Friday morning, a group of ladies at the Apostolic Church of Vicksburg was tossing salad and filling to-go boxes to help fellow church members take a special trip.

The counter in front of the kitchen area of the church’s fellowship hall was covered with foam containers while the ladies worked behind the plastic wall, filling orders for chef’s salads.

The salad sale is the latest in a series of fundraisers the members have been holding since 2021 to help the church youth and other members get to the attractions at Branson, Mo.

“About a year ago, I decided to take it upon myself to raise money to take our church (members) if they wanted to go, but mainly the youth and the single young adults to Branson,” church member Laura Parks said. “They (church members) wanted to help me and since April 17, we have raised $13,000 to make this possible. We are about $3,000 from our goal.”

She said the church has held rock-a-thons, sold snow cones at the Old Court House Flea Market, held a softball game and sold concessions, held two church garage sales and sold dinners.

Parks said one of the reasons for the trip is to give many of the young people an opportunity to do something different.

“Some of our young people aren’t able to go to something like an amusement park, and I wanted to give them that experience,” she said.

Parks said the original plan was to travel to Florida, but that was changed to Branson to accommodate some of the older church members who might find the long trip a problem.

“Branson was sort of a medium for the elderly to enjoy and for the young people to enjoy because they have the shows and the amusement park, shopping; entertainment there that appeals to all ages,” she said.

The trip is planned for March 24 through 28, which is the spring break period for school students. And more than the church youth will be going, Parks said, adding young adults and some of the church’s older members will be headed to the Ozarks as well.