January 25, 2021

Faith in Action: BBH, Books, and Backpacks!

God calls us to “love our neighbors as ourselves” and during a time when our neighbors are suffering, St. John’s is working to fulfill God’s calling by loving those in our community. In early 2021, St. John’s wrapped up several outreach projects that began in 2020.

COLLECTIONS FOR BIG BEND HOSPICE:

In December 2020, St. John’s began a collection to assist Big Bend Hospice (BBH) with bolstering its supply of Ensure ready-to-drive nutritional shakes for patients in need. Thanks to your generosity, through both online and in-person donations, the church was able to donate 475 eight-ounce bottles of Ensure to BBH, a donation that is already helping the organization meet the needs of patients with life-limiting illnesses.

This donation was delivered soon after we dropped off more than 200 holiday cards made by St. John’s Youth Group along with friends from Leon High School SGA. The cards were distributed to Big Bend Hospice patients and families to brighten their holidays with messages of love and hope!

YOUTH COLLECTION FOR RILEY ELEMENTARY:

St. John’s Youth also played a major part in our parish’s early 2021 efforts to support Riley Elementary School. During Virtual BEAT Week this summer, when in-person volunteering was not an option, youth collected gently-used books from their home libraries. Last fall, Youth Director Caroline Allen sorted the donations by grade level so Susan Walton could deliver them to Riley as part of our Lend-a-Hand efforts. Approximately 160 children’s books – board boards, through Young Adult fiction and nonfiction – were donated for class libraries.

SCHOOL SUPPLY DRIVE HELPS LOCAL TEACHERS

In Summer 2020, St. John’s sponsored a school supply drive for Riley Elementary, and the response from our parish was overwhelming. St. John’s donated $8,000 of much-needed school supplies to help local students start the year off right! A number of people also made monetary donations, leaving us with nearly $2,000 in funds. With the donors’ permission, these funds were used to purchase book bags for each of the Riley Elementary teachers, a much-appreciated gift as teachers now have to carry their computers and supplies between home and school daily. Please know that when the bags, embroidered with the school mascot, were delivered, the children and staff at Riley felt your love. They thank you for walking with them during a challenging year!


Sign Up for E-Chimes