Faith Presbyterian Church works to expand impact of local non-profits

• Three area non-profits have moved in to donated spaces at Faith Presbyterian Church.
• Leaders with those groups say the space will help them put more resources toward their goals.
• Watch the video to hear from organizations already seeing an impact.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

A neighborhood church is helping neighbors help other neighbors.

The team at Faith Presbyterian Church is opening their doors to local non-profits to help them make an even bigger impact.

Peggy Sanford is the team leader with Rags 2 Bags, an initiative through non-profit Sustainable Tallahassee.

"We started out making reusable grocery bags, but we've also made gift bags, produce bags," Sanford said. "We even made laundry bags for the Kearney Center to keep them from using plastic bags for their dirty laundry."

The group has been making those bags out of unused fabric since 2014, but now has a large, permanent space here at Faith Presbyterian Church.

"We have the space without having to pay for it, so we don't have to use resources and we can give the bags for free. It's been a huge support," Sanford said.

They are one of three organizations that are calling Faith's new outreach center their home.

It's an idea their senior pastor Brad Clayton said came after the space was no longer being used by the church.

"We were thinking, how can we use this space as a resource to share God's love with other people?" Clayton said.

One of the groups passing on that love — Manna on Meridian.

They have been operating out of the church for years, but coordinator Shellie Camp said the larger space, along with a partnership with Second Harvest has allowed them to double their impact.

She says they have been able to go from serving 140 households a month to 310.

"These donations have directly benefited them by being able to cope with emergencies better as well as being able to assist their neighbors who may be experiencing challenges," Camp said.

The third group moving in right now: MetaVisions.

They work to help families connect with pediatric resources.

Their board member Cindy Evers said having a permanent hub for their group will help meet more need.

"This is going to allow us to try to get some grant moneys, to look at doing some additional pilot projects we couldn't do because we didn't have the space to do it," Evers said.

Sanford said the space means everything to her group and others.

"We couldn't do what we do without Faith Church support," Sanford said.

Manna on Meridian hosts their main food distribution the third Saturday of every month and hold smaller giveaways every Sunday.

To learn more about MetaVision, go to their website.

Sustainable Tallahassee also has more details on their mission online.