Described as one of the largest donations given to the facility, Assistance & Resources Miniseries (A.R.M.) in Elizabethton saw an early Christmas present show up on their doorstep Wednesday evening.
In a joint-effort by numerous departments within the Johnson City Veterans Affairs organization, pallets of food and water made their way across the county line to help A.R.M. continue their goal of serving the community.
“Our Executive Director, Nikki Jones, has created a great partnership with the VA,” Robbie Fritts, A.R.M. board member, said Wednesday. “The VA has been gracious enough to extend their help out to us to help the community and our veterans.”
A.R.M. services different individuals throughout the county, but Fritts added the facility sees multiple veterans.
“We have a lot of clients that are veterans,” he said. “The employees from the VA got together, took up money and food donations, either buying the food themselves or just bring it in. All of that is what you see here, and it’s about 7,500 pounds worth of food that can help a lot of families throughout the area.
Jones said the partnership between the groups has been a great asset over the years.
“Having a partnership like this is extremely important,” she added. “We appreciate what they do. This was one of the largest donations we’ve ever received at our office.”
With Jeff Clark, part of the engineering department at the VA, helping bring in the last amount of goods from the truck, Fritts tallied in the final weigh in of goods. The final weight tally totaled 7,394 pounds.
“This kind of gets us started in getting ourselves built up for our holiday food boxes,” Fritts said. “Some of this stuff will be used for that. We get several donations throughout the year. It is great to have partners like the VA that want to extends their services and help the community.”
Environmental Management Service led the charge from the VA donations, compiling over 5,8000 pounds worth of goods totalling approximately $2,700.
A.R.M. of Elizabethton services between 650 and 700 families each month, providing various necessities including food, water, clothing and various holiday boxes.
With the holidays around the bend, Fritts added the individuals looking to get involved can still help in different areas.
“They can stop by anytime,” he said about anyone wanting to help. “We’re always looking for more donations on the food, monetary donations or just people looking to give a little bit of their time to volunteer.”
With a mission statement to “identify and secure the necessary human, financial, and material resources required to efficiently and fairly provide basic emergency necessities to those in need throughout Carter County”, Jones said A.R.M. is ready to serve.
“We’re here for the community,” Jones said. “Anybody needing food can stop by. After that first visit, we can go through the qualifications. We don’t want to see anybody go without.”
A.R.M. is opened Tuesday through Wednesday from 9 to 11:45 a.m. and 1 to 3:45 p.m. The facility is also opened Thursday and Friday from 9 to 11:45 p.m. For more information, visit their website at armfoodpantry.com or call 423-542-0919.