Teenagers from local churches are coming together in Wrightsville Beach this weekend to collect cans and support the hungry as part of the seasonal Scare Hunger Away food drive.
The event is organized by Wrightsville United Methodist Church, First Baptist Church, First Presbyterian Church and St. James Parish. The youth groups from each of the four churches recently started collaborating in a ministry they call Be the Light, which connects their students with the Help Hub, a downtown Wilmington charity program.
“The four churches gave donations to get the Help Hub started, and we decided that if our churches were involved in the ministry, our youth groups should be, too,” said Christina Norvell, youth director at Wrightsville United Methodist Church.
Norvell said the food drive will take place Sunday, Oct. 30 at Wrightsville United Methodist Church from 5-7 p.m., and it is open to any local youth group. She expects to have about 150 students ranging from sixth to 12th grade participate in the collection and pizza dinner.
The youth group dropped off donation bags to Coral Drive, Harbor Island and North Channel Drive residents on Thursday evening. The students are asking community members to fill the bags with canned fruits, vegetables, meats, crackers, peanut butter and nuts and leave the bags on their porches by Sunday at 5:30 p.m.
This event will be the third time the youth groups have come together, helping those in need and spending time with their peers, to support the Help Hub, a charity program based out of the Harrelson Center.
“The Help Hub supports people who are in need,” Norvell said. “The idea is that people won’t have to go to 50 different places to get support, because transportation is often a major issue for people.”
