Crossroads Ministry hosting fundraiser banquet for addiction recovery

Crossroads Ministry will have its first fundraiser banquet Saturday, Dec. 9, at the Black River Coliseum, 301 S. Fifth St., Poplar Bluff.

The doors open at 3 p.m. and the banquet will start at 5 p.m. There will be both live and silent auctions and live music. The $15 tickets include food and drinks, as well a chance to win the door prize. Youngsters under 7 eat free with an adult.

Organizers plan to make the banquet an annual event to raise funds and awareness for the faith-based recovery program which enables men to restart life with work and fellowship in the religious community. Their goal is for 1,000 to attend.

Crossroads Ministry director Jimi Waggoner credits his best friend Anthony Rommel for having the inspiration for the fundraiser, and being in charge of it.

Money is tight for the program and Waggoner said, “We work our butts off to barely make it and he (Rommel) was like, we’re going to do a fundraiser. We have up to 20 men in the old Hentz school or the former Boys and Girls Club building” on south C street.

“It’s a six month inpatient program,” Waggoner said. “We roof houses. The guys work for us for the first four months. Once they make it to the four month mark, we help them get a job. They save money the last two months. They’re here so they leave clean and sober with a job and money in their pocket.”

Rommel helps with Sunday morning services.

“We were talking one day about how we barely make it,” Waggoner said. “All the money we make from the roofing comes in but it goes right back out. It’s a nonprofit for real. We barely scrape by. I guess he felt inspired to help the ministry. He’s organized this whole thing; him and Ron Eads have walked around getting donations and selling tickets.”

Waggoner said, “We’ve got so many graduates in Poplar Bluff who are restaurant managers, business owners, they pour concrete, they put in windows and doors. There’s no way you live in Poplar Bluff and don’t come in contact with one of our graduates.”

Rommel said, “We’re trying to raise funds for the program’s everyday expenses. Things are getting more expensive nowadays. We want to continue to do the work of God. We’re needing funds and raising awareness. There’s still a lot of people in this town that don’t know who we are. This is a place for guys with drug and alcohol addictions to get help. We have a pretty good success rate. I don’t know how many hundreds of guys have gotten clean, and they’re still doing good today and their families are clean. Their families are together.”

Rommel credits, “a lot of help from different people. There’s a couple of other faith-based programs assisting. Christway, a women’s ministry, they’re going to help out. Dustin Siebert runs a program in Malden. He and his group are going to help us out.”

Donations of new or nice things are being taken to auction, and if someone wants to donate a vehicle for the auction “we are a 501(c)3 so it could be a tax write-off,” Rommel said.

Businesses, organizations, companies and individuals people may sponsor a table for $200.

“This will include tickets, your name on the table, you’ll be named as a sponsor,” Rommel said. “We’re going to have a screen with the names of the people who bought tables. We’ve got about 30 tables sold right now. “

Takeout plates will be available for those who cannot stay for the event.

Each ticket purchase includes a chance to win an 85-inch flat screen TV.

Tickets will be on sale at the door, but for advance tickets call 573-872-6959 or 573-609-4118.