CAP and Church of God partner to meet communtiy needs for Christmas | News | myhorrynews.com

River King, LaRue Hedges and Lisa Martin worked Wednesday helping distribute Christmas cheer to people with needs.

When Pastor Stuart Jacobs realized that his church’s Christmas project needed to be more than just toys for children, a new partnership resulting in gifts of food, clothing and other necessities was born.

The partnership between Conway Church of God and Churches Assisting People (CAP) quickly drew in numerous other churches, schools, young people, Conway businesses and more touching the hearts of the volunteers as well as the hearts of those receiving the donations.

Dianell Tyler, a member of the Church of God, says the project has been a true eye-opener for her because she really didn’t know exactly what CAP was all about until working with this project.

Her enthusiasm for the project came from just seeing the need being met and from blessings on the people’s faces, how they were so excited that they were going to be able to experience this outpouring on Christmas, she said.

“It’s really been a true blessing.”

There have also been surprises for other volunteers. Instead of asking for extravagant presents, the recipients asked for clothes, coats, blankets, food, hygiene products, even toothbrushes, toothpaste and soap, according to Church of God secretary Tonya Morris.

One of the most touching gifts that they were able to give went to a child who wanted a twin-size bed.

A frame, box mattress and mattress were donated. With financial donations, the group bought bedding and a mattress cover.

“It was very, very heart touching,” Morris said.

When they began to turn their focus to need, Jacobs said, he was also surprised that the recipients needed such essential as soap, clothes, shoes, coats and blankets.

The job was made easier by the partnership with CAP that already had a distribution center and was already well acquainted with lots of people in need.

In the end, they gave to 27 families, broken down into 77 children under 18 and 34 adults, plus 54 residents at Anderson Oaks Assisted Living and 26 shut-ins, who were given blankets, slippers, hygiene products, combs, brushes, lotions, tissues, ChapStick and puzzle books.

The most requested item from children was clearly Legos, according to Morris.

In addition to the Legos, most boys wanted anything to do with dinosaurs and the girls wanted fake nails.

The group also took the opportunity to include Bibles in their packages.

They also added some select verses. For instance, in the boys’ boxes they wrote, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.”

They also encouraged the boys to be like David, who the Bible says had a heart for God.

For girls, the person to emulate was Esther who stood up for her people and her God, according to the Bible.

And even that wasn’t enough for these enthusiastic volunteers. They went from aisle to aisle praying for all the recipients who were going to get the huge bags of gifts, all wrapped!

Volunteers put all of the wrapped presents into large bags and arranged them on church pews in alphabetical order to make it easier when the carefully-selected recipients came to collect their gifts.

It took about 150 people to complete that task. They came in groups of 50 to 60 all day long Tuesday preparing for the distribution.

On Wednesday, a large group of volunteers was back to help collect the correct bags and take them to the recipients’ vehicles.

They started at about 9 a.m. and planned to stay until about 6:30 Wednesday evening.

Because volunteers needed to eat during that time, Bojangles’ and Maryland Fried Chicken donated food for them. Organizers also mentioned Roses, Walmart and HTC as businesses that had been especially generous. Also joining the effort was the Teen Challenge group that provided volunteers.

The pastor’s wife, Diana Jacobs, also pointed out that some volunteers cooked meals for the other volunteers.

“They’ve been well fed,” agreed Donna Bodie, CAP’s executive director.

Jacobs was so pleased with the project that he and Bodie are already looking to next year.

He called the project, “the beginning of bigger things to come.”

He believes the gifts and givers fulfilled God’s mission, calling them the heartbeat of God, who showed the love of Christ.

“The time was just right,” he said.

Bodie was very touched by one volunteer who told her that she had a new perspective on seeing real needs met and that it had touched the volunteer’s heart.

CAP has been doing a similar project in the past, but on a much smaller scale, according to Bodie.

It was in October when Church of God officials alerted CAP that the church wanted to partner with them that the nonprofit group was able to greatly expand its Christmas mission.

Brodie sent out about 30 letters to CAP’s sponsoring churches. About 15 responded donating gifts for mothers, fathers, senior adults and children.

“We pulled it together and I had no doubt we would,” she said,

However, starting again sometime around the first of October like they did this year just won’t do, she said. She is already planning Christmas in July when she will begin alerting CAP members, volunteers and donors.

“We’re excited…and we’re excited for next year already,” she said.

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