The Friday Finish - "acts of kindness truly matter" - High Food Pantry Use - Hearing Post Script - Empowered with Hope - Come & See - Shoeboxes
- Tim Crawford
- Nov 14
- 6 min read
Updated: Nov 19
November 14, 2025
“…acts of kindness truly matter.”
The Thanksgiving Family Lunch at Red Bird Christian School on Wednesday was a beautiful gathering of our elementary, middle, and high school students and their families. Principal Jennifer Wilder shared how pleased she was to see so many families coming together to enjoy such a special meal with their children. She reminded us that our Red Bird family is truly something special, and that we have so much to be thankful for. A heartfelt thank-you goes to our incredible food service staff—Rachel, Amy, and Alyssa—whose hard work and care made the meal not only possible, but absolutely delicious.
The Thanksgiving feast at the DeWall Senior Citizens Center on Thursday was truly a time to be thankful. Tammy Adams (Elderly Ministries Coordinator) says, “twenty-two participants joined us—three of them new faces—along with many dedicated volunteers and staff members, including guests from Mountain Comprehensive Care Center. The room was filled with delicious food, big smiles and thankful hearts. It felt less like an event and more like one big, happy family gathered together to celebrate the season.”
With the rising need for food assistance—made even more challenging by reduced or lost SNAP benefits— generosity brought comfort, hope, and much-needed relief to families facing difficult times. Judy Napier (Community Outreach Community Aid Coordinator) says, “We are deeply grateful to St. Marks UMC in Murfreesboro, Cookeville UMC, and First Church for their generous donations of crisis food boxes this month. Their support allowed us to provide additional help to individuals alongside our regular TEFAP and senior CSFP food distributions.”
Our families received not only their regular food boxes, but also the gift of Family to Family and GAP Thanksgiving baskets—extra care at a time when it’s needed most. In addition to the 54 food boxes normally distributed, the Family to Family organization stepped forward and sponsored all 54 families with something a little more special this month. Candace Litton, Women and Children Ministries Coordinator, says, “With the recent shutdown and the holidays drawing near, many families are feeling the weight of the season more than ever. Because of this generosity, they were able to feel seen, supported, and deeply cared for. Their gratitude was overwhelming, and it reminded us just how much these acts of kindness truly matter.”
Red Bird Pantries See Abnormal Activity
The federal government is back open and SNAP cards are expected to be loaded to some level here in Kentucky by the middle of November according to info from the governor’s administration. However, Red Bird Mission’s food pantries have been hit hard before this week. Tracy Nolan, Red Bird Mission Community Outreach Director, reported that 212 households (402 people) had tapped emergency food supplies at Red Bird Mission by November 14th. That number exceeds the amount of food normally stocked for this purpose (200 households) for an entire month, and includes 22 new households coming to Red Bird for help for the first time.
An extraordinary donation of food boxes by churches in middle Tennessee to the Red Bird Mission Crisis Food Pantry had been expected to last through the month of November. However, the announcement that some Kentucky households receiving SNAP benefits would only be receiving partial benefits by mid-November could keep higher than usual pressure on Red Bird Mission’s emergency food pantries this month.
Stop Hunger. Give Hope.
Red Bird Mission and the people served are grateful for the many individuals, churches and organizations stepping up to prevent wholesale hunger here in the mountains of Kentucky, but the forecast for better conditions is troublesome as Thanksgiving, Christmas and winter are fast approaching. Extraordinary, one-time gifts have been given, and the best news is that a generous, loving donor has put up $10,000 in matching funds for every gift given for Elderly Meals from now through Giving Tuesday.
Your online gift, or gifts mailed to fund Elderly Meal Delivery will be doubled through December 2nd. Follow the link to access our secure online donation form, or mail your check to Red Bird Mission, Inc., 70 Queendale Ctr, Beverly, KY 40913-9607 marked “Giving Tuesday Elderly Meals”.
Our students at Red Bird Christian School also need your help during the month of November. Your gifts to fund the Student Tuition Gap is creating hope for a brighter future. We see so much potential within our students, but funds are needed to maintain the opportunity for a solid education that prepares them for careers of leadership and service. Choose the Student Tuition Support option on our online 2025 Giving Tuesday donation form, or mail your gift to us marked “Giving Tuesday Student Tuition”.
Hearing Clinic Post Script
University of Cincinnati volunteer audiologists were still busy serving community members last Friday as we were putting together the Friday Finish so some of the follow up, naturally, has come this week. The final record count revealed that 110 people were served over the two-day period.
Tracy Nolan, Red Bird Mission Community Outreach Director, shared comments from a few of those helped through the free humanitarian hearing health clinic.
“I had one 94 year old client and one 91 year old client this clinic. One shared, ‘I am so thankful, I waited a year to get your call, I was so happy!’
“One client said, ‘I’m wide open now! I can hear everything!’
“Another left in tears sharing that she almost gave up playing piano at her church because of the deterioration of her hearing, but now she is able to hear well and will be able to accompany the singers with the piano.
“A client’s wife called our office after her husband returned home, ‘I am so thankful for the care my husband got today, he can HEAR!’
“One client embraced me at the checkout desk as she left overwhelmed at the emotions she had receiving hearing aids that day.
“Lastly, a client made a point to speak to me about how caring, knowledgeable, and patient this University of Cincinnati Audiology Team was. She said, ‘I just want to take them home with me, they were that kind, and they didn’t have to be.’”
Altogether, 50 new hearing aids were fitted. The team raised funds for 20 of the new hearing devices and supplies, but a special piece of equipment left behind will clear up a lot of hearing device problems and extend the life of devices, a Redux machine that removes moisture from hearing aids in a matter of minutes. Community Outreach staff are being trained to use the equipment and future audiology teams coming can use it as part of their maintenance checkups. Each client present at the clinic also received a hearing aid UV sanitizer and dryer to use at home on a daily basis.
One man served by a previous clinic that received hearing aids through Kentucky Vocational Rehabilitation said, “I drive to Corbin every three months just to get my hearing aids serviced. Being able to bring my hearing aids to Red Bird Mission will save me hours in travel and lost work time.”
Empowered with Hope
A team of legal experts from AppalReD Legal Aid were back on the Red Bird Mission Campus offering free legal assistance to 10 community residents. Wills, power of attorney and dismissal only expungements were the focus for Wednesday’s Pro Se (Latin meaning “for oneself”) Clinic at Queendale.
Whitney Bailey, AppalReD Legal Aid Staff Attorney, said in a Mountain Top News interview this week,
“People want to be able to help themselves, and so we can offer them that support that they need to feel empowered in order to just keep moving forward. It helps them to retain some hope. Having an AppleReD attorney or pro bono attorney on your team gives you that support to know you're not alone. And, it's going to be okay.”
“Come and See”
Four men from the New Lenox United Methodist Church in Illinois arrived late Tuesday with
a load of Christmas donations for Red Bird Mission. Their church had planned to deliver the load to a nonprofit organization working with Native Americans in Oklahoma, but the nonprofit had unfortunately shut down. When the church was looking for another place to direct their charity, Ray Trent contacted Red Bird.
Ray had previously served through NOMADS at Red Bird repairing one of the campus residences. And like so many other Red Bird volunteers, Ray invited three members to come with him to see the Mission. Instead of just dropping their donations and heading home, the group stayed an extra day to tour Red Bird Mission’s Queendale Campus to explore ways the New Lenox community can be more involved through serving and giving.
Shoeboxes from Sterling
Deb Lawrence was also on the Queendale Campus with three friends on Wednesday dropping off Christmas donations collected by Fair Haven Community Church in Sterling, New York. The bedding, stuffed animals and 200 shoe boxes containing personal hygiene items, gloves and winter hats will be distributed by Red Bird Mission Community Outreach to people coming to Red Bird or to churches and community organizations in the region seeking assistance during the Christmas season.