When asked about funding received from the Atmore United Fund, Betty Cox, evangelist and director for Change of Mind Children Outreach Ministry, simply said, “it’s truly a blessing.”

The funds received from the annual campaign literally help keep the lights on at her facility, which is currently being relocated from 8680 Hwy. 31 E. behind the county satellite office to 109 Wilson Ave.

“Most of the donation from United Fund handled my power bill,” Cox said. “I didn’t have to worry about being in the dark or in the cold.”

Cox missed the application deadline for funds last year, so she said this year the funds are crucial.

“The funds are very important to my organization,” Cox said.

Cox, which held the last meeting at her Hwy. 31 facility on Oct. 29, said she has been working to get the new facility in working order since November and hopes she will be back up and running for her weekly Saturday meetings with children from the area. She said anywhere from five to 10 volunteers including herself meet with children from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturdays to help keep them “on the right path.”

“We have clean fun and we are there to listen and encourage them,” she said. “We also feed them and help clothe them if needed.”

Cox said her organization has a clothing closet set up similar to a store, so children who are in need of clothing can shop without money. She said the organization also assists burned out families.

“It’s been a blessing,” Cox said. “It’s a ministry to me. I’m not there to make a name for myself, I do the will of God, which is simply helping.”

Each weekly meeting is opened with devotion where children are encouraged to give thanks, Cox said. She said the children then enjoy good, clean fun without outside influences. She said the ministry tries to “encourage and motivate them to let them know that there is a more excellent way.”

“I know I can’t save the world, but when you look at those kids and see the enemy trying to take them over; drugs and alcohol and through rebellion,” Cox said. “I just want to stand in the gap for them with prayer and try to alleviate the pain for them.”

Since her meeting facility is in a transition phase, she said she and volunteers have been working the last six weeks in raising funds. She said they have been bagging groceries at Piggly Wiggly to help raise funds. In the past, the group has taken family portraits and does receive donations from individuals.

Change of Mind Children Outreach Ministry, which was started in January 2006, will hold a Christmas party on Dec. 18 from noon until 3 p.m. at New Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in fellowship hall on Martin Luther King Ave. Anyone who wants to bring children by are welcome to attend. Refreshments will be served.

To make a contribution to United Fund, contact any board member of the organization or ask your employer.