Press Releases

                                                                    Genesis Home                                    270-623-6144
                                                                    Hope for Life                                      270-247-3190
                                                                    Lighthouse Children’s Home            270-247-9330
                                                                    New Pathways for Children             270-674-6013
                                                                    Shedd Academy                                  270-247-8007
                                                                    Marshall Co. Exceptional                  270-527-1327
                                                                    Merryman House                               Not a public number
                                                                         River City Mission                                         270-442-7921
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Contact: Brad Davis Office: (270) 247-7171 For Immediate Release November 5, 2009
Judge Executive Vickie Viniard Elected President of Jackson Purchase Local Officials Organization
	Ballard County Judge/Executive Vickie Viniard was recently elected President of the Jackson Purchase Local Officials Organization (JPLOO) Board of Directors by her local government peers.　 The sixteen member JPLOO Board is made up of the eight Purchase county judge/executives and one mayor from a city within each of those counties.　Judge Viniard has been county judge/executive since 2007 and served two terms as a magistrate in Ballard County before being elected county judge.　 The Jackson Purchase Local Officials Organization (JPLOO) was created in 1975 to work in conjunction with the Purchase Area Development District (PADD) in organizing, promoting, managing, and operating public service, social, and health and welfare programs benefitting local units of government within the Purchase area.　 JPLOO is the administrative entity that owns, leases, rents or otherwise acquires real and personal property necessary for the purpose of implementing or carrying out the programs operated by the PADD within the eight counties and eighteen cities of the Purchase region.　　 For more information about JPLOO and its activities, please contact Brad Davis at 270-247-7171.

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Contact: Mary Anne Medlock
Phone: 270‐251‐6187
October 29, 2009

 

PADD Announces Upcoming Meeting Schedule for November 2009

*Since there is the possibility that a meeting could be cancelled, relocated or rescheduled, please call the PADD office at 270/247-7171 to confirm a meeting prior to attending.
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Contact:    Lisa  Marshall  
Office:    (270)  247‐7171   
For  Immediate  Release  
August  14,  2009  

Will  Dee  Stahr,  PADD  Staff  member  (left)  and  Heather  Ball,  a  Graves  County  family  day  care owner
admire a toddler breakfast which follows the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program nutritional guidelines. 

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Contact:    Deana  Burkeen 
Office:    (270)  247‐7171    
For  Immediate  Release  
July  23,  2009  

PADD Food Bank Program Distributes 1 Million lbs in 2009 On a warm July morning, dozens of people sat in metal chairs waiting for their numbers to be called. Mostly women, some with small children, they watched as volunteers carried cardboard boxes filled with this week’s distribution from the Mayfield First Assembly of God Food Bank.

"Each month we help about 250 families with this food bank. It's just a supplement, but it makes a big difference" said Raymond Bailey who coordinates the church’s food bank ministry. First Assembly of God is one of thirty-three agencies served by the Purchase Area Development District’s (PADD) Commodity and Food Bank distribution program.

The Commodity and Food Bank program has seen tremendous growth in the last year and recently achieved an important milestone. The program has now distributed more than 1.2 million pounds of food and non-food products to area needlines, food banks and community kitchens. "The program has grown right when it was needed most" says program coordinator Deana Burkeen. "The agencies we serve are seeing more families and individuals than ever before."

The million pound distribution was made possible in part by a successful partnership with Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief charity. Feeding America recruited national food retailers who have local stores to join their relief efforts. Last fall, Sam’s Club began donating their soon-to-expire bakery, meat and other items to the PADD for distribution across the region. The four Kroger stores joined in November 2008 followed by Big Lots. Then in April 2009, Wal-Mart began donating items from their stores.

Together, the Feeding America donations meant that the PADD was able to distribute an additional 330,382 pounds of food to area families rather than have it destroyed. "As an agency that provides emergency groceries to 450 McCracken County households each month, we appreciate the increased distribution," said Heidi Surheinrich of Paducah Cooperative Ministries.

The PADD Commodity and Food Bank program has also benefited from the American Recover and Reinvestment Act through receiving stimulus commodity and emergency food inventory. This inventory provides bonus items and funding to offset the cost of distributing additional food-- food that is making its way to families in need, as in the case of Jamie Hall who visited First Assembly’s weekly distribution. Hall is an unemployed, young mother of two. "It’s hard to afford daycare, food and try to find work," she said. "This helps me to make ends meet for my family."

The PADD Commodity and Food Bank programs are funded federally through the US Department of Agriculture, shared maintenance donations from participating organizations, and public and private donations. For more information or locations of the food banks, needlines or community kitchens located in the Purchase Region please call Purchase Area Development District at (270) 247-7171 or visit our website www.purchaseadd.org  

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Purchase Area Housing Corporation
1002 Medical Drive, P O Box 588
Mayfield KY 42066

For Immediate Release
Contact: Tom Meurer
270-251-6113

PURCHASE AREA HOUSING CORPORATION Receives AmeriCorps Member;
Offers Community CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES FOR THE HOMELESS

MAYFIELD, Ky. (July 16, 2009) – To support the community and provide case management and housing assistance to the homeless, Purchase Area Housing Corporation (PAHC)has been awarded one AmeriCorps member through a competitive application process with the Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky (HHCK). This member will be committed to a year of service in our eight-county Purchase Area. Penny Young, Executive Director of the Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky, Inc., stated that "the Purchase Area Housing Corporation did an excellent job in describing the need and rationale for an AmeriCorps member in their organization and has outlined a strong commitment to provide the member with a challenging year of growth and community service experience while serving the needs of their clients".

For 25 years, PAHC has helped the eight-county Purchase Area to provide low- and moderate-income, elderly, handicapped, homeless, and other persons with housing facilities and services. PAHC will use their AmeriCorps member to assist the homeless in obtaining safe, decent, permanent housing, referring them to community resources, providing budgeting and money management skills, and following up with these families to aid in maintaining permanent housing and expect, through these endeavors, to provide the eight-county Purchase Area with stable housing for their homeless population.

AmeriCorps members receive a monthly living allowance of $950 before taxes, insurance coverage for the member, child care assistance if eligible, and an education award of $4,725. If the member is 55 or older and does not want to utilize the education award, they may give the award to a child or grandchild. Resumes for the AmeriCorps position are being accepted until August 7, 2009. Resume and cover letter should be sent to Tom Meurer, PAHC, P O Box 588, Mayfield KY 42066 or emailed to tom.meurer@purchaseadd.org.

Historically, AmeriCorps members with HHCK have made a long-term difference in Kentucky. In the year 2008, site members and the members they recruited and managed contributed over 90,000 hours of service, built 27 homes for low-income families, renovated and weatherized 157 homes, and helped secure housing, services, and resources for over 4,500 Kentuckians.