Hands of Hope at Hand Middle School makes a positive difference in the lives of our students and their families. Through the generous donation of time, money and hours of dedicated labor, the St. John’s Episcopal Church congregation transforms lives. Recently named the Richland County School District One Volunteer Group of the Year, St. John’s Episcopal provides some of our students with weekend and holiday bags full of nutritious food and healthy snacks. A menu card provides suggestions for meal options.
     Our students must be well-nourished in order to perform to the best of their abilities in all of their ventures. Recognizing this need, St. John’s Episcopal wrote and received a first-year $10,000 grant to fund this needed outreach. Now in the second year, St. John’s has raised money through innovative strategies-a Carolina football game lemonade stand, weekly children red wagon collections, and a church bulletin honoring Hands of Hope donors. Additionally, the Hand PTO, Harvest Hope and Piggly Wiggly support our weekly food program. St. John’s nourishes the children’s minds, as well as their tummies by surprising the children with an occasional beautiful book. At the end of last school year, our children were given an award-winning book entitled, The Three Questions. One parent reported, “The Hand Weekend Food Program has helped us in a way that words cannot express. We are blessed to be a part of it. It really helps the children to have more gratitude and not take food for granted or other needs for that matter.”
     St. John’s has an entire room with shelves of food for our children. I thank them for their big hearts and caring spirit because we have a gigantic need for Hands of Hope. St. John’s makes a positive difference in the lives of our children. I find the commitment of this partnership inspiring and an incredible display of the potential of a caring congregation.