Beginning in January, the First Baptist Church of Devine will become the service site for monthly San Antonio Food Bank distributions that have occurred at Warhorse Stadium since this summer. Devine ISD will partner with the church and provide continued support such as: issuing mass communication to the families of Devine ISD students and those in the area who have been served in the past, collecting bags, soliciting for volunteers, assisting on-site, etc.
At the most recent distribution, about 200 Devine/Medina County families were served, and numbers have been increasing steadily each month. First Baptist Church will be able to contribute at least three staff members to coordinate distributions, and Devine ISD believes that the same generous volunteers will be kind enough to continue assisting in lieu of the site change. Because the DISD communication network will continue to be utilized, every family that is regularly served should get the memo regarding the site change.
First Baptist Church has assisted and supported DISD throughout the food distribution process to date. In fact, because Senior Pastor Dan Newburg was quite the technology specialist in his former career, he is the primary person responsible for online check-in at Warhorse Stadium distributions. Pastor Dan’s trusty teammate, Mrs. Martha Wall, handles on-site paper registration at nearly every distribution as well. Both Pastor Dan and FBC Pastor of Families, Carlos Garduno, have devoted attention to learning the other components of the process such as counting and estimating for the distribution and organizing volunteers. First Baptist Church leaders understand the program, they have the site and the staff available, and they have a vested interest in partnering with Devine ISD to continue serving the community in this capacity.
First Baptist Church has been able to secure a twelve-month Memorandum of Understanding with the San Antonio Food Bank starting in January. This ensures that the families of Devine and Medina County will continue to reap the benefits of monthly food distributions for the entirety of the year 2022.
Please note that the December distribution is scheduled at Warhorse Stadium on December 16th from 11 a.m. until supplies run out. The opportunity to volunteer is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Beginning in January, monthly distributions are scheduled at First Baptist Church of Devine, Texas (308 West Hondo Avenue) on fourth Mondays from 11 a.m. until supplies run out. The opportunity to volunteer will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Devine ISD parents and those who have participated in past distributions can count on information continuing to flow through the school district. Updates will continue to be posted to the Devine ISD Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Facebook Page, and information will also be accessible on the First Baptist Church Devine, TX Facebook Page.
Please do not hesitate to send an email to abigail.beadle@devineisd.org or dan@fbcdevine.org if you have any questions or concerns.