For over 25 years the Southeast Missouri area has been participating in the Festival of Sharing. The local chapter of The Festival of Sharing is a group effort of about 10 local denominations and over 20 local agencies such as: food banks, children's homes, and gospel missions that come together as a satellite point for an even larger state wide agency.

This year's festival will be Saturday, September 29th beginning at 8:30 A.M. Volunteers will begin sorting and loading the donations at 9:00 and will conclude at 3:00. There will be lunch and a short service at 11:30.

The head of the Festival of Sharing in this area is Larry Reid of The First United Methodist Church in Dexter. Larry has been involved with this event for over 20 years.

The goal of the local chapter of The Festival of Sharing is to gather items to be redistributed at the state level in Sedalia, Missouri on October, 20th. The local group collects items such as: rice, beans, hygiene kits, school items, and items for babies. Much of the rice will be provided at a low price point by Martin Farms in Bernie, Missouri. Martin Farms will also take rice donated from other locations and process and prepare it for shipping. The majority provider of the rice is donated by the University of Missouri extension field test plots.

The Festival of Sharing will collect approximately 38,000 pounds of rice each year, with about 6,000 pounds staying in the area for local needs. The other items are gathered annually by local churches and various agencies in the community.

The items gathered must be shipped to Sedalia, Missouri for collection by the larger state agencies. In order to keep the costs down, The Festival of Sharing depends on local trucking companies to donate their services. Roger Lane Trucking will be providing its services in order to get the items to Sedalia.

The Festival of Sharing is a wonderful event that reaches out to help thousands of people in need every year. The Southeast Missouri area alone collects $75,000 to $100,000 worth of gifts and donations annually, with the entire organization raising 1 million dollars annually.

Organizations, individuals, or churches interested in joining the Festival of Sharing are encouraged to join with volunteers from the area on Saturday, Sept. 29 at Wesley Hall at the Dexter United Methodist Church. For more information contact the Dexter United Methodist Church.