BECKLEY, W.V. (LOOTPRESS) – The ninth Beckley Day of Hope event will be held at the Beckley Raleigh County Convention Center on Saturday, August 14, 2021. Beckley Day of Hope is a collective effort of local churches, businesses and community organizations.
According to the event’s coordinator, Pastor John Jordan of Calvary Assembly of God in Beckley, the event is meant to help those who are struggling to get back on their feet succeed and sustain that success.
“It’s a hand up, not a handout,” he said. “I think this is a really powerful event that has gone on each year and helps in so many ways.”
Jordan says one of the ways the event works to help the public is by following Jesus’ words and ministering “to the least in the community.”
“Jesus said there always going to be the poor among us. We don’t try to focus on what people don’t have. On this day, we try to focus on providing them a space and time on this one day and maybe subsequent days after to just take a breath.”
The event, which is open to everyone in the community, will supply guests with groceries, lunch, haircuts and shoes for school-aged children, opportunities for family portraits, a community service section to help guests learn about beneficial services in the area, a kid’s zone and medical, dental and vision screenings.
The event will also offer the opportunity for prayer to anyone who feels that they need it.
“It’s called the Beckley Day of Hope, and that is exactly what we are offering that day: hope,” Jordan said. “We just hope it’s a time for a few hours where the pressures that are on their lives are gone, and they can find some love and some hope.”
Beckley Day of Hope local outreaches are united acts of compassion designed to meet the basic physical and spiritual needs of community residents. As a non-profit organization, Jordan says the Beckley Day of Hope event wouldn’t be possible without its volunteers.
A group of 20 volunteers works around the year to organize the event, and nearly 1,000 volunteers gather at the convention center to pull off the event.
Calvary Assembly of God welcomes those wanting to help with the event’s volunteer work to attend its volunteer rally on Friday, August 13. The event will take place at 7 p.m. and will give volunteers their last instruction as they prepare for Saturday.
Gates will open at 10 a.m. on Saturday and close at 2 p.m. According to Jordan, guests will continue to be served until 3 p.m.
For more information, visit beckleydayofhope.org.