Featured in the cover photo above is Pastor Brian Winburn standing with bags of food at the Springhill Baptist Church/Barnabas food distribution
Now more than ever, it is a perfect time to celebrate people helping people who are in need! April is National Volunteer Month, which highlights the contributions of volunteers and encourages people to donate their time to a local, national, or global cause. Accordingly, Barnabas is celebrating Pastor Brian Winburn, who is the perfect example of how even one volunteer can make a significant impact in his community.
Two years ago, Pastor Winburn moved to Nassau County to serve at Springhill Baptist Church. Many years before this, church members formed a team to create a solution to reach people experiencing hunger in the community. The church’s Community Meals program began feeding hundreds of people per month. Then the pandemic impacted their program, increasing the need for food.
“At our Community Meals events, we were helping people from all walks of life,” said Pastor Winburn. “We knew we needed to reach even more people, especially when COVID-19 hit. People were having trouble paying bills and buying food. When we called Renee Stoffel, Barnabas Community Outreach Manager, to inquire about a potential partnership, she immediately said, ‘I’m coming to you. Let’s start a food distribution.’ We knew we’d soon be able to help more people in need.”
Every month, 20-30 new people come to the Barnabas food distributions held at the church.
“I get so much joy out of serving. Seeing my church family helping neighbors in need at our food events makes my heart full of appreciation. At every distribution, I talk to people who tell me how rough life has been,” said Pastor Winburn. “We need to come together and give these people hope. We must continue to show them that Barnabas, Springhill Baptist Church, and Nassau County care about them.”
Barnabas is grateful to its many volunteers who generously donate their time and talents to improving our community. Last year, more than 400 active volunteers contributed over 15,000 hours of service to help individuals and families through Barnabas programs that include a food pantry and mobile food distributions, crisis assistance, medical and dental services, and the New to You resale store.
For information about Barnabas’ volunteer program, contact Kim Cherry, Barnabas Volunteer Coordinator at (904) 261-7000 ext. 118 OR kcherry@barnabasnassau.org. For more information about Barnabas’ programs, please visit www.BarnabasNassau.org.
