Great Gordonville Giveaway to provide school supplies, clothing, appliances to community

Zion United Methodist Church on Route Z in Gordonville is hosting its fifth annual Great Gordonville Giveaway from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, along with a free pancake and sausage breakfast to benefit those in need throughout Southeast Missouri.

Kevin Denton, Zion United Methodist Church serve committee co-chairman, said the �free garage sale� is made possible by donations from church members and the surrounding community.

�We go through and set up everything for people to come in on Saturday morning,� Denton said. �Anything that they want or may need, they can pick up for no charge.�

In addition to the free breakfast, Denton said the church also will host activities for children, along with demonstrations and activities provided by the sheriff�s department.

Denton said donations have been collected for the last month, and he and the church staff have spent the last two weeks getting everything set up.

Janet Brase organizes the girls' clothing room Friday before the weekend giveaway at Zion United Methodist Church in Gordonville.KASSI JACKSON

�We go through and clean out all the Sunday-school rooms in the church and set up kind of like a department store,� he said.

All donations are separated by category, including men�s items, women�s items, and children�s toys and clothes, Denton said.

Raffle tickets also will be available Saturday morning, he said, offering a chance for people to win larger furniture items such as a range and refrigerator.

Denton said there is no charge for the raffle tickets.

�We also have 200 pre-made packs of hygiene products, with shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant and school supplies,� Denton said. �We went through the school supply list and picked out more of the expensive items.�

Tables full of home goods are seen Friday in the basement of Zion United Methodist Church in Gordonville.KASSI JACKSON

Denton said last year there were 150 bags of needed supplies prepared, �and we ran out.�

He estimated between 250 and 300 people at last year�s event, and Denton said he�s expecting the same or more Saturday.

This close to the event, he said the church isn�t accepting any more donations, unless someone would like to donate a used larger furniture item, Denton said �we could probably still make arrangements for that.�

No registration is required for Saturday and the event is open to everyone.

jhartwig@semissourian.com

Mark Taake organizes the men's clothing room Friday before the weekend giveaway at Zion United Methodist Church in Gordonville.KASSI JACKSON

(573) 388-3632