This past December, each 4th-grade class started collecting used sheets, tuna, peanut butter and used men’s and women’s socks for donation as a part of this year’s service project.

Over the past few months as we have collected these items our students have had the opportunity to think about and pray for others as they worked to meet their practical needs.

This past week our students had the opportunity to take their donations to the Benevolence Center of the West Erwin Church of Christ in downtown Tyler.

In addition to dropping the collected items off, students had the chance to hear from Brother Donny about the mission of the center, and how donations made an impact on those who visited from the community. They toured the Benevolence Center and had the opportunity to hear about each of the different programs offered.

For a hands-on chance to serve, students broke up into groups and had the opportunity to rotate through the different helping stations. One group worked with many volunteers of the church and rolled the used sheets into very tight bandages that are sent to Africa. (The students loved this and were pros!)

Another group took time to sort through bins of clothing donations, separating them into Winter clothing stacks which were then carried into the Clothing Donations area to hang and organize. Some also had a chance to work in the food pantry sorting cans of tuna, jars of peanut butter, and organizing all the pastries the center had just received.

We were proud of the way our students showed interest and took the time to ask questions while serving with joy. This opportunity gave us a greater understanding of how important it is to serve others and show both love and respect to those who don’t have the same security of clothing, shelter, and food. It was such a gift to meet and speak with volunteers as well!

For those interested in serving at the Benevolence Center in their Caring Kitchen, Clothing Closet, Food Pantry and or through making bandages you can visit their website for more information.