VSO has full slate of projects in progress

Family forms for the 2015 Giving Tree are scheduled to be distributed during the first week in November, according to Kassey Westring, chairman of the project for the Valley Service Organization (VSO).

Giving Tree forms will be distributed through valley schools and pre-schools, The Hub, the Valley Food Pantry and Carbon County Public Health Nursing Service. Families will be asked to return the forms by Nov. 19. The Giving Tree itself will be put up at Town and Country Realty the week of Thanksgiving. Distribution of gifts from the Giving Tree will be Dec. 17, Westring told VSO members at the Oct. 29 meeting. This year the project will include residents of Valley Care Center, she said.

The Giving Tree was one of several fall and winter projects discussed since semi-monthly meetings of the organization resumed in September.

Other projects discussed have included support of the Bridge Street Bargains thrift store, Winter Wonderland, a New Year’s Eve family dance and preparations for a cookbook, according to Kate Sherrod, VSO president.

Since last year the group has been discussing how it can help Bridge Street Bargains remain open when closure was being threatened because of lack of volunteer help, Sherrod said. The pending move this month to a new location, also on Bridge Avenue, and a change in the composition of the non-profit store’s board of directors prompted VSO members to pass a resolution supporting the new directors and encouraging members to volunteer at the store. The group also voiced its desire to see the scope of the store increased to benefit the community as a whole, not just valley youth or senior citizens.

The new board members for the Bridge Street Bargains are Carol Beach, Julie Evans and Merlynn Hoopes. To volunteer at the store, contact one of the board members.

The VSO members have also voted to hold another family-friendly New Year’s Eve dance at the Platte Valley Community Center, and Sue Jones was asked to see if Sam Platts’ band is available again that night, Sherrod said.

VSO also confirmed the date for Winter Wonderland as Saturday, Dec. 5, following the annual Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade.

Members were urged to turn in their recipes for the cookbook as soon as possible so that it can be ready in time for the holidays. The cookbook will be issued in printed form and as an e-book, Sherrod said.

Sherrod was elected to her second term as president this fall, and Carol Beach and Julie Evans were re-elected vice president and treasurer, respectively. Patricia Terhune was elected secretary.

VSO meets for lunch and a business meeting the second and fourth Thursday of the month in the back room at the Hotel Wolf.