A local woman and her family donated uniforms and school supplies and organized a give-away last Wednesday morning at Haven United Methodist Church.
Katrina and Paul Bays and their family held the uniform drive Monday, July 30 at 10 a.m.
“We gave away 56 uniforms and gave over 150 pieces, we had socks as well. We also gave away backpacks and school supplies,” Bays said.
Bays, a nurse practitioner at Greenwood-Leflore Hospital, said she and her husband tried to give back to the community every year, and this year, she wanted to do something on a larger scale.
‘Every year my husband and I always give to a child. We pick one family a year and buy uniforms and school supplies,” she said. “This year, I wanted to do something different. Everyone does a school supply giveaway; I wanted to give out uniforms.”
She said with the consolidation, it may be hard on some families as she wanted to ease parents’ financial burden by taking one of the biggest items off of their list.
“I plan to do this on an annual basis. I hope that it gets bigger and bigger and more people can contribute to my cause,” she said.
Bays said they had 51 people to come throughout line at the uniform drive.
“We started around 10 and people trickled in at different times. They really started trickling in after 12. We ended around 1. I had people stop me as I was leaving the church asking if I had anymore uniforms. I gave away two uniforms after the drive was over.”
She said there are still families asking if she had more uniforms.
“I believe it was a big help to them,” she said. “We had some families that had three kids. We gave them two uniforms a piece because they didn’t have anything.”
She said she wanted to thank her colleagues for donating to the cause.
“One of my colleagues donated three more pair of pants and shorts. People that I know were very helpful,” Bays said.
Bays, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., said service is very big for her.
“I’m always giving back to the community; I’ve always helped people in any way that I can,” she said.
She said during the holidays, she and her husband give out plates at their church and help families who may not be able to afford a meal during that time.
“Service is one of my main goals in life. When you’re in a better place and doing better, you should help others out as well,” she said. “My favorite Muhammad Ali quote says ‘Service is to others is the rent you pay for your room on earth.’ I marvel at the opportunity to help anybody. It’s in me, I’ve been in nursing for 20 years and I’m always helping someone to get better and finding resources to help people to have a better quality of life. Guess that’s what I do.”
