Stories of Impact

Red Bird Mission staff and volunteers working in the Schaeffer Building aren’t looking for empty trash cans and flood buckets when summer thunderstorms roll through the Red Bird River Valley thanks to a complete professional roof replacement finished this summer.

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.

Work Camp volunteers oftentimes bring a double blessing to campus because they bring needed items from their hometown and spend four days doing home repair for someone living below the poverty line. Monday, the Wet Feet Ministries Work Camp team unloaded a trailer full of durable medical equipment like walkers and shower benches that is needed but unaffordable by people living here in the mountains.

Sue and her husband, Craig, retired back in 2008 and came down from Indiana to volunteer. She had never met me before and had no idea who my family was—she just knew me from my stories. But as we sat there talking about her very first visits here, we uncovered a little piece of history.

From June 15-18, the folks at Rural Up hosted their STEM Explorer Camp, and let me tell you, it has been something truly special for our community.

After discussing for years the dilemma requiring every student pay tuition between $100 and $610 to offset the annual education cost of approximately $7,000 per student at Red Bird Christian School (RBCS), the Red Bird Mission Board of Directors took action yesterday to eliminate the tuition requirement beginning with the 2026-2027 school year.

Last Friday, the Red Bird Christian School (RBCS) Appalachian Studies and Ag Science classes made a trip to the Sheep Shearing Days at the Museum of Appalachia in Clinton, Tennessee.

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.

Not everyone in the Class of 2026 at Red Bird Christian School (RBCS) was able to make the week-long Senior Class Trip to Gulf Shores in October, but a day-trip to the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area in Tennessee last Friday included them. The class travelled as a group to Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies, Dolly Parton’s Pirates Voyage Dinner and Show, and Wonderworks, an indoor experiential attraction that was also educational.

Old Man Winter threw another round of snow and cold on Monday, but there was plenty of warmth spread throughout Red Bird Mission Community Outreach on Monday and Tuesday. Eight (8) audiology student volunteers from the University of Louisville (U of L) School of Medicine welcomed 72 community residents to assess hearing and provide critical maintenance on hearing devices.

Rain falling on top of the snow and plummeting temps on Monday created dangerous, frozen road and walkway surfaces. Telecommunications were lost Sunday when the main cable was accidentally cut during tree removal on the state highway. Executive Director Jamie Collett decided that staff and those needing services would be best served by closing Red Bird Mission on Monday and Tuesday.

Saturday was a day of honors for Red Bird Christian School (RBCS) student athletes.

At the same time, these students are also spending part of their first week back in Agriculture class out in the fresh air, getting our school garden ready for spring.

Christmas in Appalachia is tender and complicated. Money is tight most of the year, and it stretches even thinner when parents start picking out gifts and planning Christmas dinners.

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.”

Today, my Appalachian Studies class had the privilege of visiting Portal 31 in Harlan County, a historic coal mine that now stands as a museum preserving the story of Kentucky’s coal heritage.

Low income elderly residents living in isolated areas without transportation receiving home-delivered meals from Red Bird Mission Elderly Ministries can relax for a few weeks. Compassionate individuals and churches learning about the potential shutdown of vital meals have stepped up to make donations...

Red Bird Mission Work Camp does not schedule teams the week of Labor Day, but the north end of Queendale Campus was filled this week with lots of familiar faces, and some new faces, opening up the Fall Work Camp “season.”

Red Bird Mission Work Camp does not schedule teams the week of Labor Day, but the north end of Queendale Campus was filled this week with lots of familiar faces, and some new faces, opening up the Fall Work Camp “season.”

The weather is beginning to feel more like Fall the last few days, and weeks filled with sports programs at Red Bird Christian School confirm the transition from Summer to Fall.