In September, The Board of Trustees of the New Thought CommUNITY of Gulfport challenged their 200+ congregants : “Let’s help our impoverished neighbors this holiday season“ ; and CommUNITY Bags of Hope and Love was born.
Hundreds of items were brought into Sunday service held at the Gulfport Casino each week and on December 18th the congregation packed 70+ bags and delivered them to the homeless community.
Board President, Bill Thomas , received calls throughout the day as the members that delivered the bags to those in need reached out to say that they didn’t have nearly enough bags; member John Maesch called from downtown St. Petersburg with a plea for more bags, sharing that the need is so great that he could have brought at least 100 more bags.
In addition to CommUNITY bags of hope, the community led by Spiritual Leader , Reverend Kimberley Harrell, filled the entire Love Thy Neighbor food pantry in November and provided the Reach! Food Program with the largest donation to date last summer.
The congregation is made up of generous hearts. If your community is looking for opportunities to assist your neighbors, please reach out to Nancy Earley, Board Secretary to learn more about the how the CommUNITY Bags of Hope and Love program was structured as well as information to donate to Love Thy Neighbor or the Reach! program.
Service at New Thought CommUNITY of Gulfport is held every Sunday at 10: 30 AM at the Gulfport Casino. ALL are welcome.
You may contact Bill, Reverend Kimberley, and Nancy at UnityofGulfport@gmail.com