The Friday Finish - Auction Becomes Giving Event - Blessings & Backpacks - Stronger, Healthier Community
- Tim Crawford
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
July 24, 2026
Auction Becomes Giving Event
Richard and Deborah White made a quick trip from middle Tennessee this week to drop off a donation for the school and donations of needed items at Community Outreach on Tuesday morning. Deb was excited to share how God had worked to help fill the UHaul truck. Following is an excerpt from her Facebook post relating what happened at the auction on Saturday.
Well to start, we heard of different needs at Red Bird last week and at the same time different people started calling saying, “When is your next trip?” They had donations. Everyone either brought the donations to my house or loaded my car and Richard unloaded my van. We realized we had more than a van load so I went to this new business in town, Hartsville Auction Barn, and rented a UHaul. Come to find out, they have auctions from time to time. So I went this past Saturday.
It was so fun to watch. So many nice items were bid on. Door prizes and cash prizes were given out. Then one of the men, Chris, spoke up about our mission and set a pallet out for people. If they wanted to donate to the Red Bird Mission they could place their items there. One by one, including the owner, bidders placed items and filled more than one pallet. I was speechless!
Before coming, Deb had also shared on Facebook the need for air conditioners on Sunday.
Going to Red Bird Mission with donations. A big need is that several families with small children are in need of fans and window air conditioners with temperatures of 93 in their homes. The heat is especially hard on small children and the elderly. Feel free to contact me if you want to donate. The latest I can receive is Monday morning for we leave Monday afternoon.
A lady bought 3 new air conditioning units and two new fans were given for them to pick up that day to add to the truck.
Richard says that they don’t worry about if people are going to respond to the needs of the people here in the mountains. He said,
“I don’t worry because God always comes through at the last minute.”
Blessings and Backpacks: Red Bird Mission Summer Family Fun Event
Back‑to‑school season always hits like a freight train. You’re trying to figure out new shoes, jeans that actually fit, supplies, sports fees, sign‑ups, and somewhere in there you’re still working, still cooking supper, still being a parent. Backpacks, supplies, school clothes, and shoes aren’t just “extras” anymore – they’re the thing that keeps you up at night, wondering how in the world you’re going to make it all happen.
That’s why the Red Bird Mission Summer Family Fun Event on July 21 didn’t feel like “just another event.” For us mountain people who aren't ashamed to admit we struggle sometimes, including me, it felt like somebody set down part of the weight that we’d been carrying.
More than 250 people came out to Red Bird Christian School that day. One hundred and one kids signed in at the door, but honestly it felt like even more once they all gathered together– laughing at the outdoor games, running around with sticky fingers from drinks and snacks donated by God’s Pantry Food Bank (GPFB), and showing off what they got in their family engagement kits from ASAP.
The big thing for our people, though, was the backpacks. This year, 100 kids walked out with backpacks already filled with school supplies, shoes and socks, and even a gift card for the Community Store to go toward school clothes, thanks to Red Bird Mission’s private donors and Soles4Souls. For families with kids 5–18, that meant one whole category of stress was just…handled. No coupons, no credit line, no praying the last pair in their size would still be there on payday. Just, “Here you go. We’ve got you.”
While the kids played and picked through their goodies, the grown‑ups were doing something just as important. Twenty‑seven booths lined the way with free health screenings, health education, Freedom From Smoking supports, and tables full of helpful giveaway items. Moms, dads and grandparents could get their blood pressure checked, ask questions, sign up for programs, and talk to nurses and outreach workers without having to take off work for an appointment or drive an hour to a clinic.
In between booths, you’d see little clusters of neighbors catching up, swapping stories about their summer break and sharing where they found the best deals on school clothes this year. That’s the part you can’t really put in a Facebook post or newsletter article – the way a parking lot turned into a front porch get-together, and a back‑to‑school event turned into proof that this valley still looks out for its own and always will.
Parents and grandparents drove home that afternoon with tired kids, a car full of supplies, and most importantly, this deep sense of relief. There are still clothes and shoes to buy, forms to sign and a hundred other things on the list. But thanks to Red Bird Mission, Soles4Souls, GPFB, ASAP, Delta Dental, and all the folks who showed up and served, backpacks and basic back-to-school supplies are one less thing our families have to worry about this year. That type of help is not just “nice.” It’s a godsend for so many.
- Kayla Smith, Development Gifts and Media
A Stronger, Healthier Community
The community is stronger and healthier after multiple events at Red Bird Mission’s Queendale Campus, and Tuesday’s events definitely helped scores of people with a diversity of needs. Students, their families, and adults in the surrounding community came to the Summer Family Fun Event at Red Bird Christian School in the morning. Kentucky Home Place and AppalReD Legal Aid “set up shop” across the river in the afternoon to extend health and legal services.
Kentucky Homeplace held another Diabetic Shoe Clinic at Red Bird Mission Community Outreach Tuesday afternoon fitting 11 people with shoes that alleviate foot issues for those suffering from diabetes. Kentucky Homeplace is a project of the University of Kentucky’s Center of Excellence in Rural Health that connects rural individuals and families to medical, social and environmental services, and delivers education on prevention and disease self-management.
AppalReD Legal Aid was also on Queendale Tuesday at the Mission Annex serving six families through its monthly free Pro Se Legal Clinic. It may take a few more weeks for them to move their issue through the legal halls, but they all left with the assurance one more burden will eventually be lifted.
Upcoming Dates
August 5th – Red Bird Christian School Teachers report for 2026-27 School Year
August 10th – Red Bird Christian School Back to School Night, 5:00 – 7:00 pm
August 12th – Red Bird Christian School 2026-27 First Day of Classes (K-12)
August 26th – Dedication of Kentucky Historical Society Marker, Beverly Campus at 1:30 pm
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