By Jan Ehlert
BATTLE MOUNTAIN - Beginning in October the community of Battle Mountain began to get the warm and fuzzy feeling it always gets when the fall holiday season comes upon us. Residents, organizations and businesses start looking at where they can pitch in to make sure the community has a great holiday season. At the end of the long year all of a sudden the atmosphere of giving, being thankful and being helpful to others in need takes over. Considering the economy the task is not easy, but in a small town like Battle Mountain great strength is always found somewhere.
With October being a cancer awareness month it was not surprising to see lots of pink at businesses raising money for cancer research, individuals participating in fundraising efforts about cancer awareness and organizations holding fundraisers for miscellaneous types of cancer research. In October at the health fair even some youngsters raised money for cancer awareness. One group of kids held a bake sale where the funds went toward neuroblastoma awareness; they included Paige Ripley, Alexa Goddard, Brooke Ripley and Hannah Markel. Morgan Fisher had a booth set up raising money for two fundraisers, the fight against breast cancer, and the Travel Club. She was selling beauty products in which part of the cost went to these funds.
A great job was done by all groups and individuals from Battle Mountain and all over America whom joined in on the fight against cancer during the month of October and forever.
The holidays are here and locally there are families that receive assistance from the Battle Mountain Family Resource Center (BMFRC) to ensure that their families have great holidays with gifts and meals. The resource center assembles Thanksgiving food baskets and Christmas food baskets for these families. They are in need of holiday foods such as turkeys, stuffing mixes, potato mixes, biscuit mixes, cranberry, olives, pickles, canned pumpkin and any other goodies one might enjoy for their holiday dinner. Applications to receive either or both holiday baskets are available at the Battle Mountain Family Resource Center on Broad Street in Battle Mountain. They are open Tuesday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4: 30 p.m., closed for lunch noon to 1.
The annual Christmas Festival hosted by the Battle Mountain Family Resource Center will be held on Dec. 10 at the Battle Mountain Civic Center. There will be arts and crafts for the kids and vendor booths. Santa Claus will be available for family pictures. The annual Christmas Parade of Lights sponsored by the Battle Mountain Chamber of Commerce will also be held on Dec. 10. The lineup will be at Foodtown beginning at 5:30 p.m. and the parade is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. All entries are welcome and must have lights. The theme will be "Salute to America and Peace on Earth." That will be a fantastic parade combining red, white and blue, and hoping for all the servicemen and women to be home or at least safe for the holidays. "Peace on Earth" is expressed every Christmas in songs, music and in holiday cards, combine it with "Salute to America" in a holiday parade and the community could be in for an extra inspirational show of floats. Santa Claus already plans on being at the parade so don't worry about him.
There is also a need for volunteers to man the Salvation Army kettles around town. Anyone interested can stop by the BMFRC on Broad Street to get involved.
It's not too early to start planning and getting involved with the Battle Mountain holiday events. If any business, individual or organization is interested in sponsoring a family during the holidays; wants to man a Salvation Army kettle; wants to volunteer making the holiday baskets; or wants to have a booth during the Christmas celebration at the Battle Mountain Civic Center they can call Jana Moyes at (775) 374-1211. These are probably just a few holiday volunteer opportunities for those that want to give the gift of time and desire to help others.
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