The Friday Finish - Little Boy to Life of Purpose - Two-Ton Delivery - Meals Funding Still Needed - Mission of Love, Protection - Little Hands, Big Dreams - Coming Back - Lifeline to Mountain Mamas
Updated: Sep 25
September 25, 2026
Red Bird Alumni Spotlight: James Lawson
From a Little Boy to a Life of Purpose
Sometimes, the greatest measure of a school isn’t found in test scores or report cards. It’s found in the lives of the children who walked through its doors—and the people they became.
Meet James...James spent 12 years of his school life at Red Bird Mission School. As a young boy growing up as one of ten children, life was not easy. His family had very little, yet James remembers his childhood with a remarkable sense of gratitude.
He remembers receiving just one Christmas gift—a cap pistol from his aunt and uncle. He remembers living with grandparents who cared for him. And he remembers a community where neighbors shared what they had. One of his childhood memories says it all:
“We had toothpaste, and a neighborhood girl would come and brush her teeth.”
There may have been little materially, but there was something greater—people who cared.
At Red Bird, James found opportunity. While attending Red Bird Mission School, he was able to attend trade school at Bell County High School and complete welding training. That education helped him enter the workforce, and he eventually became an underground electrician, building a career in the mechanical and electrical trades. He also played basketball throughout his high school years, creating memories that would stay with him long after graduation.
Last year, James returned to Homecoming and found himself standing face-to-face with pieces of his past—two teachers who had known him as a young boy. Phyllis and Shirley Crouse talked with James, and Shirley was, we believe, his second-grade teacher. They shared how proud they were of the man he had become and the accomplishments he had achieved throughout his career. They also reflected on his struggles with dyslexia and how, as young teachers, they didn't always understand what he needed.
What a beautiful thing it must have been for those teachers to see that little boy again—not as the student who struggled in their classroom, but as the 72-year-old man who had overcome obstacles, learned a trade, built a career, and created a life of which they could be proud.
And James never forgot where it began, saying,
“I can’t imagine what life would’ve been like if the Mission, school, and hospital hadn’t been at Beverly.”
His story is a beautiful reminder of Red Bird's lasting impact—providing education, opportunity, care, and hope to generations of Appalachian families.
- Karla Roberts, Development Grants Manager and Board Secretary
Strengthen the Legacy - Matching Funds Still Available
The legacy of providing the education and preparation needed for a successful career still continues today at Red Bird Christian School. As a non-public school receiving no public funds for instruction, your support is still needed to provide a strong academic preparation with an emphasis on spiritual formation for a life and career of leadership and service.
The annual Homecoming Campaign has started and folks are doubling the impact through a dollar for dollar matching fund of $45,000 pledged by two Red Bird Mission School alumni. Double your gift through the alumni match by making a contribution to Red Bird Christian School today using the link to our secure online form. If you prefer, you can also mail your check payable to Red Bird Mission, Inc., 70 Queendale Ctr, Beverly, KY 40913-9607 marked “2026 Homecoming Match”.
Two-Ton Delivery
The trailer and pickup from St. Mark’s United Methodist Church was at capacity when it arrived at Red Bird Mission on Monday. Our hunger advocates in Murfreesboro, Tennessee were able to make connections with the Society of St. Andrew to get 4,000 pounds of sweet potatoes for hunger relief here in the hills of southeastern Kentucky.
Thankfully, there were several volunteers on campus from Alabama and Georgia available to help Mission staff unload quickly at God’s Storehouse and Community Outreach. The fresh sweet potatoes will be a welcome addition for dozens of families coming this week for Family to Family food boxes and Senior Commodity Supplemental Food Program distribution next week.
Home Delivered Meals Funding Still Needed
The advocacy still continues to get funding restored for home delivered meals for low income elderly people served by Red Bird Mission Elderly Ministries. Governmental funding was slashed leaving 57 people living in isolated locations without nutritious, home-delivered meals necessary for health and survival. Loading up and getting to congregate meals served at the DeWall Senior Center (a governmental agency “solution”) is not an option for those served by Red Bird due to ambulatory issues most are facing.
Governor Andy Beshear said that state revenues that are higher than expected could be used to fund these senior meals but it appears nothing will be done until January. The best case scenario is that Red Bird Mission needs $10,000 per month at least through January to keep Home Delivered Meals from shutting down for 60 people currently receiving daily hot meals and a well-being check.
From the Health Fair to the Classroom: Candace’s Mission of Love and Protection
Monday, at EKU Manchester, folks gathered for a Health & Wellness Fair hosted with Humana and Volunteers of America (VOA) Mid-States. The event connected families across our hollers with vital screenings and health resources, while Red Bird’s Women and Children’s Ministries Coordinator, Candace, was on hand with a warm smile to share how the Mission stands alongside our community. For Candace, this offered a welcome chance to reach folks who might not otherwise cross paths with the Mission’s everyday work.
"It was nice to get to serve a different part of the community,"
Candace shared. "There were also the women from Freedom House and Clay County High School students that got to attend.
I enjoyed letting people know about the services we do at Red Bird. Some of them didn’t even know we existed."
Bringing community members together—from local students to women working hard to rebuild their lives at Freedom House—is at the very core of what wellness looks like in the mountains: looking out for one another.
That same spirit of love and protection is what’s guiding Candace’s next step. She is preparing to visit Red Bird School to speak with middle and high school students about health, wellness, and the crucial topic of suicide prevention during Suicide Awareness Month this September. It’s an outreach born out of deep love and a heavy loss close to home. Candace opened up about the heartbreak that drives her to make sure no young person feels alone in the dark:
"My nephew Dylan, he passed away by suicide. He was only 12. He had only been 12 for a month before he died. I know some people may think that middle school is too young. But it happens. It’s even harder because we don’t know why."
Through her grief, Candace carries a powerful message of hope for every young person facing heavy burdens in their heart:
"So, I just want kids to know that there is help. That life changes. It’s never the same. So whatever they are feeling at the moment, it too will pass."
Little Hands, Big Dreams: Red Bird Preschoolers Get to Work
When a young’un tells you they want to be a builder, you don’t just talk about it—you teach them how to do it! That’s just what happened over at Red Bird Mission Preschool this week when Bobby Bowling and Dane Sizemore from the Work Camp and Maintenance crew came by for a hands-on building workshop.
With their helmets and safety goggles on, these young'uns got right down to business—learning how to drive nails, run a drill, fit PVC pipe together, and put safety first every step of the way. It was a big day for family, too. Emmy Kate was tickled to have her dad, Dane, right there beside her—and he brought along her very own pink toolbox. Luke was just as excited, getting to build right alongside his Papaw Bobby.
Now listen here, don't go thinkin' this workshop was just for the boys! The girls jumped right in, hammering, drilling, and piecing pipes together proving that the future of building and trades belongs to everyone!
- Kayla Smith, Development Gifts and Media
Coming Back to Give Back
It’s a familiar story at Red Bird. A young man or woman that grew up at Red Bird meets another that comes to serve at Red Bird. They fall in love, marry and then build a life of service. They never forget the opportunity they had because of Red Bird and they find a way to give back. Jeff and Donna Smith are one of those couples that returned this week to Red Bird leading a group of volunteers in service.
Jeff graduated from Red Bird Mission School in 1981, got his education at Alice Lloyd College and came back to his alma mater. Donna, a young lady that hailed from Alabama, came to the mountains to serve as a teacher at Red Bird from 1983 to 1988. Well, you know where this story is going – they meet; marriage; a move to build a successful careers in education and athletics; grow a family; and then, retirement.
They finally fulfilled one of their yearnings that built over the past 40 years to bring their Alabama friends to see and experience their beloved Red Bird Mission. They decided that the best way to introduce to their fellow members at Springville Methodist Church Red Bird service to was to come for three days as “long term volunteers” - those willing to lend a helping hand for a few days around Red Bird Mission and cook their own meals while staying in the boarding house style Volunteer Quarters.
At the end of their three-day experience, Jeff said the group had a really good experience. The men in the group helped Sylvester Nolan, Community Housing Improvement Director, catch up on some of the backlog of maintenance requests for buildings and facilities on the Queendale Campus. The ladies leant a hand in Community Outreach and the Community Store helping unload and sort donations and doing whatever else was needed.
It was a natural that Jeff and Donna would be Wednesday’s guest chapel speakers at Red Bird Christian School, the place that brought them together.
"A Lifeline for Mountain Mamas: Berea Nursing Students Serve at EKU Manchester Baby Fair"
There's nothing sweeter than a newborn wrapped up tight, or the tired, proud smile of a mama doing her best. But as any mother up here in these mountains knows, raising a child takes a whole village of support. That’s why events like the Mommy & Baby Fair on Thursday, September 24th at EKU Manchester mean so much to our communities.
Out here, care and resources aren't always just a quick drive away. Too often, young mamas and growing families are left trying to figure things out on their own. Fairs like this bridge the gap, bringing essential health advice, resources, and giveaways right to our families. The Berea College nursing students brought so much heart to the event—sharing guidance on postpartum health, newborn care, and nutrition.
The need in our community was clear from the start: 40 to 50 people walked through the doors in just the first hour, with nearly 70 mothers and family members attending by the end of the day, according to Berea’s Lisa Turner, PhD, RN, PHCNS-BC, who leads collaboration with Red Bird Community Health.
Events like the Mommy & Baby Fair are so much more than just a gathering in a college hall. They are a lifeline. They remind our mothers that they aren't forgotten, that their health matters, and that our young people—like these wonderful Berea nursing students—are stepping up to care for the place we call home. To every student, vendor, and organizer who spent their afternoon serving our families in Clay County: thank you from the bottom of our heart!
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