About the Clearinghouse
“No Child Should Ever Go Hungry”
A Brief History
The Community Services Clearinghouse, since 1979, has served as an information-sharing agency to provide for the needs of families and individuals in the area who are facing emergency situations.
We work with churches, civic groups, community agencies, and schools to assist cancer and hospice patients, the elderly, the disabled, and children as well as working families.
We have grown with our service area, and we now offer a broad-based assortment of direct service programs to our clients.
Community Driven
The Clearinghouse partners with several local agencies to ensure that everyone in need receives all the help available to them. Our referral service helps families find the help they need, and our job board points many clients towards the employment they need.
Non-Profit
Community Services Clearinghouse, Inc. is a 501c3 organization and is a recipient of United Way funds.
Serving Local Needs
The Clearinghouse serves five counties in Arkansas and two in Oklahoma. They are Crawford, Sebastian, Logan, Scott and Franklin in Arkansas and Leflore and Sequoyah in Oklahoma.
The Backpack Story
Thousands served.
Our MEALS FOR KIDS program currently serves over 2,800 children per week. Teachers and counselors from schools in our seven-county area select the students to receive our backpacks on Friday afternoon.
No applications required.
All it takes is a recommendation from the school for a student to begin receiving a backpack. Professional nutritionists volunteered their time and skills to select the foods we deliver each week.
Healthy meals provided.
The backpacks include juice, cereal, pudding and fruit cups. We always include some source of protein like meat sticks or Vienna sausages, as well as crackers and treats. Students who suffer Food Insecurity, and who many times must hoard part of their school-provided breakfast and lunch allotments, must also come to school on Monday so focused on hunger that they are unable to learn or to make good progress in their studies.
Financial contributions needed.
Financial contributions, as well as donations of backpack foods, are always welcome for the program. The success of this program proves that our supporters truly believe “no child should ever go hungry!”
children fed per week
Food Pantry
We maintain a well-stocked pantry for use by persons needing food assistance. We serve clients on an emergency basis through the work of several caseworkers who interview the clients. In addition, we serve referrals from Reynolds Cancer Support House, local hospices, public schools, and Elderly HomeCare Agencies.
Cooperation
We work with various other agencies such as the United Way, churches, other food pantries, schools, and a host of others to try to find help for our clients. When we are unable to assist, we try to make sure they leave with a referral to another agency as well as with suggestions of ways to improve their lives.