Stuff the Bus This Weekend at Walmart

Annual campaign looks to fill school bus with supplies, not students.

The annual "Stuff the Bus" campaign rolls into town Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Walmart parking lot located at 1500 Market Place Boulevard in Cumming. The event, sponsored by the United Way of Forsyth County and other community partners, are asking for your help to stuff the bus with school supplies for children in need to ensure they get off to a right start. Last year more than 12,000 collected items helped approximately 1,200 Forsyth County students be prepared on the first day of school, the United Way reports on its Web site. If you can't stuff the bus on Saturday, for the remainder of July, donations can be dropped off at the local United Way office located at 407 East Maple Street, Ste. 112, in downtown Cumming, Monday …

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Help Feed the Hungry in Forsyth County

The Cumming branch of Georgia United Credit Union is accepting canned food during April to help stock a local food pantry.

The Cumming branch of Georgia United Credit Union is participating in a massive food drive to help stock The Place of Forsyth County, a local food bank, among the many other services it provides to the community. During the month of April all 16 metro Atlanta credit union branches hope to collect at least four tons of food (about 9,000 cans) for local food banks in the communities it serves, including Cumming. From now through the end of April, Georgia United invites members to help the hungry by dropping off non-perishable food items. The most needed items are tuna, peanut butter and canned soups. As an added incentive, all members will be entered into a drawing for an iPad with every can that they donate. The drawing will take place …

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Free Tax Help Available in Cumming

For those people who earned no more than $57,000 in 2011, free tax help is available through VITA.

Need help with your personal taxes? Stop by The Place of Forsyth County for free tax-preparation service to local individuals and families that earned $57,000 or less in 2011 on a first come, first serve basis. IRS certified and trained volunteers will be available to provide assistance in completing and filing federal and state taxes through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA). The volunteers will also help families and individuals determine whether they qualify for special tax credits such as Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Credit for the Elderly. Bring the following documents: Last year, the program helped return almost $2 billion in total tax refunds to individuals and families, who often used those …

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The Place of Forsyth County Captures National Attention

The Place of Forsyth County is feeding the "new poor" in a tough economy.

Because I Said So

Selective Giving

If you're going to give, choose carefully, not everyone in "need" is experiencing the true definition of the word.

If there's anything worse than a selfish child who won't share his toys, it's an adult who won't share his money, refuses to give, and grows old with a stinginess that in the end, leaves him lonely (Scrooge). Giving helps all of us realize that money is essential, not omnipotent.  Show your children you know how to give, but at the same time, show them you know where to give.  This is no plea to give money to those "in need." We're all in perceived need, but it's only because of the paradox of money and satisfaction that exists in each of us. It comes as no surprise that this paradox that has skewed the concept of giving to the point that just about anyone can categorize themselves as "needy." If you live in an obviously grand house, drive…

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Stuff the Bus: Supplies, Not Students, Fill County Bus

Donations help prepare local kids for the first day of school thanks to United Way of Forsyth County.

Despite record high temperatures and a down-turned economy, generous donors helped fill a Forsyth County school bus Saturday afternoon so that local students could return to the classroom prepared. County bus driver Leslie Davis parked her bus in the parking lot of Walmart, located at 1500 Market Place Blvd. in Cumming, and waited in the oppressive heat for donors. It didn’t take long for the first one to arrive and they kept coming throughout the three hour drop-off time frame. Donors purchased items from the suggested list of supplies on the United Way of Forsyth County Web site and handed them over to Davis. Bags of glue sticks, binders, composition notebooks and backpacks soon filled seats on the bus. Davis explained how upset students…

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Local Food Pantry Benefits From 'Spread The Love'

The Place of Forsyth County, Inc. is one of 30 food pantries that will receive jars of PB&J collected during recent food drive.

Four tons of love is being spread by two banks and their branches at food pantries across metro Atlanta in the form of peanut butter and jelly. Bank of North Georgia and Bank of Coweta, two divisions of Synovus Bank, hosted the 4th Annual Peanut Butter and Jelly Food Drive to benefit children served by 30 local food pantries, including The Place of Forsyth County, Inc., that are located near their 46 branches in metro Atlanta, according to a news release from Bank of North Georgia The ‘Spread the Love’ PB&J Food Drive was held from April 2 (National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day) to May 14. In total, Bank of North Georgia and Bank of Coweta collected 5,899 jars at 7,997 pounds, which is 4 tons of PB&J. That is enough to make more than 63,978…

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