Local residents to observe National Day of Service

Cibola County residents have banded together to observe their first ever National Day of Service by collecting food for people and pets and giving the proceeds to the Grants Community Pantry.

Volunteers include members of the Grants/Cibola County Senior Center, First United Methodist Church, Grants Baha'i religious group and former volunteers for Barack Obama's presidential campaign. Local businesses such as Korners Bookstore, Milan Supermart, the Santa Fe Avenue Health Clinic, Smith's Food and Drug and Wal-Mart have joined the effort by allowing the volunteers to set up donation boxes through Jan. 18. The Cibola County Beacon, Comcast Cable Channel 10 and KDSK Radio all donated space or time to advertise the event.

All members of the community are encouraged to donate food and pet products, or they can drop off cash contributions at 815 W. Santa Fe Ave. to help the Food Pantry pay for utility bills.

At 9 a.m. on Jan. 19, volunteers will attend the Martin Luther King Jr. Day ceremony at the Senior Center, and on Jan. 20 they will officially give the donated food and pet products to the Food Pantry.

"The response has already been fantastic," said event organizer Marian Hamilton. "I put the empty donation boxes out on Friday, and by Saturday morning they were all more than half full."

She said she hopes the service day will become an annual event.

For more information call Hamilton at 285-3739, or go to the website  at http://www.pic2009.org/page/event/detail/4jvwz.