December is over and the 2023 has drawn to a close but the holiday season is still in full swing for Meet Me at the Court.
The group is continuing to deliver gifts to recipients of its 2023 Sharion's Angel Tree project and area residents could still receive a gift as apart the MMC Secret Santa giveaway, said Veronica Bailey, president and CEO of MMC.
Between Nov. 7 and Dec. 7, MMC received 181 submissions for the Angel Tree project and the group began delivering and mailing out gifts on Dec. 21.
Bailey previously said some gifts would not be delivered by Christmas Day and on Tuesday, she said Angel Tree deliveries are ongoing.
"I explained it to parents and grandparents and they knew that everybody may not get theirs on Dec. 25. They were so understanding so we're still delivering Angel Tree gifts in the community," Bailey said.
MMC is also continuing to surprise residents with Secret Santa gifts.
With the Secret Santa giveaway, MMC members randomly approach people around town, identify themselves and offer a gift.
The second annual event also started on Dec. 21 and since then, MMC has paid for gasoline, breakfast for a couple at a local diner and offered a large tip to an employee of a local grocery store, among other gifts.
Bailey said MMC is looking to wrap up Secret Santa over the weekend.
"I'm still wearing my Christmas sweater with Santa Claus on it, so when people see me still in it, they won't think I'm crazy," Bailey said with a laugh, referring to the signature sweater she wears during the Secret Santa giveaways.
The group held its annual Christmas on the Court program on Dec. 23 at New Olive Branch Baptist Church.
Christmas on the Court, which began in 2013, used to be held on the basketball court in the area of Ouachita Avenue and Lester Street in the St. Louis neighborhood, where Bailey grew up.
The event includes free food, gifts, singing/music, Sharion's Angel, Santa Claus and more.
The COVID-19 prompted MMC to change the format of the event.
Rather than gathering on the basketball court, MMC decided to "adopt" an area in town and take Christmas on the Court to the residents of the neighborhood that was "adopted."
This year, MMC "adopted" the Fordville neighborhood and hosted Christmas on the Court at New Olive Branch Baptist Church on North, which lies in the heart of the neighborhood on Roselawn Avenue.
MMC handed out free turkeys, hams, rotisserie chickens, fresh whole chickens, canned goods, fresh vegetables, toys and bicycles for the children on a first come, first served basis.
"This was a vision that my son (James Curley) had and we just want to thank Pastor Eugene Farley Jr. and the first lady and the New Olive Branch church family for opening up their hearts and allowing us to come in to fellowship and serve that community," Bailey said.
"They are a blessing and they have assisted in so many ways to make sure everything ran smoothly and everything we needed was there," she continued.
Even though the meats were given away within 37 minutes, Christmas on the Court meat giveaways did not end on Dec. 23.
Bailey said a woman who made a cash donation to MMC on Nov. 5 during the group's annual Sharion Bailey Whitlock Community Soul Food Dinner: Good Food for the Body Soul came through again for Christmas on the Court.
On Dec. 31, Bailey said the woman donated hams and a turkey to be distributed to community residents.
The meat was dedicated to Fordville residents who were not able to make it to Christmas on Court, she said.
"Since that was the area we adopted, I wanted to it to stay in that community," said Bailey.
She explained that MMC maintains volunteer captains in neighborhoods throughout El Dorado and she reached to Fordville captains Joe and Wanda Fay Jackson to coordinate the giveaway for the additional meat last weekend.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
MMC is looking ahead to its first community-service project of 2024 and thanks to another donation, the group has been able to add another component to the project.
MMC youth members will be handing out free soul food dinners throughout the community on Jan. 15.
The dinners will come with a free rotisserie chicken and a copy King's iconic "I Have a Dream Speech."
King delivered during the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963.
As young MMC members were bouncing around ideas for the MLK Day project, Bailey said she received an unexpected phone call Monday night.
"It was a woman who said she knew my youth were doing something special for MLK Day and she wanted to sponsor a rotisserie chicken," Bailey said.
MMC will begin distributing dinner plates at 3 p.m. on MLK Day.
"We will be delivering hot soul food dinners in the community. It's not going to be in any certain area. We're just going to be going around the community. The plates will also come with a dessert," Bailey said.
For more information, call Bailey at 870-310-0391.