Lee Williams, a member of Rivelon Baptist Church, Orangeburg-Calhoun Association, read an article about the Toys for Tots program and said his “heart opened up” to the children in his area. He began to pray about how he could make a difference.
Kevin Ard, Crystal Ard, Natalie Hay, Lee Williams, Stacey Wood, Ashton Hay, and Renate Scott prepare to stuff a church bus with Toys for Tots.Williams’ idea was to stuff a church bus full of toys, an idea that had the blessing of his pastor, Ken Hay. Williams contacted a local radio personality, Russ T. Fender, who happened to be married to Stacey Wood, local area coordinator for Toys for Tots.
Wood, an ER nurse at Lexington Medical Center, got involved with Toys for Tots four years ago and now oversees the program in five counties: Orangeburg, Calhoun, Allendale, Bamberg, and Barnwell. She hopes the idea of stuffing a church bus will grow next year as she helps spread the word across her five county contact areas.
Richard Porter, director of missions for Orangeburg-Calhoun Association, encouraged Williams to contact the South Carolina Baptist Convention through its website’s “Tell Us Your Story” link in order to share the idea with other churches.
Rivelon Church is also reaching out in other ways to its community. Kevin Ard began serving as youth pastor for this church in August and immediately plugged into the Good News Club that the church sponsors at Rivelon Elementary School, just across the street from the church. The church hosted an appreciation dinner for the teachers and staff at the school to thank them for their support of the Good News Club, and also to let them know about the stuff-a-bus concept and Toys for Tots.
Many of those who will receive gifts from Toys for Tots are students at Rivelon Elementary. Renate Scott, member at Rivelon Church, was on hand to help receive gifts from people on drop-off day Nov. 19. She passed out flyers in her neighborhood and used her Facebook page to help make people aware of the ministry opportunity.
Natalie Hay, wife of pastor Ken Hay, and daughter Ashton brought a car full of toys donated by one of the WMU groups in their church.
To share what your church is doing to make a difference, visit http://www.scbaptist.org/resources/shareyourstory.htm. – SCBC