(BEDFORD) – The Bedford First Church of God celebrated “ Love Week 2019” with eight defined missions both in and outside the church’s walls.
The mission included the following: sprucing up Smokin Jim’s, building a ramp for an elderly lady in the church, delivering cookies to first responders, mulching and cleaning Lincoln School, building a fence for a disabled man, bagging corn at Bryantsville for mission work to feed the hungry, a back-to-school give-away, and a church celebration on Sunday morning.
The Back to School giveaway served more than 400 students. Several people waited in line long before the doors opened according to Tatelyn Cline who helped organize this year’s event.
“By 10:30 a.m. we had already run out of the backpacks,” stated Cline. “But, we are pleased we were able to help around 415 students get ready for the coming school year.”
“It really does help me, I can mark off a few things off the list when they do these going back to school giveaways,” stated Melissa Wilkerson, of Bedford. “It costs a lot of money to send kids to school, for me it’s over $115 in book fees and rentals, I have three children so about $300 in clothing, and some other costs with school supplies.”
“We are hoping to serve more people next year, and we are accepting donations at this time to make next year better,” said Tianna Inman of the Bedford First Church of God. “We were able to help a few with some specific clothing needs. Clothes that were just not the right size here, so one of our members helped a young lady get the clothes she needed.”
“We want to thank the several businesses in Bedford that supported our efforts. Next year, we will do some better planning and hope to help even more children. Smokin Jim’s provided both breakfast and dinner, and then we treated the kids to free haircuts,” she added.
