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We first would like to thank the Buckner Community of Christ Church for providing us a place to house our CSL. Other area churches that give monthly donations are Oakland Methodist Church, Osage Hills Community of Christ, Ebenezer United Church of Christ in Levasy, and in Buckner, the United Methodist Church, First Baptist Church, Christian Church, as well as the Catholic Church. Other large donations at various times of the year come from the employees of the Sibley Power Plant, the Buckner Fire Department, our local Boy Scouts and the Fort Osage School District. A special thank you goes to two teenagers from the Osage Hills Community of Christ Church for giving up their Christmas each of the last five years and taking the money their parents would have spent on them and buying toys for our kids' Christmas Store. We are also deeply appreciative of anonymous donors who for the last few years have made our Christmas giving delightful. One has bought gifts of new coats and food and the others have donated gift cards from Dollar General and other places for us to distribute to our neediest families. We are also tenderly touched by those who have been helped in the past when they were down and out, and now that their lives have improved they donate back to us with dollars and food. And a special thank you to Tonia at the Buckner Clarion for publishing this for us. May God bless all of you and may 2016 be filled with the knowledge that you make a difference. (Submitted by Judy Oetting) We, who volunteer at the Community Services League (CSL) in Buckner, would like to give a special congratulations to the wonderful people living in Buckner, Levasy, Sibley and the surrounding areas. Your generosity and support have made us look good. We get the "thank yous" from those who are helped. So, let me introduce you to this crew of 10 ladies and one gentleman who subs for us when we need him (brave man). Jeanie Young "mans" our front desk, Ruth Farrand-Cox and Karen Bruns are in charge of purchasing, stocking, loading commodities and making sure we have a well-stocked pantry for people to select food that supplements the government commodities, and they help in the office as well. In the food pantry distributing food, you'll find Joyce Rhodes, Marly Webb, Donna Battles and Lorraine Gilmore. This is where Jerry Quinlan has helped out when we need him. In the clothing area and at the yearly Christmas Store you will find Judy Oetting, Fran Jefferies and Cecilee Hertzberg. The number of years served by all of these volunteers range from 17 years to two years and equate to 68 years collectively. These volunteers deserve a special thank you when you meet them. But, the work we do would be so much harder if we did not have all of you out there who give food, clothing and money to help us help those in need. It is impossible to thank everyone who donates, but please know we appreciate everyone who gives no matter how much or how often. We do want to acknowledge those who help sustain us on a monthly basis, remembering that hunger is a daily need. A Big "Thank You" to the Community Services League 6 | TheBucknerClarion.com February 2016

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