STARKVILLE — When Freddie Williams left Starkville five years ago and started his own trucking company in Chattanooga, Tennessee, it appeared his hometown was in his rear-view mirror.
But on Saturday, Williams returned, donating more than 700 backpacks and Bibles to local children before the start of the school year.
“Being out on the road, all of these thoughts come to you,” Williams said. “I got the vision of what I wanted to do, I just didn’t know how. So I partnered with some like-minded people, … and if you give a thought enough time and energy, eventually, it comes to pass.”
When Williams got the idea for the Backpacks and Bibles program last year, he reached out to his former church, Rock Hills United Methodist, to see if the giveaway would be possible.
Pastor Jerome Wilson said Williams expanded the church’s normal back-to-school drive into a true community event.
“We started a back-to-school drive and it has matured over the years,” Wilson said. “Brother Freddie took the reins and began to run with it also, and now we’re out here trying to help give kids the supplies they need for the school year.”
In 2022, Williams and other volunteers distributed more than 400 backpacks and Bibles to local children in McKee Park. This year, Backpacks and Bibles moved to the pavilion at J.L. King Park, ready to give away even more.
On tables in the pavilion, families could find backpacks pre-filled with supplies and a youth Bible, binders, notebooks, paper, motivational journals, wristbands, earbuds and other supplies for the upcoming school year.
Volunteers from Rock Hill and from Boy Scout Troop 14, Williams’ old troop from which he earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 2009, were both present to help distribute supplies. There were no restrictions on what was being given away, except that a child had to be present.
“It’s a first-come, first-served type basis,” Williams said. “Kids do have to be in attendance to participate… and that helps us get a true count of what we’re giving away. There is no application or anything like that, we just set up in the community.”
Williams said he pays for 95% of the supplies out of his own pocket, while the rest comes from local organizations. He said he is grateful to be in a financial position to give back to the soil that helped him to grow so much when he was younger.
“By coming back, we are able to keep sowing good seeds in great faith, in hopes the kids coming under us will see and follow the same good back into the community,” Williams said. “We could go anywhere and do what we’re doing, but I think it’s so important to come back… and put resources back into your own community.”
Grandmother of three children who received backpacks on Saturday, Melissa Sherrod, would not call the Backpacks and Bibles program anything but a blessing.
“It’s a blessing to have these nice people come out and donate,” Sherrod said. “It’s such a blessing that they’re willing to help.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 48 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 48 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
Join the Discussion