per year and agreed to pay the utilities for the first year.  The school building was converted into five bright, cheerful apartment-like rooms capable of sheltering up to 25 people plus a caretaker’s apartment.  Gerald Voiles was hired as Executive Director.

The Scott County Homeless shelter opened for business on February 13, 2009. During the first year of operation, food and shelter was provided for 32 men, 37 women, and 21 children for a total of 2,046 bed stays.  In addition to Scott County, it has served the needs of the homeless in Morgan, Fentress and Campbell counties. 

While there, every effort is made to find jobs and permanent housing for those served.  The Shelter provides applications for local housing options to give to residents, posts classified adds from the weekly paper showing rental options, and keeps applications on file of companies that could be hiring.  In addition, the residents meet with a case manager weekly to discuss their progress and to explore additional options for income and housing.

In January, 2010, the Scott County Homeless Shelter received its 501(c)3 designation, making it an independent non-profit agency, completing the intended spin-off from MSP (MSP Director Ella Smith continues to serve of the Board of Directors of the homeless shelter).  Congratulations to Ella for initiating this project and to Gerald Voiles for taking the day-to-day leadership.  Funds to support the shelter are a continuing need.  If you would like to contribute, you can send gifts to:

Scott County Homeless Shelter, 1513 Jeffers Road,  PO Box 164, Huntsville, TN 37726

Article by Ray Boles

MSP News Editor Ray Boles

We don’t usually like to keep track of good deeds, but when I read Executive Director Ella Smith’s January Newsletter which reviewed activities for 2009, I was staggered by the number of people helped by Morgan-Scott Project.  I write about them here so that our supporters will know how much their gifts are accomplishing and how much they are appreciated.  Here are some of the numbers:

Emergency aid in the form of help with utility bills, rent, medical co-pay, and medication were provided for 1,236 individuals in 409 families.  A total of 614 food boxes were provided to feed 1,663 individuals.  The MSP-sponsored Scott County Homeless Shelter provided food and shelter to 30 men, 35 women and 35 children for a total of 1,965 bed stays.  Fifteen workgroups totaling 193 volunteers built 12 wheelchair ramps while upgrading 15 homes.  Backpacks were provided for 27 children.  A total of 59 adults were assisted in job training at the Tennessee Technology Center.  Three high school seniors received $500 scholarships to attend Roane State Community College.  The Good Earth Program provided seeds, plants, and fertilizer to 384 families for their home gardens. Thanks to the combined efforts of MSP, The Unicorn Fund, and the Salvation Army, 2,832 children in 858 families received Christmas gifts. 

It is impossible to know the exact number, but we estimate that at least 7,500 people in Morgan and Scott counties were assisted in 2009.  This is approximately 18% of the combined population of these two counties.  That there are these many people in need of help should not be surprising given the December 2009 statistics which show 12.3 % unemployment in Morgan County and 18.8% in Scott County.  This compares to 10.0% in the U.S. and 10.9% in Tennessee.  By contrast, the more urban Knox and Hamilton counties had unemployment rates of 8.1 and 8.9%, respectively. Times are tough all over, but they are especially tough in rural America.

This was accomplished on MSP expenditures of $175,000, but of course this does not count the many gifts in kind of toys, clothing, and labor.  Ultimately it was accomplished thanks to the many churches and individuals who contributed their time, money, and energy to help the people of Morgan and Scott Counties.  It was much needed and very much appreciated.

Article by Ray Boles