BELTON, Texas — A church in Belton is on a mission to help students in need. Mt. Zion United Methodist Church is giving away backpacks full of supplies to Belton students. It's part of their yearly event called "Back To School With God".
Pastor Patrick Russell says the church has put on the back to school giveaway for the past 15 years.
"We work for this date and towards this date all year," Russell said.
The giveaway provides students from Pre-K to 12th grade with a backpack and the supplies they will need for the upcoming school year.
"It's for all the kids in Belton," Russell said. "What we do is we take the school supply list that they will give out and then we put the necessities in each backpack."
This year's giveaway is on Saturday, July 20 at Yettie Polk Park from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The event will have free food, games, activities, bounce houses, hair cuts, eye exams and more.
"The kids can come and run around and have fun and meet different professionals," Russell said. "They can meet police, meet firemen, whatever they like, there's an opportunity."
The church needs help from the community to make this possible, and they're hoping other churches can partner with them too.
"What people don't donate, we try to come up with on our own," Russell said.
More support from the community will expand their mission.
"Every little bit helps, especially with the storm this past month, over a month ago," Russell added. "Families were impacted by that one way or the other. We don't want to turn any kids away without actually getting a backpack."
Mt. Zion is looking for just about everything, from backpacks, crayons, pencils, bags, glue sticks, scissors, ear buds, index cards and more!
To donate, you can drop off supplies at the Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, located at 218 N Alexander St. in Belton.
Checks can be made out to Mount Zion United Methodist Church.
The church's Cashapp is $PARussell.
If you have any questions, please contact Pastor Patrick Russell at 254-563-6817 or Mario Bronson at 254-760-0070.
"You never know what someone's going through, and as Christians that's what we should do is love one another and help one another," Russell told 6 News. "If we can all do that, it'll make the world a better place."
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