PEACH COUNTY, Ga. — Byron United Methodist Church's sanctuary still under renovation after an arsonist set two fires there. Pastor Josh Bizzell says flames scorched their office building, which housed a public food pantry. Some students want to help re-stock what was lost, through joint service projects.
Recently, Central Region of Future Farmers of America set out to replenish the shelves, a combined effort of area three and area four members. Remiya Stephens, Area 3 FFA President, said they hope to keep the momentum going for future service initiatives.
"It definitely just made me remember why I'm in FFA the first place. I like to always go back to the FFA motto: living to serve," Stephens said. "I think this could be a thing that is ongoing; obviously we hope another church doesn't burn down, but we hope that we can continue to give back to the community."
Every year the region attends a leadership rally. There students are encouraged to participate in a collective food drive. This years donations are now in the hands of Byron UMC.
"This year, we had a total of 3,857 pounds of food donated, which then on the second day, Peach County (FFA) came and put it in their livestock trailer and they donated," Stephens said.
Stetson Crane, Peach County FFA Vice President, said he enjoys giving back to his hometown community.
"That makes you feel good, being able to be here for them as they're here for us and supporting us, we support them," Crane said.
Crane said he wants more people to donate.
"They are still needing donations, so I challenge the community to be able to give back to that church just as our organization did," Crane said.
Bizzell said due to extensive damage of the office building, they're temporarily storing items in the city's municipal complex. Bizzell adds, it could be months before they're back in the sanctuary for Sunday worship but said he really appreciates everyone's support.
In a statement he said:
"It was an amazing blessing to receive support from the school...it was very important that we able to get that ministry back up and running for our community...we lost a lot of food in the process that has not been distributed yet. It was open to the general public, as long as you had a Byron address. You could come once a month for groceries."
For another opportunity to donate, Tattnall Square Academy is collecting food September 23rd - 30th.