Prodisee Pantry in Spanish Fort is nearing its move into a more spacious facility. The nonprofit group furnishes food to those in need across Baldwin County, but they have long been in cramped space inside a former shopping center. Reaching the next level of service costs a lot of money, but there’s a way to help this group and many others on Thursday, Feb. 2, during Alabama Gives Day.

Organized by the Alabama Association of Nonprofits, in partnership with the Alabama Broadcasters Association, Alabama Gives Day will create synergy in the call to arms aimed at supporting more than 850 nonprofits statewide.

Alabama Gives Day is supported by the Razoo Foundation, the Alabama Press Association, Alabama Giving, Intermark Group, al.com and hundreds of nonprofits in the state. The hope is to make history by connecting new and existing donors with hundreds of Alabama nonprofits in just 24 hours.

Potential donors may go online that day from midnight until 11:59 p.m. and choose an agency, or several agencies, from 12 areas of interest then make a contribution. The website (www.alabamagivesday.org) offers charitable one-stop shopping.

“It’s an opportunity in the slowest time of the year to show a little love in the community,” said Deann Servos, executive director of Prodisee Pantry. “It helps nonprofits that could use a hand this time of year.”

Servos said it costs only around $20 to provide a family with around $120 worth of groceries, thanks to donations of cash and groceries, including fresh produce, eggs, milk and meat. The agency served 10, 861 families in 2011.

“We’re helping provide healthy, nutritious food to people in need.”

She acknowledged that the need is greater than ever because of a weak economy. The group sees on average 100 new families each month.

Among those has been a 29 percent increase in the number of senior citizens, who often would otherwise find themselves having to choose between buying food or prescription medicines.

“We also provide a smile, and that goes a long way,” she added.

Flor Fellers, secretary-treasurer of Bayside Medical Missions also understands the role donations play in serving others. The organization based in Fairhope sends volunteers across political and geographic borders to correct orthopedic problems for those who cannot afford the care.

The nonprofit founded by her husband, Dr. Paul Fellers, performs corrective surgeries for people in underdeveloped countries. Doctors volunteer their time and skills to participate in the mission trips. They cover their own expenses, so donations are used for the costs of providing surgeries for people who otherwise have no hope of receiving them.

Margarita, a woman in her early 20s who lives in Ecuador, is one of the organization’s recent success stories. She received surgery on both of her club feet in November. Staples were used because her bones had set due to her age.

“In younger people it’s a tissue fix,” Fellers said.

Margarita was abandoned as a child, and raised by an aunt in a rural area. She helped farm the land, but had trouble walking because of the tremendous pain caused by her deformed feet. All that changed when a nurse from Bayside Medical Missions saw her selling produce in a local market.

A group from this area is heading back to Ecuador Feb. 16, and a surgical team from north Alabama is going down Feb. 27. During the last trip, the team handled 44 cases in nine days; all were orthopedic corrections, including surgery on limbs, club feet and injuries previously left untreated.

Two young people will be coming here in August to receive treatment. Both suffer from progressive elephantiasis, and will undergo surgery at Providence Hospital in Mobile. They will also receive physical therapy, and stay with the Fellers in Fairhope for the duration of the two months it will take for recovery.

“We’re hoping Alabama Gives Day will be effective and help us, and let people know what we do, and others will participate,” Fellers said.

Servos is overwhelmed by the generous support area residents have offered so far, which is enabling Prodisee Pantry to expand, and hopes everyone will participate in Alabama Gives Day.

“The community of God is stepping up and answering His call,” she said. “We are looking forward to better serving our families.”

Other organizations serving the Eastern Shore that are taking part in Alabama Gives Day include Ecumenical Ministries Inc., the Weeks Bay Foundation, Outward Bound, Hope Center, the Eastern Shore Literacy Council, HandsOn South Alabama, the Baldwin County Library Cooperative, United Way of Baldwin County, Family Promise of Baldwin County, Mobile Baykeeper, Thomas Hospital, the Haven, Community Action Agency of Baldwin County and Care House.

For more information about Alabama Gives Day, or to donate on Thursday, visit www.alabamagivesday.org.

To learn more about Bayside Medical Missions, click on www.baysidemedicalmissions.org. For more details about Prodisee Pantry, visit www.prodiseepantry.org.