Brownwood News – The temperatures are brutal! Most people are looking for cool air or cool water to help them wait out this heat wave. Good Samaritan Ministries wants to invite you to an event that can help you cool off and do something cool for the community.
Good Samaritan will host a Christmas in July party Tuesday, July 24 from 5-7 p.m. at the Allcorn Park splashpad at 4th Street and Indian Creek Drive. Admission to the event is free, but attendees are encouraged to bring canned vegetables for the GSM Christmas boxes.
“With the July heat, it may seem odd to think about Christmas,” Executive Director Leesa Stephens said, “but it’s really a perfect time. We use Christmas in July to raise awareness about the special food boxes that we distribute to client households in December. Thinking about Christmas might even make us feel a little cooler.”
Each December, families that come to Good Samaritan Ministries for regular grocery staples also receive a box of food that contains all of the items needed for a traditional Christmas dinner. Last year, GSM passed out 950 boxes.
“The Christmas boxes contain things like stuffing mix, sweet potatoes, pie filling, canned vegetables and cranberry sauce. Good Samaritan also purchases a baking hen, sugar, flour and a dozen eggs for each box,” Stephens said. “We use July to raise awareness about the boxes and funds to purchase the food. We also use July to plan for the Tackle Hunger Food Drive that we hold in October to collect most of the items for the boxes.”
Stephens said that the GSM staff gets very excited when they start planning for Christmas and wanted a way to draw the community into the excitement.
“Why wait until December to have a Christmas party?” Stephen asked. “We have Santa scheduled to be at this party to take pictures with the family. We will also have free snacks for the kids. And everyone can get in the splashpad to cool off.”
Food trucks from Chick-fil-a, Chipster’s Grill and Flower Power Bakery will have items for sale so families can pick up dinner.
“We hope that by having dinner items available, it will make it easy to grab the family and head to the park,” Stephens said. “We are very excited that these businesses agreed to come and be a part of the fun.”
Stephens said that this party will be a fun way for the community to be involved with the Christmas boxes.
“We hear so many people talk about Good Samaritan as a place, and we do have our offices, warehouse and Resale Store at 305 Clark Street,” Stephens said. “But we want the community to understand that you can be a Good Samaritan like the one from the Bible story. When you bring a can of green beans to the splashpad party, you are being a Good Samaritan because you are helping meet another’s needs.”
The Christmas in July splashpad event is open to everyone in the community. For more information call 325-643-2273 or go to www.goodsambwd.org.
“In the story of the Good Samaritan, several people passed the injured man and had the opportunity to assist him,” Stephens said. “But the man who actually took action to help, he’s the one we remember as ‘the Good Samaritan.’ When you help a person in need, even if it seems like a very small step—putting a can of carrots in a donation box—you are seeing a need and taking steps to meet that need.” #iamgoodsam
Photo at top from the City of Brownwood Facebook Page, with some “slight” editing to add Christmas cheer.
