Local News

Tyrand Cooperative Ministries to provide holiday food baskets

MILL CREEK -- Tyrand Cooperative Ministries is gearing up to fill free Christmas baskets of food for the needy next week.

"We're getting ready to set up to do free Christmas baskets for the less fortunate on Tuesday," Belinda Toms, Tyrand's executive director, said. "We are expecting to provide 165 to 170 Christmas baskets this year."

"The need is greater this year than in years past with the COVID-19 pandemic," she said. "The baskets include ham, green beans, potatoes, everything they need to create a Christmas meal."

Tyrand provided about 70 free Thanksgiving baskets for the needy in November.

Toms said the pandemic has affected the nonprofit organization's fundraising efforts this year. Safety concerns shut down Tyrand's Thrift Store for months.

"We had to cancel our biggest fundraiser of the year in 2020, our auction," she said. "We're still not sure about the 2021 auction, whether we will be able to have it or not."

"We really appreciate the extra donations this year. We wouldn't have survived without them. The Thrift Store was shut down from March to June," Toms noted.

Toms said Tyrand is currently taking donations for the Thrift Store, including furniture, used appliances, coffee pots, blenders, etc., "as long as it can still be used."

"We give out vouchers almost daily for people to shop for clothes and house items out of the Thrift Store."

"We always need financial donations designated for the emergency fund, and also donations for the food pantry," she said.

Toms said she hopes Tyrand will soon be able to bring back some of the services that the pandemic made impossible this year.

"We are hoping that by summer, in June, we will be able to have our home repair work teams back in the community," she said. "We normally have teams from Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Florida and the Carolinas. We had nine scheduled for 2020, but all were canceled due to the pandemic."

COVID-19 has also taken a toll on the ability of some of Tyrand's volunteers to contribute time to the Thrift Store and other activities.

"We run on volunteers. This year we are missing some of the older volunteers who just can't come out because of the pandemic," Toms said. "Some will be here Tuesday to help fill the Christmas baskets."

Toms pointed out that volunteer Avis Forinash, who will be 95 in February, still helps out, while wearing a mask.

"Our Thrift Store workers have been very diligent about working extra days this year," Toms said. "We just finished up our Christmas store, where we provided toys, hats, gloves and underwear for kids."

"We will be closed Dec. 23 through Jan. 4. That will allow our volunteers and staff to have some much-needed time off," Toms said.

For more information on Tyrand Ministries, go to tyrandcoop.org, or call 304-335-2788.

To donate directly to Tyrand, individuals may mail their donations to Tyrand Cooperative Ministries, Inc., P.O. Box 365, Mill Creek, WV 26280, or by clicking the donation link on Tyrand's PayPal account, the email for which is tcm@frontiernet.net.