Social Services

By Kendra Simpson St. Joseph students are heading back to school this week and one local beauty salon wants to ensure the kids look good doing so. KD’s Beauty Bar spent the last week gathering shoes, t-shirts, jeans and more in hopes of helping out their community. The giveaway included hotdogs, drinks and cupcakes for the

By Kendra Simpson A friendly competition involving St. Joseph businesses aims to result in a win for those who are food insecure in the community. The Second Harvest Community Food Bank is hosting its annual corporate food drive, Food Fight 2024. In honor of September being Hunger Action Month, Second Harvest is inviting businesses in

By Charles Christian An upcoming Community Missions event will provide those in need with free health and wellness services, benefits and networking opportunities for housing and work. Community Missions is offering its annual Project Connect on Aug. 22, from 4 to 5 p.m., at the Salvation Army gym, located at 602 Messanie St. No registration

By Leah Rainwater Children can get a free new pair of shoes Monday and Tuesday thanks to Soles for Christ. Soles for Christ is an annual program that provides a new pair of shoes for each child to start school in, boosting children’s self-esteem and enthusiasm for the coming school year. This year, distribution will

By Leah Rainwater After a successful weekend for United Way’s Stuff the Bus with nearly 19,000 school supplies collected, volunteers filled backpacks at the Salvation Army on Tuesday morning to give to area students. “I don’t know the exact number, I know it’s in the … probably fill five to six hundred bags,” said Major

By NewsPress Now Community members donated nearly 19,000 school supplies during the past weekend’s United Way Stuff the Bus drive. Volunteers collected 4,000 more items than during last year’s event in buses parked outside St. Joseph’s two Walmart stores. More than $1,700 also was donated to purchase additional supplies. The supplies will be given to

By Charles Christian The United Way is taking advantage of the coming tax-free weekend to stuff buses full of school supplies for the coming year. The agency will have buses to collect donations on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 2 and 3, at St. Joseph’s North and South Belt Walmart locations. Items collected will be turned

By Kendra Simpson Some St. Joseph residents may be welcoming a magical guest to their front lawn as the Gnomes for Noyes Home fundraiser kicks off. Gnomes Gnigel and Gayron are making their way through town and no one knows where they will end up next. But these gnomes aren’t just cute; they’re beneficial. Every

By Charles Christian Grace House in St. Joseph will continue its nearly 20-year tradition of giving away school supplies to hundreds of students in grades K-12. Beginning Tuesday, July 23 at 6 a.m., school-aged children can receive free backpacks, school supplies, clothing (including socks and underwear), a toothbrush and more. Founding director of Grace House,

By Kyle Schmidt From the outside looking in, some may be quick to judge the position of homeless individuals. But a myriad of reasons can make the situation difficult to overcome. Whether it be struggles with mental illness, addiction or even bad strokes of luck, each person’s journey is different. Some seek out help, while

By Kendra Simpson Thanks to a donation from Triumph Foods this week, Second Harvest will be able to provide around 54,000 meals to the community. Second Harvest posted on Facebook thanking the local food manufacturer for its generous donation of 28 pallets of protein. The nonprofit provides about 6 million pounds of food every year

By Charles Christian Although there is no shortage of helpful nonprofit organizations in St. Joseph, many of these organizations in the area are struggling to find Spanish interpreters. United Way President Kylee Strough said that most nonprofits are meeting the growing need for Spanish-language interpreters by networking together. “Most of the time, we’re able to

By Leah Rainwater Pivotal Point, a transitional housing facility in St. Joseph, announced Rick Lipira as its new executive director on Wednesday morning. The facility is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering homeless individuals and families to achieve self-sufficiency. Pivotal Point uses a “good Samaritan model” when it comes to helping those in need. “We

By NewsPress Now A new leader will be taking the reins of the St. Joseph Community Alliance this month. Tom Brand will start as director on July 29. He replaces Tama Wagner, who served for five years and left in April. Brand attended the University of Missouri and previously served as the executive director of

By NewsPress Now Community members can help kids while having a little fun as part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl For Kids’ Sake event. The fundraiser is set for Friday, Aug. 2 at Revolution Lanes, with two bowling sessions at 6 and 8:30 p.m. Participants set up pages on bbbsbfks.org, and teams of

By Kendra Simpson The Youth Alliance of St. Joseph hosted an open house Wednesday, but the home wasn’t worked on by a construction company. The renovations are thanks to the efforts of local teens. Funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, YouthBuild is a community-based pre-apprenticeship program offering job training to at-risk youth. It helps

By Ashley Luthans United Way of Greater St. Joseph has announced the dates for its annual Stuff the Bus school supplies drive. The 2024 Stuff the Bus event will take place 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 2, and 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 3 at both St. Joseph Walmart

By Kendra Simpson With the hot weather St. Joseph has experienced lately, Community Missions is doing what it can to help everyone feel cool and comfortable. Community Missions’ homeless shelter, also known as My Brother’s House, opened its bathroom and showers for those without regular access to these utilities. “How do we as an organization

By Kendra Simpson When it comes to babies, diapers are nonnegotiable. Every parent needs them, but post-COVID inflation has made it nearly impossible for some families to afford them. Diapers are not covered by government safety net programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Women, Infants and Children program and Medicaid, leaving nearly half

By Ashley Luthans At school, children in need can receive free lunches every day. But during the summer, some parents may be worried about where to get their child’s next meal. Second Harvest Community Food Bank kicked off its annual No Hunger Summer program on Monday, June 17, in St. Joseph to provide free lunches

By Kirsten Stokes Open 365 days a year, serving lunch each day, the Open Door Food Kitchen is preparing for its annual fundraising event at the end of this month. From 5 to 7 p.m. on June 27, the community is welcome to a brisket dinner at the Knights of Columbus No. 5067. Tickets are

By Jenna Wilson St. Joseph’s Hy-Vee supermarket showed its support for Alex’s Lemonade stand by participating in the 21st year of Midwest Lemonade Days on Friday. Hy-Vee supermarkets across the country have raised over $2 million to fight childhood cancer through their participation in Midwest Lemonade Days, supporting all children affected by childhood cancer throughout

By Kyle Schmidt Various agencies and organizations are looking to help the St. Joseph homeless community stay safe and comfortable amid the rising temperatures. “We recently shared a list of those cooling centers, primarily, it’s limited to libraries, both Rolling Hills and St. Joseph Public Library locations during their regular business hours,” said Kylee Strough,

By Chris Fortune A local coffee shop is giving its customers the opportunity to support women at the YWCA by treating them to a drink. Toe Beans Coffee House at 114 S. Eighth St. already has a blessings board inside the shop that works like a pay-it-forward program, but it added a new option this

By Kyle Schmidt Second Harvest Community Food Bank is teaming up with mail carriers to help collect food and end hunger in St. Joseph. The annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive, which begins Saturday, May 11, is a collaborative effort between the food bank and the National Association of Letter Carriers. Yellow bags will be

By Jenna Wilson St. Joseph’s Habitat for Humanity already assists people in need on their path to homeownership, but now, the organization is giving people a chance to learn home-building skills as well. Two years ago, the organization applied for American Rescue Plan Act funding to have its ReStore building constructed. In addition to using

By Marcus Clem Whitney Lanning has been fired as executive director of the Community Action Partnership of Greater St. Joseph. Lanning confirmed the news of her Wednesday firing by CAPSTJOE to News-Press NOW. A severance deal is currently being negotiated, she said. “I am proud to have served as the executive director of CAPSTJOE these

By Charles Christian A nonprofit thrift store in St. Joseph will be back to its normal hours next week after a temporary closure. Grace House, located at 2638 Lafayette St., shut down in February because founder and director Ruth Costello underwent a major surgical procedure. However, in a message this week to News-Press NOW, Costello

By Kyle Schmidt St Joseph’s Habitat for Humanity will be wishing its executive director Shay Homeyer good luck as she embarks on a new journey in Nebraska. Homeyer has been with Habitat for 10 years. Though she is leaving the area, her impact will remain in the many projects she has helped happen.  “Our latest