Wednesday, June 21,2023 Fayette County News A3
40K Pounds of Food Donated to Benefit Local Organizations
Nineteen local organiza
tions were recipients of a
large food donation that
came as the result of a part
nership between Fellowship
of Love Church in Fay
etteville, The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints’ Fayetteville Stake,
and the Black 14.
The donation of 40,000
pounds of food - including
pasta, canned fruits and
vegetables, flour, soups, and
dried milk - will help to feed
about 1,420 people in Fay
etteville and the surround
ing areas, according to
church officials.
The food was donated by
The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints and de
livered Saturday in a semi
trailer from the church’s
bishop’s storehouse in Utah
to Fellowship of Love
Church in Fayetteville. Fel
lowship of Love Church
identified organizations in
Fayetteville and neighbor
ing areas that could be
helped by receiving dona
tions and organized vol
unteers to distribute the
food to the various organi
zations.
“We were so grateful to
be able to partner with the
Fellowship of Love Church
to help bring much needed
food to people in our own
community in need of help,”
said Rob Richards, pres
ident of the Fayetteville
stake of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“The food comes from the
donations and sacrifices of
church members around the
world and is a way for us to
follow the example of Jesus
Christ in showing love for
our neighbors.”
Volunteers from both
churches met Saturday at
Fellowship of Love church
to help unload the 24 pallets
of food from the truck. Pat
Burke with Midwest Food
Bank also volunteered time
Saturday, arranging forklifts
to help unload and organize
the food.
“This project aligned
with our vision of reaching
back out into the com
munity to help those in
need,” said B.A. Jackson,
lead pastor with Fellowship
of Love Church. He ex
plained that the church reg
ularly works with
organizations in the com
munity through their em
powerment package
program that helps bring
donations made in the
church back into the com
munity.
The project began
through the work of Tony
McGee, a member of the
Black 14 and a member of
the Fellowship of Love con
gregation, and Daryl Blount,
with The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints’
welfare and self-reliance
services program.
McGee was one of 14
University of Wyoming ath
letes - known as the Black 14
- who were dismissed from
the team in 1969 prior to a
game against Brigham
Young University. The
group asked their coach if
they could protest a policy
of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints
that prevented black men
from priesthood ordination
at the time, and all 14 were
kicked off the team. That
policy of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints was changed in 1978
and added to the faith’s
spiritual canon.
In 2018, the 11 surviving
athletes started Black 14, an
organization that aims to
help educate, feed, and
serve those in need. In
2020, they began partner
ing with The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints to help provide hu
manitarian aid throughout
the country.
McGee and Blount have
worked on several other
large-scale food donations
across the U.S., but McGee
says he wanted to help the
community closer to home,
and through the partnership
with Fellowship of Love
Church and The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints Fayetteville Stake,
they were able to organize
both delivery and distribu
tion of the food to local or
ganizations in need.
“This means a lot to me
personally,” McGee said.
“It’s a blessing that as we
partner together, we are
able to find out who all are,
and you find out why we are
doing the things we do, and
this helps us to understand
each other more.”
Volunteer organizations
that were recipients of do
nations included the I-58
Mission, Georgia Citizens
Coalition on Hunger, Divine
Faith Ministries Inter
national, Hearts to Nourish
Hope, The Pathway Home
Foundation, Real Life
Center, New Beginnings
Praise and Worship Center,
Teen Parent Connection,
Bread for Days Ministry,
Cornerstone Fellowship
Church, Christian City, Gen
erations Together, Promise
Place, Society of St. Vincent
De Paul of Peachtree City,
Islamic Community Center
of Atlanta, Amazing Grace
Community Resource
Center, Bloom Our Youth,
DFCS, and the Pregnancy
Resource Center.
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Ceremony Held for Fayette
Fire and EMS Graduates
Fayette County Fire and
Emergency Services held a
graduation ceremony for
Class 47 on June 7 at the
Fayette County Board of
Commissioners’ public
meeting room in front of
an audience full of family
and friends to celebrate the
occasion, according to
county officials.
The graduation and cer
tification as NPQ Fire
fighter II and Advanced
Emergency Medical Tech
nicians are a culmination
of a rigorous eight-month
fire and EMS training pro
gram.
Graduating cadets in
clude Jonathan Brown,
Caleb Chitwood, Adrian
Hickmon, Charles Hunt,
Carlos Mateu, and Millie
Reeves. Lead instructors
are Lt. Daniel Lewis and Lt.
Scott Thomas.
Fire Chief Jefferey Hill
led the graduation pro
gram. The swearing-in cer
emony was conducted by
Judge Ann Jackson.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks to attendees at the Fayette Chamber of
Commerce's monthly business-to-business breakfast. Brigitte Greer/Fayette News
Secretary of State
Visits Chamber Breakfast
Brigitte Greer
Staff Writer
bgreer@fayette-news.net
Fayette County Chamber
of Commerce hosted its
monthly business-to-busi-
ness breakfast on June 14,
featuring a visit from Geor
gia Secretary of State Brad
Raffensperger.
During his presentation,
Raffensperger highlighted
the current climate of the
election process and Geor
gia’s leaders’ commitment to
maintain its integrity. Ad
ditionally, he touched on the
plight for small businesses in
Fayette County.
“My number one job,
whatever we can do, is to
make sure that small busi
nesses prosper, because
when small businesses
prosper, the state prospers.
And when the state prospers,
the nation prospers,” Raffen
sperger said.
Raffensperger also
briefly discussed the finan
cial literacy programs avail
able to business owners,
students, and senior citizens.
A new financial literacy pro
gram piloted in Savannah
will be available to military
families in the coming
months.
Courtesy of Fayette County
Shelter Pets
of the Week
Fayette Humane Society
Cookie & Charlie
These two-month-old siblings
are very playful and adventurous.
Charlie has a really cute mustache
(hence the name) and Cookies N
Cream (aka Cookie) is quite chatty!
They are both good with dogs
and young children, as long as the
children are not too rambunctious.
If you are interested in adopting
Cookie and Charlie, please com
plete a no-obligation pre-adoption
form at fayettehumane.org. If you
have any questions, email Fayette
Humane Society at info@fayettehu-
mane.org or call 770-487-1073.
Ivy Rose
Ivy Rose is a long-term res
ident. She has been so patient
waiting for her adoption day, and
she remains hopeful! Ivy Rose en
joys long walks, peanut butter-
filled toys, and belly scratches.
She just wants someone she can
call her own...please consider
meeting her today!
Ivy Rose is available for adop
tion at Royal Animal Refuge, lo
cated at 414 Jenkins Road in
Tyrone. For more information on
adopting, visit www.royalanimal-
refuge.org.
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