By Shannon McFarlin News Director
Paris, Tenn.–It’s always one of the happiest nights of the year: The night that the Henry County Helping Hand Board hands out the checks to organizations that are funded by the annual Radio Auction. The auditorium at the Krider Performing Arts Center was full of smiling faces Monday night.
A whopping total of $504,750 was raised, with checks handed out to 85 organizations in the categories of Health & Well Being, Public Safety, Education, Alleviation of Poverty, Historic Preservation, Cultural Development and Recreation.
2026 Helping Hand President John Etheridge thanked all the volunteers who helped with the Radio Auction this year and who help each year. “It’s the volunteers who make Helping Hand what it is,” he said, noting that other communities have tried to emulate what Henry County does each year without success. Etheridge noted that once again, the Henry County community stepped up and raised thousands of dollars, all of which go back to the community.
This is the 47th annual meeting of the Helping Hand board and Etheridge asked everyone to stand up and be recognized: those who volunteered; those who bought something at the two-month auction or those who made something to be auctioned off.
New Board Members elected were: Tyler Miller, Ashley Russell, Morgan Tosh and Tas Smith.
All of the county’s volunteer fire departments received $10,000 each and the Paris-Henry County Rescue Squad received $19,000.
The Top Ten Donor Organizations were: First United Methodist Church, First Baptist Church, the Pleasant Hill community, Security Bank & Trust, Central Point community, Cottage Grove community, Center community, Tennessee Valley Community Church, Holy Cross Catholic Church and Buchanan community. Their representatives received plaques.
The following are the totals raised by the Top Ten Donor Organizations:
|
HELPING HAND 2026 TOP TEN DONOR ORGANIZATIONS |
|
| First United Methodist Church |
$ 34,559.00 |
| First Baptist Church |
$ 30,968.00 |
| Pleasant Hill Community |
$ 26,753.00 |
| Security Bank & Trust Co |
$ 16,708.00 |
| Central Point Community |
$ 14,490.00 |
| Cottage Grove Community |
$ 13,956.00 |
| Center Community |
$ 13,645.00 |
| Tennessee Valley Community Church |
$ 13,325.00 |
| Holy Cross Catholic Church |
$ 11,451.00 |
| Buchanan Community |
$ 11,451.00 |
|
Henry County Helping Hand |
|
|
Organizations Funded 2026 |
|
| HEALTH & WELLBEING | |
| ABLE Farms |
$ 8,000 |
| American Legion Ladies Auxiliary Post 89 (William C. Woods) |
$ 3,000 |
| American Legion Post 89 Vietnam Memorial Post 89 |
$ 3,000 |
| Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks USA #816 |
$ 6,000 |
| Child Evangelism Fellowship of Northwest Tennessee |
$ 1,500 |
| Darkhorse Lodge |
$ 7,500 |
| Easton’s Angels |
$ 14,000 |
| Forever Friends Animal Sanctuary |
$ 3,200 |
| Henry Co Office on Aging |
$ 3,500 |
| Henry Co Office on Aging/NW Nutrition Fund |
$ 2,500 |
| Henry County CASA, Inc |
$ 6,500 |
| Lewis Wimberly Post 1889 VFW |
$ 4,000 |
| Little Pantries of Henry County |
$ 5,500 |
| Paris-Henry County Sanders Senior Citizen Association |
$ 3,000 |
| Peer Support Outreach/Carey Counseling |
$ 5,000 |
| The Exchange Club Carl Perkins Center of Henry County |
$ 4,000 |
| The Levi Miles Foundation |
$ 13,000 |
| TN Amvets Post 45 |
$ 2,500 |
| Tomorrow’s Hope Pregnancy Medical Clinic |
$ 11,000 |
| PUBLIC SAFETY | |
| Cottage Grove Fire Dept |
$ 10,000 |
| Cottage Grove- Airport Fire Dept |
$ 10,000 |
| Cottage Grove- Jones Mill Fire Dept |
$ 10,000 |
| Cottage Grove- Whitlock Fire Dept |
$ 10,000 |
| Henry Volunteer Fire Dept |
$ 10,000 |
| Mansfield Fire Dept |
$ 10,000 |
| Pleasant Hill Fire Dept |
$ 10,000 |
| Oakland Volunteer Fire Dept |
$ 10,000 |
| Ore Springs/Como Fire Dept |
$ 10,000 |
| Paris Landing Fire Dept |
$ 10,000 |
| Paris Landing Fire Dept- Buchanan |
$ 10,000 |
| Paris Landing Fire Dept- Lakewood |
$ 10,000 |
| Paris Landing Fire Dept- Russwood |
$ 10,000 |
| Puryear Fire Dept |
$ 10,000 |
| Springville Community Volunteer Fire Dept #1 |
$ 10,000 |
| Springville Community Volunteer Fire Dept #2 |
$ 10,000 |
| L.E.A.D. Program- Paris Police Dept (formerly D.A.R.E.) |
$ 4,000 |
| Paris Henry County Rescue Squad |
$ 19,000 |
| EDUCATION | |
| American Heritage Girls Troop 3130-TVCC affiliate |
$ 1,300 |
| Friends of TN National Wildlife Refuge |
$ 6,000 |
| Girl Scouts Heart of the South |
$ 5,000 |
| Harrelson School PTO (new/never funded) |
$ 2,500 |
| HC Softball Booster Club |
$ 3,000 |
| HCHS Baseball Booster Club |
$ 5,000 |
| HCHS Basketball Boosters |
$ 5,500 |
| HCHS Cross Country & Track Team |
$ 2,500 |
| HCHS Lady Patriot Soccer |
$ 4,500 |
| HCHS Madrigals |
$ 3,000 |
| Henry Co Junior Livestock Assoc |
$ 4,000 |
| Henry County Band Parents Club, Inc |
$ 5,000 |
| Henry County Boy Scouts |
$ 7,500 |
| Henry County High School Fishing Team Booster Club |
$ 2,000 |
| Henry County Literacy Council |
$ 2,500 |
| Henry County Prevention Coalition |
$ 8,000 |
| Henry County Project Bridge Inc |
$ 5,000 |
| Henry County Sheriff’s Dept- DARE |
$ 3,000 |
| Inman Band Boosters |
$ 3,000 |
| Paris Strings (new/never funded) |
$ 1,100 |
| PLUS Endowment |
$ 3,500 |
| R.E.A.L. Hope Youth Center |
$ 4,000 |
| TCAT- Henry/Carroll |
$ 4,000 |
| UT Extension Henry County FCS |
$ 800 |
| W.G. Rhea Public Library |
$ 3,200 |
| ALLEVIATION OF POVERTY | |
| Henry Co Ministerial Association c/o Western District Baptist Association |
$ 3,500 |
| Mary’s Kids |
$ 8,500 |
| Northwest TN Economic Development Council |
$ 8,500 |
| Project Help of Henry County |
$ 17,000 |
| TARP Inc Center for Independent Living |
$ 5,000 |
| Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) |
$ 1,200 |
| HISTORICAL PRESERVATION | |
| Henry County Archives |
$ 4,000 |
| Henry County Cemetery Committee |
$ 3,000 |
| Henry County Genealogical Society |
$ 2,500 |
| Isham G. Harris Camp 109 |
$ 250 |
| Paris Academy Association |
$ 7,500 |
| Paris- Henry County Heritage Center |
$ 5,000 |
| CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT | |
| Downtown Paris Association |
$ 6,000 |
| Paris Henry County Arts Council |
$ 10,000 |
| Paris- Henry County Chamber Music Society |
$ 2,500 |
| RECREATION | |
| Covenant Ranch, Inc |
$ 6,000 |
| Friends of Paris Landing State Park, Inc |
$ 6,000 |
| HC Fair Association |
$ 6,000 |
| Henry County Youth Athletic Assoc |
$ 6,000 |
| Henry County Youth Shooting Program / Holly Fork Shooting Complex |
$ 4,000 |
| KPAC Young Artists |
$ 1,200 |
| Paris Downtown Boxing Gym |
$ 4,000 |
| Paris- Henry County Special Olympics |
$ 2,500 |
| TOTAL |
$ 504,750 |
Photo: Helping Hand President John Etheridge hands check to Barbara Pearson of the Office on Aging. Photo by Shannon McFarlin.