Churches compete; schools win

In the summer of 2020, back-to-school time carried new gravity as students and teachers would wade into new territory, courtesy of Covid-19. And for some students, obtaining the necessary supplies for the school year had its own challenges. In an attempt to provide some help, three of our Gaston County churches, New Hope, Robinson Memorial and Union, issued challenges to each other: Who could gather up the most donations of student supplies for their neighboring elementary schools?

The result that year exceeded expectations. In 2021 Olney Presbyterian joined the competition and this year the field of competition expanded to Long Creek and Third Street Presbyterian churches. The two rookie churches shined. Third Street took the awards for most collected (1,454 items) and the most innovative approach to collecting while Long Creek won the weight category (Their nearby school has poor plumbing so bottled water made up the bulk of their donations). In all, the five churches competing this year gathered more than 6,000 school supplies for five of the county’s elementary schools.

New this year was a party with all the participating churches to announce results and celebrate with each other. Union played host to the big reveal event on the evening of Aug. 20, with attendees providing a variety of dessert items.

The competition was all in good fun… but “just wait until next year,” someone was overheard saying.

FUN FACT: Robinson Memorial this year had a special emphasis on facial tissues. They collected 164 boxes which contained enough tissues to cover 14,401 sneezes or runny noses.

BELOW: Scenes from the joint celebration by the five participating churches this year.