Reimagine Thomaston set for this Saturday

March 11--Thirty-five churches, businesses and organizations are joining together for the first Reimagine Thomaston event, which will be held this Saturday, March 15, 2014 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Park Lane Play Place, 202 Park Lane in Thomaston. While the majority of the groups are from the Upson County area, some are coming from as far away as Pensacola, Florida to take part.

Reimagine is a project of Doers of the Word Ministry, a non-profit organization that was the brainchild of Greg and Linda English, who live in Pensacola, Florida, but have a farm at The Rock. The couple had been taking mission trips to Peru for more than decade and after helping those communities, they knew they wanted to be able to give something back to their own. Linda had worked with the Escambia County School District for 33 years and it was a conversation with a teacher friend about wanting to go further than the school district could for families in need that inspired the idea of Reimagine. The event is described as "a project that seeks to impart the love of God and to promote unity within the body of Christ by building relationships within a given community between its residents, ministries, and area resources."

"We just want to be able to bless people and have them bless all of us (the volunteers) in return," said Linda. "Every week at church, our pastors are telling us to get outside the four walls of the building and be Christ lovers. This is a way we just get to love on people."

The event is for the impoverished of Upson County, with everything from food and clothing to haircuts and medical testing being available at no cost whatsoever. There will also be entertainment and a wide variety of information available designed to help those in need, both spiritually and economically.

"We have been more excited about this event than any of the others we have ever done. Thomaston has just gone above and beyond when it comes to planning this event. The unity and love that we have seen here throughout the community while here is one we have not experienced before," said Linda.

The churches, businesses and organizations taking part in Reimagine Thomaston, and what they will be doing include:

-- American Red Cross -- Will distribute emergency preparedness information.

-- Avera Estates -- Will provide information about qualifying for low income housing.

-- Dissipating Disparities, Inc. -- Will distribute information regarding several local resources for community members.

-- East Thomaston Baptist Church -- Will distribute diapers (adult and baby).

-- Families Feeding Families -- Will help with securing food for the food giveaway and will cook hotdogs.

-- First Baptist Church of Thomaston -- Children's choir will be a part of the stage ministry.

-- FYCA, Inc. -- Will distribute information regarding resources.

-- Georgia Department of Labor -- Will provide help with writing/construct/develop resumes, teach guests how to dress for an interview, and share job openings.

-- Gideons -- Will distribute New Testament Bibles.

-- Hightower Silvertown United Methodist Church -- Will have volunteers and will provide food for the food giveaway.

-- I Am Your -- Will distribute information about prostate cancer.

-- Mountain Gap Church -- Will provide a group for the stage ministry area and will provide volunteers and material/supplies for the face painting and coloring contest in the children's area.

-- Mountain View Church -- Youth will distribute promotional cards and work in clothing giveaway area, will provide many volunteers to serve in many areas, will be a part of the stage ministry and also provide sound and sound expertise for the stage ministry.

-- Middle Georgia Teen Challenge -- Will provide man power.

-- New Birth Ministry -- Will provide information about a substance abuse program.

-- New Life Church -- Will provide a dance team and praise and worship team for the stage ministry, and will distribute personal care items.

-- Park Lane Play Place -- Has provided location, chairs, and bounce houses.

-- Pensacola House of Prayer -- Will help with the prayer area and provide volunteers.

-- Pleasant Valley Church -- Will provide a group for the stage ministry and will distribute diapers.

-- Prayer Mountain Teen Challenge -- Will provide man power.

-- RUSH Ministries -- Will provide part of the sound for this event.

-- Shiloh Baptist Church -- Will provide a group for the stage ministry.

-- Spay Neuter Upson Pets -- Will distribute information about low cost neutering services.

-- Southern Crescent Technical College -- Barber School will provide haircuts and the Adult Basic Education program will distribute information about their program.

-- Sunnyside Groceries -- Will provide the hotdogs and buns for this event, and is also assisting with the clothing area.

-- The Thomaston Times -- Has provided news coverage of the event and has purchased bags with logos of Reimagine and the newspaper. Bags will be distributed to our guests.

-- Thomaston Church of God -- Will provide popcorn to our guests.

-- Thomaston-Upson Chamber of Commerce -- Every Monday for months they have advertised the event and each volunteer meeting.

-- Upson County Ministerial Association -- Will provide information about the Cancer Car Ministry, which takes cancer patients for treatment at no charge. They will also provide information about the Benevolence Ministry, which provides financial assistance for rent, utilities or medicine.

-- Upson Education Alliance -Will provide and distribute information making sure our guests know the importance of education and how an education can extract them out of their poverty surroundings.

-- Upson Regional Medical Center -- Will provide blood pressure checks and possibly diabetes checks.

-- Walmart -- Donating three bicycles for the coloring contest winners.

-- WIC Office -- Will provide information on how to qualify for WIC services.

-- Zoe Pediatrics -- Will provide newsletters containing a wealth of information on health and insurance, and will also distribute tooth brushes.

There is still time to sign up to help with the event, whether it is through a donation or by volunteering your time. Linda noted there is always a need for more volunteers at these events, so no one is ever turned away for wanting to lend a hand. Anyone wishing to be a part of Reimagine Thomaston should contact Linda English at 850-454-5280 or by email at [email protected] or Greg English at 850-712-8387 or [email protected].

Larry Stanford may be reached at 706-647-5414 or on Twitter @LarryStanford7.

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