We are in the midst of the Holiday Season in Oxford. For many this holiday season, joy is giving gifts to others less fortunate. Oxford has a host of organizations and non-profits that help to provide a happy Christmas/Holiday to local families in need throughout our community.

Oxford is host to some wonderful non-profit organizations that provide for our community in so many ways. We want to provide a glimpse of these organizations each month. In 2010, while reading the Oxford Eagle, Sherry Williams-Jenkins saw an announcement for a community discussion on homelessness in the Oxford and Lafayette county area. By 2011, Sherry and others had created a vision and mission that became the Doors of Hope Transition Ministries, a 501C3 organization. Their popular Holiday House Tour, returns on Saturday, December 7th and we cannot wait! It’s one of our favorite events in Oxford!

Oxford is host to some wonderful non-profit organizations that provide for our community in so many ways. We want to provide a glimpse of these organizations each month. The St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Pumpkin Patch is an annual Oxford favorite! Known to many as “the pumpkin church,” St. Peter’s Episcopal has been selling pumpkins each fall for the past 32 years.

Oxford is host to some wonderful non-profit organizations that provide for our community in so many ways. We want to provide a glimpse of these organizations each month. 2nd Chance MS raises funds and awareness for Mississippi’s Adult Education Programs. Specifically, they provide needed financial assistance and help to remove barriers for lower income adult students.

Oxford is host to some wonderful non-profit organizations that provide for our community in so many ways. We want to provide a glimpse of these organizations each month. Stronger Together Oxford is the community volunteer hub of Oxford, Mississippi. It focuses on local organizations’ needs and helping to set up/recruit volunteers for those needs.

Oxford is host to some wonderful non-profit organizations that provide for our community in so many ways. We want to provide a glimpse of these organizations each month. The YMCA is an organization whose mission is to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all. Guided by their core values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility, the Y is dedicated to giving people of all ages, backgrounds and walks of life the opportunity to reach their full potential with dignity.

Oxford is host to some wonderful non-profit organizations that provide for our community in so many ways. We want to provide a glimpse of these organizations each month. The Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts on the Ole Miss campus offers its Youth Music Theatre Workshop again this year. Since its creation in 1996 by Julia and Robert Aubrey, this workshop was designed to fill a need in the community for children’s theatre during the summer. It’s now become a summer staple and we can’t wait to see some of our Neighborhood Realty kiddos in the show this June!

Oxford is host to some wonderful non-profit organizations that provide for our community in so many ways. We want to provide a glimpse of these organizations each month. Lafayette Oxford Foundation for Tomorrow, better known as LOFT, serves our community by helping improve and invest in the well-being of the community by supporting the arts and cultural, civic, educational, health and human services, and municipal activities that improve the quality of life for all Lafayette County and Oxford residents.

Oxford is host to some wonderful non-profit organizations that provide for our community in so many ways. We want to provide a glimpse of these organizations each month. The City of Oxford’s Tourism Council was created to increase and promote economic development in the community as well as cultivate a strong cultural life in Oxford. Visit Oxford does so much for our community, including planning, promoting and working the Double Decker Arts Festival. That’s why we chose to highlight them this month!

Oxford is host to some wonderful non-profit organizations that provide for our community in so many ways. We want to provide a glimpse of these organizations each month. The Oxford Film Festival is set to host the 21st annual festival this week, March 21st-24th. In 2008, the Oxford Film Festival became an independent non-profit organization with 501c3 status committed to celebrating the art of independent cinema, and we are happy to highlight them this month!

Oxford is host to some wonderful non-profit organizations that provide for our community in so many ways. We want to provide a glimpse of these organizations each month. The Pantry of Oxford & Lafayette County has helped thousands of Oxford and Lafayette County citizens each year since 1982 by providing food to low-income families and the elderly living on a fixed income. The Pantry recently underwent a much needed renovation and expansion project to provide storage and access for refrigerated and frozen food. They “re-opened” on September 6, 2023 in their updated space. Since opening back, they have served 590 – 750 clients monthly.

Oxford is host to some wonderful non-profit organizations that provide for our community in so many ways. We want to provide a glimpse of these organizations each month. According to the U.S. Department of Justice-Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mississippi has an incarceration rate at or above 650 per 100,000 residents. Mississippi is second only to Louisiana in incarceration rates. LOU Mercy Re-Entry Ministries was created to help the newly released (6 months or less) Lafayette county ex-offenders gradually rebuild their ties to the community, secure housing and transition to becoming productive citizens.

Oxford is host to some wonderful non-profit organizations that provide for our community in so many ways. We want to provide a glimpse of these organizations each month. Since 1975, the Christmas Store has been giving toys, books and fruit to Oxford and Lafayette county children. The store began collaborating with the Rotary Club of Oxford-Ole Miss in 2008 and is now working with the Rotary Club of Oxford.

Oxford is host to some wonderful non-profit organizations that provide for our community in so many ways. We want to provide a glimpse of these organizations each month. More Than a Meal was started 12 years ago by a few like-minded women who desired to have a hot meal available each week for those who needed it in Oxford. They decided to make it “more than just a meal” and offer tutoring services and necessary toiletries at each meal. The hope was to begin a fellowship of community as they shared a meal together each week.

Oxford is host to some wonderful non-profit organizations that provide for our community in so many ways. We want to provide a glimpse of these organizations each month. Founded in 1895, Palmer Home for Children is a safe home for children in need ages newborn through 24 years old regardless of race, gender or background. Originally founded as a small orphanage, Palmer Home is now a multifaceted ministry that serves hundreds of children and their families each year across four service lines: Campus Care, Family Care, Foster Care and Transitional Care.

Oxford is host to some wonderful non-profit organizations that provide for our community in so many ways. We want to provide a glimpse of these organizations each month. Thacker Mountain Radio Hour is a weekly LIVE radio show in Oxford that features author readings and a wide array of musical performances. The show broadcasts some 30 shows a year, 12 in the spring and 12 in the fall as well as 5-6 on the road in various cities across the Southeast U.S. Its Fall 2023 season kicks off on Thursday, September 7 at 6 PM at The Graduate Hotel in Oxford!

Oxford is host to some wonderful non-profit organizations that provide for our community in so many ways. We want to provide a glimpse of these organizations each month. Rise and Shine Community Breakfast is a food ministry that was started in 2017 by St. Peter’s Episcopal Church (also known as “the pumpkin church on the Square”). It provides FREE breakfast and a sense of community twice a week.

Oxford is host to some wonderful non-profit organizations that provide for our community in so many ways. We want to provide a glimpse of these organizations each month. Interfaith Compassion Ministry (ICM) is our community’s primary agency that assists homeless people by providing counseling, temporary housing, food, and stabilization in new living arrangements. Since September 1999, ICM has been serving our community with Lena Wiley, their fantastic Executive Director, as the woman behind it all.

Oxford is host to some wonderful non-profit organizations that provide for our community in so many ways. We want to provide a glimpse of these organizations each month. Family Crisis Services has been providing services free of charge to the community for 31 years. FCS was founded as a Rape Crisis Center in October of 1992 by Georgia Nix Miller. While serving adult victims of sexual assault and violence, Georgia realized that there was also a huge need to help with the unthinkable - child sexual abuse. In the early 2000s, FCS began the process of becoming a Children's Advocacy Center and an accredited center through the National Children's Alliance.

Oxford is host to some wonderful non-profit organizations that provide for our community in so many ways. We want to provide a glimpse of these organizations each month. Lovepacks was started when a local teacher noticed a child’s backpack dripping while walking down the hall. The child had packed unfinished milk cartons into his backpack to take home so he’d have milk at home. This story inspired Mary Leary and Helen Phillips (with the help of school counselor, Linda Vaughn at Bramlett Elementary) to form Lovepacks.