Meet Me at the Court plans youth mission projects
Residents in the Fordville neighborhood who are planning Fourth-of-July cookouts will be able to add fresh watermelon to their holiday menu.
Meet Me at the Court will head to Fordville at 5 p.m. today to distribute free watermelons in the first of three youth mission projects that are planned this month.
Veronica Bailey, founder and CEO of MMC — a nonprofit, community-service organization —, said youth members conduct at least one mission project each month.
For July, they presented ideas for several projects to assist the community, starting today with a return to Fordville, the neighborhood MMC “adopted” for its 2023 Christmas on the Court event.
Each year, MMC selects an area of town to adopt for the holiday season and travels to the respective area to host an event that includes free food, gifts, singing/music, an Angel Tree project, Santa Claus and more.
Fordville lies just south of the Union County Fairgrounds and Lions Club Municipal Golf Course.
Today, MMC will roll through the area to pass out free watermelons.
“We will have red meat and yellow meat watermelons and at some point, we’re going to have orange meat,” Bailey said.
The giveaway is a continuation of MMC’s Truckload of Love project, in which the group distributes free produce in neighborhoods across the city during the summer. Upcoming events
For their second mission project for the month, MMC youth plan to donate 200 canned goods to the Salvation Army of El Dorado’s food pantry on July 12.
The donation is part of an ongoing effort that MMC youth began in late 2022 to
help keep the SA food pantry stocked and local families fed.
Bailey said the group will host a fish fry at 6 p.m. on July 20 in memory of late MMC member and captain, LeNora “(Miss) LA” Anderson.
Last Saturday, MMC dedicated a bench in honor of Anderson, who died last February at the age of 61, at the “Burning Barrel of Love” in the area of Hawthorne and Norsworthy.
Bailey said Anderson assisted with community-service projects and other activities that MCC hosts at the “Burning Barrel of Love”, a community gathering spot near the railroad tracks in the Fairview Addition.
Bailey previously described Anderson as a dedicated volunteer who served MMC for a decade.
She said MMC will continue to remember Anderson with a fish fry that will be held at the “Burning Barrel of Love.”
Bailey said Anderson’s family and dozens of area residents turned out June 30 for the bench dedication ceremony, which included free food and a distribution of “Love Baskets” with fresh fruit and vegetables and “Lunch on Us” bags with toiletries.
Lunch on Us is MMC’s newest community-service program and focuses on low-income families, senior citizens and the homeless population.
“Whoever came through, they were welcome. They were walking and eating and I enjoyed seeing that,” Bailey said. “And we gave everything out. We didn’t come back with anything.”
She said MMC anticipates the same type of vibe on July 20.
“My youth are very excited. We’ve ordered ‘Lunch on Us’ T-shirts that outline our mission of meeting the needs of others,” said Bailey.
She also noted that an attendee at the bench dedication ceremony overheard discussions about the idea of the fish fry and agreed to donate the fish for the event.
MMC will turn its attention to the west side of town on July 27 by distributing BBQ dinner plates and Love Baskets filled with fresh produce to residents of Haygood-Neal Garden Apartments.
Bailey said the meals will be prepared and supplied by Brown’s Southern Smoke BBQ.
Haygood-Neal was one of the areas that fell on the MMC’s Truckload of Love route in 2023.
“We went over there last year and we came back with one cabbage,” Bailey said with a laugh.
She said the Love Baskets will include cantaloupe, sweet corn, cabbage, sweet potatoes and more.
Watermelons will also be handed out, she said. Backpack giveaway With local students returning to school next month, Bailey issued a reminder about MMC’s Sharion Bailey Whitlock Backpack and School Supply Giveaway: From Court to Class.
The 11th annual event is set for Aug. 3.
Students will receive free backpacks filled with grade-appropriate school supplies and lunch carriers.
MMC handed out nearly 150 backpacks last year and Bailey said backpack and school supply donations for the 2024 event began pouring in several months ago.
The giveaway will also include free food (grilled burgers and hot dogs), beverages and desserts and activities.
More details about the event, including the location, are forthcoming.
For additional information about MMC, call Bailey at 870-310-0391.