School supply central at Faith Promise, filling a big need July 27
Family to family: back-to-school ready
-
Rachel Kerley hands bags of school supplies to a family with the help of her daughters, Raegan, 6, left, and Ali, 8. - Photos by Brandon L. Jones
-
Chase Depew, pastor of Faith Promise Church, 144 West End Ave. in Farragut, with his son, Asher, prays over Sori Vega, who had stopped by to get a bag of school supplies Saturday, July 27. - Photos by Brandon L. Jones
When you’re looking for one thing, sometimes you happen upon another thing entirely. Such was the case this past Saturday, July 27, when Faith Promise Church’s Farragut campus was witnessed lending a helping hand to families in the area by way of free school supplies for the upcoming year.
It is a place where the bags of supplies came with a blessing. The supplies are prayed over on the blacktop out in the church’s parking lot at 144 West End Ave. Anybody with a child knows the one thing needed more than school supplies is a prayer. On this day, they got both.
Members of Faith Promise volunteered their morning serving as helping hands of the Lord. And since God’s work is often dealt best by the hands of children and often, too, more well received, little Raegan Kerley, 6, and her sister, Ali, 8, among other members’ kids, were on hand to help deliver.
“And seeing the next generation serve as well,” said Pastor Chase Depew, “... they’re making a difference maybe with some of these kids they’re going to be in class with, so it helps us see the world a little differently.”
Every year, said Brad Hair, who works in Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs’ office and was there to help, the county gives out around 2,500 bags of supplies. “Last year,” he said, “they ran out in 90 minutes.”
This year, though, he said, “The faith community stepped up and decided they wanted to be a part of it,” with 13 churches in nine districts participating in the “School Supply Slam” event, a back-to-school program that is part of the county’s “School Mania” initiative that kicked off Friday, July 26, in the parking lot of the Jacob Building at Chilhowee Park.
From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 3, its “Shoes for Schools” program will be held inside the Jacob Building.
