August 11, 2023 - SAKS Of Love continues in its journey of ‘Sending a Kingdom of Sacrifice of Love’ with a partnership with Hope Community Medicine which is ‘Founded in Faith, Focused on Family.’ The two joined to bring more to families in need. On Saturday, August 5, 2023, a ribbon cutting was held at SAKS Of Love’s new location inside Hope’s Tenaha Clinic, 164 Wall Street, Tenaha, Texas 75974 signifying the start of a new community partnership.
Tammie Luman, Shelby County Chamber of Commerce, congratulated Christina Leary, Executive Director of SAKS Of Love on its growth since the last ribbon cutting was held in March of 2022. Although the organization was appreciative of their previous location, they are thrilled to be where they are now.
Christina Leary expressed appreciation, “We want to say thank you for taking out of your busy schedules to be with us today.” Leary then introduced the team: LaShalla McCollister, Board Chairwoman; Frejai Tate, Vice Chairman; Ariel Higginbotham, Secretary/Treasurer; Antoinette Polley, Representative of The Community; Vicky Amy, Representative of Families; Whitney Cleveland, Representative of The Community; Kevin Jones, Representative of The Elderly; Pam Cleaver, Volunteer Coordinator; and Lorenzo Leary, Chief of Operations.
Leary added, “This has been a hard journey, a long 45 days. I can’t thank this group right here enough. We have done night after night, day after day, we’ve worked on our breaks, we’ve brought our kids up here, our families up here, we’ve ate dinner up here. We didn’t think we would be here today. I’m just so grateful.” She gave thanks to her family and all who have supported them along the way.
“Today, I wanted families to come in here, get the shoes that they need, get the clothes that they need, and feel confident about being parents. We wanted to bring a shopping center for parents to have a one stop shop.” Also, available to families on Saturday was a barber for kids to get haircuts.
Leary spoke about the journey to being in the location and described her and Mike Belgard’s first encounter. God’s hand was on the partnership that has developed between SAKS Of Love and Hope Community Medicine.
The partnership with Hope Community Medicine is an excellent opportunity to reach the community and offer additional preventive health and mental wellness supplies, services and options.
Christina wanted to let the community know that although we now are in this beautiful location, SAKS Of Love still needs your help. All the support, whether $2 Tuesday donations, item donations, or prayers, it is all still needed.
Caroline Horton gave away items in loving memory of her son, Brandon, and his legacy of love. Brandon Horton passed away on May 6, 2023.
Mike Belgard spoke about Hope’s journey to this partnership, “One day we had a meeting and I said, ok, we do a lot of medicine and we’re doing mental health, and we’re doing women’s health, and we’re doing all of these health projects, but there’s something that is missing. That is, there are a lot of determinants of health, there are a lot of things that determine how healthy people are… can they get good food, do they have a place to sleep at night, do they have clothes to wear, do they have clean water to drink.” Belgard challenged his staff to find ways to address those determinants of health. “We’ve got a mobile clinic coming within the next month.” Belgard described the goal of the mobile clinic is not to just bring medical care but to also distribute those additional needs such as clothing and food. About that time, when they were considering what to do, Christina Leary called and it was God’s perfect timing and partnership.
Belgard summarized the connection, "Our God is a great and mighty and powerful God and he uses the least to do the most. God does extraordinary things with ordinary people and that is what he has done here. There is a reason we are all here today."
SAKS of Love is open on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Saturdays of the month. On the 2nd Saturday, they serve the homeless. SAKS of Love serve Shelby, Angelina, Panola and Nacogdoches Counties. For more information, contact SAKS of Love at 936-800-8323 or on their Facebook page or https://saksoflove.org/.
Related article: SAKS Of Love Celebrates Tenaha Location with Ribbon Cutting
