God’s Grace Ministry Serving Needs of Community

November 4, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

What began two years ago as an effort to help a struggling mother provide Christmas gifts for her children, has grown today into a year-round mission to assist hundreds in need of clothing and other family essentials.

God’s Grace Ministry, operated by Whitney Lester and Alisha Chapman, is located at 301 South Third Street, in the building across from DeKalb Dental Center just off the public square downtown.

Almost a year ago, Lester and Chapman who had been operating individually out of their homes making available to the public clothing donated to them, decided to begin working together and because of their joint venture, the ministry has now become one of the most sought after in the community.

In a recent interview with WJLE, Lester explained how it all started.

“I had been helping people previously but two years ago, a lady reached out to me. She was a struggling single mother in a bad situation, and it was right before Christmas and she needed help getting her kids something for the holiday because she couldn’t afford it. I started reaching out to people on Facebook asking for gently used toy donations. I was already taking in donations at home and using them for like a give back day where families who needed help with Christmas could shop for free for their kids. That’s how it started and from there we had people reaching out about clothing and other things that I could not do by myself. Alisha saw what I was doing and reached out saying she would help so we just jumped into it together from there back in January,” said Lester.

“A lot of people sell clothes on Facebook and I was tired of selling them so God just gave me a sign to give back to the community so I reached out to Whitney and we started and on that first day we had car loads of things dropped off at both of our houses and after working out of our houses, we did our first free shopping day at the Cumberland Presbyterian Church,” said Chapman who also participated in the WJLE interview.

With the growth of the ministry came the need for more space which led to the downtown location.

“We began to realize there was a very big need for help in this town so as we began to outgrow from our houses, we got a storage building and then outgrew that after which we got a boat storage and outgrew that.” Chapman continued.

“We decided we were overwhelmed and needed a store front and that’s when we made arrangements to acquire our current location and we have been here since around the first of May. Looking back we had gotten through everything by the grace of God and that’s when we decided to call this God’s Grace Ministry based on scripture in the Bible from 2 Corinthians 12:9-10,” added Lester.

“We know its all by the Grace of God because it all just fell into place and over time, we have expanded doing a free hot meal day for the homeless and we have done baby showers for single moms, a food pantry, baby pantry, and homeless pantry. We have probably helped over 40 homeless people as well as more than 1,000 families here and in surrounding counties combined,” said Chapman.

“We carry all sizes of clothes from infant to 3x & 4x for men, women, and children. We also have a selection of home décor, towels, wash cloths, hygiene products, diapers, wipes and other things for babies and even shoes and bedding,” said Lester.

Both Lester and Chapman have full time jobs so they operate the ministry in their spare time. Family members keep the store open for them during the day. Neither Lester or Chapman is paid for their services in running God’s Grace Ministry and all the funds received to keep it operating is through the generosity of the public through donations.

“Its all donation based. If you can’t afford what we offer its free but donations are appreciated and we use those to go back into the operation to help pay for rent and utilities at our current location”, said Lester.

“As far as donations, we get them from all over the place and as far away as Murfreesboro. Although we are not yet a 501 (c) 3 we are a non-profit. Some people who donate are helping families pay rent or groceries. Our pantry does not try to take away from other pantries. Ours is just to get people through temporary hard times or until the next food pantry,” said Chapman.

“We have so many single pregnant moms that we help and places like EVOLVE Addiction Treatment, the Police and Fire Departments, Court System and American Red Cross know about us and what we do. A few months ago, we did a Back to School Bash and gave out 150 backpacks and had someone do haircuts. We plan to make that an annual thing. We are also planning more baby showers over the next few months,” she added.

God’s Grace Ministry is currently open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. and when possible, on Saturdays. Summertime hours are 9-5 weekdays.

If the ministry keeps growing, Lester and Chapman said they may eventually need a larger venue and more help.

“We have a friend who helps us and wants to look into offering low-income childcare for families struggling who can’t work because they can’t get someone to watch their kids. There are a lot of things like that up our sleeve, but it takes time and funds to do that,” said Chapman.

The ministry has several upcoming events including a Free Hot Meal Day on November 11 at 5 p.m. at the Refuge Church on the public square for the homeless and those who do not get a regular hot meal. “We appreciate the Lipstick Pig and Patty’s Restaurant for donating,” said Lester.

Thanksgiving meal food boxes will be available November 18 for those who have already signed up to receive them.

“A free shopping day will be held on December 2 through our toy program in which parents can come and Christmas shop for kids. Just come in and get what you need,” added Chapman.

For more information call 615-308-8784 or 615-318-6250.

November 4, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

The DCHS Tigers closed the book on their 2023 football season Friday night falling to the Red Bank Lions 30 to 0 on the road in the 1st round of the TSSAA Class 4A Play-offs.

The Tigers, who finished as the 4th place team in Region 4, end the campaign at 5-6 overall. Red Bank, the top seed from Region 3, improves to 8-3 overall and will advance in the state playoffs next week hosting Macon County (10-1) who defeated Loudon (7-4) 41-7 Friday night in their 1st round state playoff game.

Senior Running Back Malachi Trapp went down with a lower left leg injury on the Tiger’s first possession of the game midway through the 1st period and had to be taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital.

Red Bank’s first score came on a 1 yard touchdown run by Josiah Featherstone with 8:54 left in the 1st period completing a 60 yard, seven play drive. Malachi Stephenson came on for the extra point and the Lions led 7-0.

After the Malachi Trapp injury, the Tigers drove down field and attempted a 29 yard field goal by Adrian Prater but the snap was high and the Lions blocked the kick.

Red Bank extended its lead with 7:53 left in the 2nd period on a 25-yard touchdown run by Olivir Merritt capping a 69-yard drive. Stephenson converted the PAT and the Lions led 14-0.

Merritt scored again with 8:33 left in the 3rd period on an 18-yard run completing an 83-yard drive. Stephenson’s kick was good and the Lions were out front 21-0.

Red Bank put three more points on the board later in the 3rd period on a 37-yard Stephenson field goal to give the Lions a 24-0 advantage.

The final score of the game came on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Cayden Loveless to Turner Humphrey with 8:42 left in the 4th period. Stephenson’s PAT try was blocked but Red Bank went on to claim a 30-0 victory.

In other state playoff games involving Region 4 teams Friday night, both Upperman and Stone Memorial advanced and will face each other next Friday night at Baxter. The Bees (11-0) eliminated East Ridge (4-7) 56-14 and Stone Memorial (7-4) defeated Hixson (7-4) 34-14.

November 3, 2023
By:

Do you have cattle, sheep, goats, or equine animals? If so, you could be eligible to receive payment from the DeKalb/Cannon County Farm Service Agency. According to Donny Green, County Executive Director, signup for the Livestock Forage Program is now underway and will continue through January 30, 2024.

The Livestock Forage Assistance Program (LFP) has been approved for DeKalb and Cannon counties due to recent and extreme drought conditions that have affected livestock grazing during the 2023 normal grazing period. LFP provides compensation to eligible livestock producers that have suffered grazing losses for covered livestock on land with permanent vegetative cover or planted specifically for grazing.

According to the U. S. Drought Monitor, DeKalb and Cannon counties were designated as D3 (Extreme Drought intensity) counties on October 31, 2023. This designation qualifies eligible livestock producers in the county for three monthly payments.

Livestock producers operating in DeKalb and Cannon counties will need to visit the FSA office in Smithville to report their livestock inventory and complete their application. Customers are encouraged to call the office at 615-597-8225, Ext. 2 to provide some preliminary information that will be needed to process the application. Signup for the 2023 LFP will end on January 30, 2024.

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