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A local church held its annual school supply giveaway to help the students in their congregation for the upcoming school year. School is different this year, but the supply drive was still needed, church leaders said.

At the end of each summer, Pleasant Union Baptist Church hosts a school supply giveaway to aid the parents in the church as they get ready to send their children back to school.

“We are a primarily senior church, so we feel like we are able to help these families,” said co-pastor Naomi Chambers. “We have quite a few single moms who have multiple school-aged children, and we feel like we are helpful to them. In fact, I know we are.”

A committee at the church heads up this giveaway and contacts the parents in the church to determine what each child needs for the upcoming school year to purchase the correct supplies. This year, the church handed out backpacks full of notebooks, paper, pens, pencils, pencil sharpeners, erasers, markers, highlighters, rulers and other necessary supplies, including masks and hand sanitizer.

“We want to be there for people,” said Chambers. “I wish we could do more, but we can only do so much with a small congregation.”

The church has an emphasis on education to encourage the kids to do well in school. At the end of each semester, the kids are asked to bring in their report cards to show off their grades. Members in the church visit various school activities that the children from the church take part in.

“We want to be an encouragement to our children and help them realize the importance of their education,” said Chambers. “Whatever is missing, we try to fill it.”

Being a mostly senior church, Pleasant Union Baptist Church has met over teleconferencing the past few months. According to Chambers, the teleconferencing has been successful. Their anniversary celebration for the church and pastors during the month of September is now hosted over teleconference.

“Through this our mission has been able to go out into the community, Germany, Florida, New York, Georgia and Washington D.C.,” said Chambers. “It is a good way to get out of the box.”