The Friday Finish - Dedicated Servant Passes - One Plant at a Time - "Best Present Ever!" - Cool the School Page - KY Gives 2026
- Tim Crawford
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
April 10, 2026
Dedicated Servant Passes
Today, we learned that a giant in God’s Kingdom passed on to glory Thursday. Paul Givens dedicated every part of his being to serving God’s children, and he never forgot his east Kentucky roots. He was the heart and soul of mission response at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee immersing himself in providing relief to disasters and hunger.
Paul grew up in Perry County, Kentucky in a hardworking family that struggled at times. He was not averse to tell people his motivation for hunger relief, saying, “I know what it means to grow up hungry as a kid.” He worked tirelessly to resource, pack and transport thousands of food boxes for the Red Bird Mission Crisis Emergency Food Pantry.
After serving many years helping repair homes through Red Bird Mission Work Camp, he dedicated himself to launching and sustaining Red Bird Build that provided six homes to young families needing a hand up with housing. Volunteers in middle Tennessee unable to take a week off to come to Kentucky built walls on the weekends that were then transported for assembly on the foundation prepared by the receiving family.
The photo used here represents his commitment to respond quickly to disasters wherever they might be. He travelled to many communities around the U.S., and led a group that helped with cleanup after the historic, catastrophic 2022 flooding in eastern Kentucky. And, just three days after Red Bird Mission was inundated with floods on Valentine’s Day weekend last year, Paul mobilized resources again to deliver generators and water needed due to widespread power outages in our area.
We know these words that Jesus shared in Matthew 25 will be heard by Paul because of his service – “Come, you who are blessed by my Father take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me… Whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Hope, One Plant at a Time
Grow Appalachia Meeting # 2 at Red Bird felt like standing in the middle of a huge family reunion and a plant sale at the same time.
We were blessed with a generous donation of tomato plants from our friends, Ed and Carol Burnett, in Murfreesboro – every shape, size, and color you can think of. What got me the most wasn’t just the tomatoes, though, it was looking around the room and seeing so many new faces this season – young couples, retired miners, busy moms, grandparents, and folks who just “want to learn.” All ages, all walks of life, all here for the same simple thing: to put their hands in the dirt and grow something good.
Members didn’t just leave with tomato plants. They also got trays of cabbages, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale, and kohlrabi – all the good‑for‑your‑body‑and‑soul greens. In this meeting, we talked about tomato planting techniques, garden planning and members chimed in with their best tricks for keeping pesky crows and critters out of the garden. I even learned a few new ideas I’ll be trying in my own garden.
Out at the community garden, the tiller has already made its first rounds and the soil is waking up for a busy season. I’ve watched Development Director Tim Crawford out in the sun, getting his peas, mustard greens, onions, and potatoes in the ground, one row at a time. It’s the kind of hard work that feeds a whole lot more than just the dinner table.
Grow Appalachia Coordinator Kelton Adams shared his thanks: “We’re thankful for the donation of the tomatoes, and for Karen Alexander for coordinating this partnership with Ed Burnett. Thank you to all the folks at St. Mark’s UMC for delivering the tomatoes.
This helps and goes a long way – it provides our members and our community with fresh veggies.”
Nights like this remind me Grow Appalachia is more than a gardening program; it’s neighbors choosing hope together, one plant at a time.
- Kayla Smith, Development Gifts and Media
“Best Present Ever!”
The Red Bird area was blessed with another humanitarian hearing clinic this week. University of Cincinnati (UC) Associate Professor of Audiology Dr. Brian Earl, PhD, has been volunteering his services for these clinics since 2013. This year, he and Dr. Kelli McGuire supervised the work of nine Audiology Program students that put their education and training into a community setting to bring better hearing for 80 people on Thursday and Friday. Many of the community members coming this week needed maintenance and troubleshooting on their devices to hear again, but some went away with new equipment.
Tracy Nolan, Red Bird Mission Community Outreach Director, said that one client returned this week with hearing aids received 13 years ago but were still functioning because of excellent care given to maintain them. Everyone goes away with a sense of satisfaction.
One client said,
"You all are great! After my follow up appointment my hearing aides are working like when I first got them years ago!”
Grace, has been able to come on three different occasions with the UC student audiologists. She explained, “We’re only on campus with UC for two years, and then we do one year off campus. So we don’t always get the opportunity in our third year, but we were able to come back twice this school year.”
Being at Red Bird forces students to troubleshoot utilizing what’s available during the clinic days, but they also keep in mind clients at Red Bird don’t have easy access to assistance with hearing device problems that might arise.
Grace said, “You see a lot of things you don't get to see on a day-to-day basis. A lot of older model hearing aids, but I think that helps you troubleshoot a lot more.
“So you definitely have to think through how are you gonna utilize all the materials that Red Bird offers. But then, how do you send them home and teach them how to do all the different maintenance, especially if they have two different kinds of hearing aids.”
One of those community members experiencing problems testified,
“My hearing aids were beeping frequently. It was disruptive and aggravating, but I needed them.”
The UC audiology humanitarian team was able to eliminate the annoyance and paired the devices to be in sync. The satisfied patient went on to say,
“I really can’t hear without them from an injury years ago when one of my ear drums was perforated. I am so thankful for this care.”
The day was special in two ways for one client at the humanitarian hearing clinic who proclaimed,
“You guys are the real deal. I am hearing sounds I haven’t heard in years, and today is my birthday, best present ever!”
More Testimonies
“You all are great! After my follow up appointment, my hearing aides are working like when I first got them years ago!”
“Best it’s [hearing quality] been in a long time. She [UC Audiology graduate student] took her time and did a great job, thorough.”
“My hearing device issue today was moisture. They took care of that at my appointment and gave me an at home hearing aid device dryer to keep my devices working well for longer.”
A Page for Cool the School
Our websites are cleaner looking, more functional and easier to navigate thanks to the improvements made by volunteers from a college web design class. One of the improvements that they left us was an access page for the Cool the School Campaign that gives information about the campaign and an easy donation link.
The other good news about Cool the School is rough calculations show that we have donations and commitments totaling 12% of the total $266,000 goal since we announced the closing of Phase I, chiller purchase and installation, and the launch of Phase II, replacement of room air handlers.
Preparations for Kentucky Gives Day 2026
Paul Givens (“Dedicated Servant Passes”) was a champion of our giving days, sometimes pledging matching funds to inspire others to give to Community Outreach needs. Red Bird Mission Development staff are making preparations for KY Gives Day 2026 set for May 12th. Ongoing Red Bird program needs will be the focus of support requests, but it’s also a day that builds awareness of Red Bird Mission across the Commonwealth of Kentucky because our supporters step up on this day set aside for fundraising among dozens of nonprofit organizations doing great work across Kentucky.
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