COVID-19 claims local non-profit

Staff Reports

Local non-profit organization, Love, INC has announced it will close its doors August 15 after more than 20 years serving the area.

According to a letter to Taney and Stone county supporters, obtained by the Branson Globe, Executive Director Jennifer Maupin said the non-profit is closing due to the “permanent loss of a couple of large contributors” as COVID-19 has taken an economic toll.

Ozark Mountain Country Love INC is an affiliate of Love INC, a national ministry currently operating in over 30 states, and in Kenya. The mission of the organization is to bring local churches together to help those in need.

In previous years, Love, INC has assisted the area with the Stone County School Readiness Fair, holiday assistance programs, including Toys for Tots, and the Stone County Loaves and Fishes program. According to the letter from Maupin, the school readiness fair will go on as planned in August. Families in need of assistance getting ready for a new school year can apply at http://www.omcloveinc.org.

Love, INC board member Dennis Ahlvers from St. Andrews Church in Kimberling City, will oversee Stone County Loaves and Fishes for the winter season 2021. Holiday assistance programs have been discontinued.

“This has not been an easy decision,” Maupin wrote, “but after much prayer and ‘crunching the numbers’ we are at peace with the decision because we know for over 20 years, OMC Love INC served God according to His will and timing, and may the glory remain His.”