Written by Tiane Davis \/\/ Photo by Macy Cox<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the recent temperature drop to below freezing early this week, Searcy First Methodist Church set up a warming fence and warming center at its main facilities. People from the Searcy community and surrounding areas donated approximately 300 items to be placed at the warming fence, which is available to anyone free of charge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Searcy First Methodist member Patty Williams, who got the idea from a church in Rogers, said this is their third year to set up a warming fence. The goal is to provide anyone in the community with warm outerwear, she said, in case the cold weather left them unprepared. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne day, a gentleman came by and said, \u2018I\u2019ve got a coat, but what I really need is some gloves,\u2019 so we looked through and found some gloves,\u201d Williams said. \u201cThen another lady said that she needed jackets for her grandchildren, and we found jackets for them. It\u2019s really heartwarming to know that you\u2019re helping people, and it\u2019s the whole community pitching in to do it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Williams said the church made announcements about the warming fence and warming center on social media and through messages to other organizations. She said people as far as Rose Bud have donated supplies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople have been so generous,\u201d Williams said. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t do it without the community; we\u2019re just the feet and hands.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kathy Throckmorton, another member of Searcy First Methodist who works with Williams to maintain the warming fence, said the community has always been supportive of projects the church does. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe support the community and they support us,\u201d Throckmorton said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Searcy Mission Machine, which is an outreach program that serves houseless people in Searcy, used the church\u2019s gymnasium as a warm shelter, with the church providing meals and cots for those in need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mission Machine co-founder and director Mike Pfeiffer said the people at Searcy First Methodist were eager to help and \u201cdo a great job doing it.\u201d He said the gymnasium can hold several more people compared to the Mission Machine facilities and that he is grateful for the help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe get tremendous support from the community,\u201d Pfeiffer said. \u201cWe are community funded only and get no grants, and we\u2019re able to do what we do. The people at Searcy First Methodist were the first ones to step up and really help us out.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pfeiffer said other churches in town have helped out and that the Carmichael Center has been open to the public 24\/7 since the temperature dropped, which is the first year they have been able to do that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLike many southern states, we just don\u2019t get used to winter weather, and January is our worst month,\u201d Pfeiffer said. \u201cWe\u2019re really indebted to the Searcy First Methodist Church, and I hope to see a homeless shelter in Searcy in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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