Bowater Credit Union member Lori Freeman has won $1,000 from Bowater Credit Union for her favorite non-profit, The Manna Kitchen. This prize was awarded through the Pay It Forward program.
Each year, Bowater Credit Union asks its members to nominate their favorite non-profit organization that focuses on helping people in the five counties eligible for membership: Bradley, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe or Polk counties. The Manna Kitchen is the most recent winner of this $1,000 prize.
The Manna Kitchen is an outreach mission through Benton United Methodist Church that serves the community. Their goal is to help the residents of the Benton Elderly Housing development know that they are thought of and cared for. Through their program, they provide hot meals to anywhere between 30 to 50 residents on the last Friday of each month. For the holiday months of November and December, they receive their holiday meals on the third Friday of the month, complete with holiday trimmings. The Manna Kitchen is fully funded by donations, and receives help from the Benton Ambassador Senior Girl Scout Troop #4049 to prepare and deliver these meals.
“This is just one of three elderly housing developments in the area around our church. Some of the seniors haven’t much contact with others to look forward to visits. With $1,000, we could feed one of the other housing developments as well,” Freeman states.
Benton United Methodist Church is located in Benton, Tennessee. To learn more about The Manna Kitchen and the Benton United Methodist Church, visit them on Facebook at Benton United Methodist Church.
The Pay It Forward program will continue through 2017, and that means any member of Bowater Credit Union can nominate their favorite non-profit for a $1,000 Pay It Forward prize. Two more prizes will be given out in 2017, and the deadline to be considered for the last prize is November 30. Entries submitted in starting in January of 2018 will be considered for the five prizes given out in 2018.
Bowater Credit Union began the Pay It Forward program in 2010 as a way to give back to the community it serves. Since the program’s inception, Bowater CU has given $36,000 to various charities making a difference in our community.
Pictured from left to right (with the turkey and rolls cooked for the Thanksgiving meal): Mary Ellen Noyes; Lori Freeman, Bowater CU member; Carolyn Keeton, Rev. Dave Whaley, Crystal Hatcher, Bowater Credit Union; Kay Green, Chairperson of Manna Kitchen.
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