Holiday shopping is underway there, and the event ranks among the ministry's largest fundraisers. "It helps us provide more services to women locally and across the nation," said April Riggs, the ministry's executive director. Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus are also expected to stop by to do some shopping of their own.
Riggs asks vendors to skip items related to alcohol or CBD oil, because the ministry works with women in recovery. Julie Smith, the event's vendor and bake sale chair, said she has watched women who received help from the ministry return as volunteers and employees.
For Chantell Hicks, the ministry's outreach coordinator, the cause is personal. Sharing Hope helped her. "I was one of those women who didn't have a place to go after incarceration," she said.
Shoppers who come out Saturday support that work, Riggs said. Since 1999, the ministry has provided Life Recovery Bibles to more than 800 facilities across the country, helping women begin recovery and work toward sobriety. The event runs from 9 a.m. To 5 p.m.