ECHO's Needs for October

ECHO Yard Sale November 1

The gigantic, much-anticipated ECHO Fall Yard Sale will be held at the gym of St. Bernadette Catholic Church and School, 7602 Old Keene Mill Road, Springfield on November 1. After your Halloween celebration on Friday, extend your fun into the weekend by joining us between 8:00 AM and 12:00 NOON on Saturday to look for holiday decorations, fashion accessories, jewelry, clothing, household goods, toys, and more at bargain prices. Proceeds support ECHO (Ecumenical Community Helping Others), serving people in need in our community.

ECHO Expands Its Reach on Social Media

To make ECHO news more accessible, we are now posting on Instagram. Please follow us to see how we help people and how you can become part of our endeavor.

ECHO is happy to announce a “facelift” for our website beginning in October. Among the improvements at www.echo-incorg will be easier scrolling and more photos. We want to make finding out how to get help, how to donate, and how to join our team of volunteers smooth and simple.

Fall and Winter Holiday Plans

Planning is already underway to offer holiday help for people who are facing financial hardship at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Once again, ECHO will sponsor a toy shop in December to provide gifts for families with young children. We will ask for new, not-gift-wrapped toys and games to be donated by December 5. By mid-October, we will post a wish list of gifts on Amazon.com whereby donors can purchase items online and have Amazon deliver them directly to ECHO.

To provide cheer at Thanksgiving, ECHO will connect donors with families who have expressed a desire to receive groceries for a festive holiday meal. Donors may deliver food that they purchase themselves or may mail a food store gift card so that families might shop for themselves. The groceries should be delivered, or cards should be mailed to arrive by November 22. If you’re interested in finding out more, email Fran Eck at franalaneck@msn.com.

ECHO’s Current Needs

Knowing that cold winter blasts are on the way, ECHO’s Clothing Department is hoping for donations of winter coats in all sizes, winter gloves for boys, sneakers for children in sizes 1 through 6, sneakers for men in sizes 7 and 8, and new athletic socks in all sizes. The Housewares Department needs bath and hand towels, king- or queen-sized comforters, and large or medium pots and pans. The Food Pantry is grateful for all donations of non-perishable foods and personal hygiene items. We especially need toothbrushes, shaving cream, masa flour, dried beans, instant coffee, and canned protein items such as salmon, Spam, sardines, or chili. ECHO, 7205 Old Keene Mill Road, is open to receive donations on weekdays between 9:30 AM and 12:30 PM and on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings between 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM.

ECHO is looking for someone who could devote a few hours on a regular basis to getting donated watches running again. If you know watch repair, that would be especially great, but, if you just want to put new batteries into watches, that would be helpful too. We also have volunteer openings in the Clothing Department on Tuesday morning or evening; we need a Friday morning Food volunteer and a Monday morning Housewares volunteer. We need an assistant counselor on Thursday evenings, a counselor on Friday mornings, and a Spanish-speaking counselor on Tuesday mornings. If you want to find out more about these or other opportunities, email volunteercoordinator@echo-inc.org.

Upcoming Dates to Note

October 4 - Saturday Opening
October 13 - Closed for Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day
November 1 - Yard Sale at StBernadette’s Gym
November 2- CROP Walk - starts and ends at Burke Presbyterian Church
November 5 - Executive Committee Meeting
November 11 - Closed for Veterans Day
November 15 - Saturday Opening
November 17 - Board of Directors Meeting
November 22-23 - Thanksgiving Meal Delivery deadline
November 26 - Closed for evening hours
November 27-28 - Closed for Thanksgiving 

Congregational and Other Food Drives 

October - St. Mark’s Lutheran, Burke United Methodist
November - Scouting for Food Drive

For more information about ECHO on the following topics, please click any of the links below:
Find Us on Instagram
Find Us on Facebook 
ECHO’s Amazon Wishlist