BLACKSTONE, Va. -- A church in the small town of Blackstone is providing food and other care items for those in need through a new 'Blessing Box."
The wooden box that sits in front of Crenshaw United Methodist is full of non-perishable food items, devotionals, toothbrushes, shampoo deodorant and more.
"Our Blessing Box is open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, seven days a week," explained Blackstone resident Justin Adams. "And really, it operates under a simple mission statement of, if you can give something, give something, if you need something, take something."
The church held a dedication ceremony for the box Sunday, and Adams says they've already seen people take advantage of the free goods.
"It's already being used," said Adams. "People are already coming by and donating items. And, you know, I guess I could kind of summarize it with one of my favorite quotes from Maya Angelou, who said, you know, people will oftentimes they forget what you said, and they'll forget what you do, but people will never forget the way that you made them feel."
Adams wants the community to know the box isn't under any kind of surveillance because they don't want people to feel ashamed to visit the box, and he adds that if you have items you can donate, you can drop by the church at any time to place them in the box.
"Coming from a small local community, you know, we're always looking at ways that we can support our local residents," Adams explained. "And we understand that everybody's situation is a little bit different."
Crenshaw United Methodist says they got the idea for the "Blessing Box" from another small community, and they hope others will implement them as well.
