Serving Meals with Love

Over the past few years, our Downtown campus has developed a partnership with Carolina High School, which has a poverty index of over 88%, one of the highest in the state of South Carolina for high schools. One way we have supported these students is by helping to provide meals for athletes before their games.

When Anna Shugart and her family joined Grace Church Downtown in February, they were looking for a way to serve that would involve their children as well. So, Anna took on the role of organizing volunteers to prep bagged meals and deliver them to student athletes. Anna’s children jumped in by writing notes of encouragement to the students and helped with meal delivery. And the number of individuals and families helping pack and deliver meals is growing as needs continue to arise. In the fall, community groups worked together to fund and serve catered meals for the football teams.

Anna shared this with us:

“Where we live, our girls don’t see a lot of the hardships of the world. We are looking for ways to expose them to the world and be part of the world. We want them to realize we are all God’s children. This has been an impactful way for our girls to realize these kids are just like them, but they are not guaranteed food. We’re providing that for them. It’s a simple way to serve, but it communicates God’s love in a meaningful way.”

We are so thankful for many volunteers like Anna and her family who are eager to show the love of Jesus to our communities. Will you join us in praying for this partnership? Pray that the students we serve will feel the love of their community and know that they are valued individuals.