Churches across Jackson County help kids prepare
Katie Hightower
On Saturday, July 13, The Church of God of Union Assembly, Inc. in Scottsboro, held its first back-to-school backpack distribution for needy children in the community. This outreach was the idea of pastor Bryan Hicks.
Hicks said he got the idea from a sister church in Tennessee. Hicks knew Jackson County residents could benefit.
“There’s a big need in the community. Even if every church in the area did this, there would still be a need. We’re not a big church but everyone chips in though,” he said.
The church embraced the outreach opportunity, and member Chelsea Key immediately jumped in to help organize the backpack drive.
“Chelsea gets stuff done and sees things through. She’s the perfect person to organize this,” Hicks said.
Key said the hardest part for her was making sure everything went smoothly the day of the drive.
“Getting the supplies wasn’t hard. Everyone was quick to donate things to fill the backpacks. I just want the drive to go perfect and keep everything in order,” she said.
The drive was not set to start until 4 p.m. People arrived in the 90-degree heat with their children and lined up their cars for the drive-through pickup as early as 2:30 p.m. The people who arrived received backpacks with school supplies, hotdogs, chips and drinks.
“Within 30 minutes, we had given out 70 numbers for backpacks. At one point, our parking lot was full and wrapped around,” Key said.
Hicks said with all the support he saw this year for the drive he would like to do one every year. Recently, the church started a food pantry and started giving “Blessing Boxes” to families in need.
“Chelsea organizes that too,” Hicks said with a chuckle.
Any residents who missed the backpack giveaway can rest assured there will be more opportunities to get the support they need.
On July 20, Bridgeport Church of Christ will be holding a School Supply Giveaway from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. This outreach will be sponsored by Bridgeport Church of Christ and Aldhouse Church of Christ. In addition to school supplies, a hot dog lunch will be provided. This is not the first year the Bridgeport and Aldhouse churches worked together on this outreach.
On July 26, Scottsboro First Baptist Church will host The Social House Salon’s Back-to-School Haircut Event. Any children from Scottsboro City Schools can benefit from the service that provides complimentary haircuts and school supplies. The haircut event will take place from 9-10 a.m. for sensory friendly and 10:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. for all other kids. There is an online form for parents or guardians to fill out for each child ahead of the event that can be accessed by a QR code.
