FLINT, Michigan —
Bethel United Methodist Church, Asbury United Methodist Church, and Greater Holy Temple Church of God in Christ have been awarded $253,250 by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
The grant dollars are to repair and improve parking lots and other infrastructure for the Help Centers located in each church. Since 2016, these three Help Centers have assisted communities in providing and distributing essential items such as food and water.
“Staff and volunteers at all three Help Centers have worked tirelessly to help provide the Flint community with necessary resources during the water crisis and the pandemic,” said Ridgway White, president, and CEO of the Mott Foundation. “We hope these grant dollars will relieve a burden on the churches that stepped up to do this work despite the impact on their facilities.”
Created in response to the Flint Water Crisis and its long-term effects, the Help Centers provide more than food and water. They give residents access to water filters, educational materials, and lead-mitigating foods. Since the COVID-19 pandemic Bethel United Methodist Church, Asbury United Methodist Church, and Greater Holy Temple Church of God in Christ Help Centers expanded their services to help the community around food scarcity issues and basic needs.
With each site offering drive-through services, they serve weekly 500 individuals. Due to the high volume of traffic, parking lots, equipment, warehouses, and workspaces have suffered significant wear and tear. The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation grant aims to provide relief and repairs for each Help Center.
The grant dollars will be disturbed in these amounts:
- Bethel United Methodist | $78,000
- Asbury Community Development Corporation | $75,250
- United Way of Genesee County to support Greater Holy Temple Church of God in Christ | $100,000
“We are very thankful to the Mott Foundation for this grant to help us alleviate some of the impact on our facilities, including parking lots, which have received large semi-trucks of food and bottled water since 2016,” said Harold Woodson, community development coordinator at Bethel.
“This grant helps us to do more of that as our community continues to need help with food, water, and other necessities. We are thankful to be able to repair our parking lot and facilities so more residents and families can get the help they need,” said Rev. Tommy McDoniel, senior pastor at Asbury.
“Our resources are best used to directly impact our community. We are thankful this Mott Foundation grant can help keep our facilities up to date so we can focus on helping more residents,” said Mother Jones, executive director of the R.L. Jones Community Outreach Center at Greater Holy Temple.
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