Jeannine Henderson organized the community potluck she dubbed a "Love Feast." It is coming up on Saturday. She talked about how it got started and how others can get involved. Check out the photo gallery below.
What was the inspiration and motivation behind this event?
That is an interesting story. I am the creator and administrator for the East Point Neighbors Give-Sell-Swap page on Facebook (think Freecycle meets Craigslist, but specifically for our area). Once the group reached 500 members, I felt a celebration was in order. We decided to do a potluck gathering. After some suggestions from residents, the potluck quickly evolved into an Appreciation for East Point's Police and Fire/EMT departments. Valentine's Day was coming up in about two weeks from the inception of the idea and I thought this would be a nice tie-in to include the holiday in a way. Since it was to happen around Valentine's Day I dubbed the event "Love Feast" because the event is all about showing our love and appreciation for our first responders who work hard to keep us safe and sometimes put their lives in the line. Last year we had around 125 people in attendance including our guests of honor. We felt that it was a great success and we received a lot of positive feedback from our first responders and citizens.
-Is this your own initiative or part of an organization?
The Love Feast is a labor of love that is organized and hosted by citizens independent of any organization. Citizens donate their time and resources to coordinate and execute the event. We also rely on donations and participation from Local Businesses. Last year's planning committee consisted of Matt and Ali Jewell, Isabel and Craig Jeffares, Kerry Kirwin-Milwood, Tim Baxley, Dennis Morgan, and myself. Turning Point Wellness Center was the first business to jump on board last year. They donated all of the paper goods used at the event along with a gift certificate for the raffle. Taco Pete, The Flower Cottage, and Oz Pizza also contributed by donating food or gift cards for the raffle. Some citizens also pitched in and offered prizes for the raffle. This year, TurningPoint Wellness has graciously offered to have their therapist on hand to pamper our hardworking first responders. Matt and Ali Jewell have again played an instrumental role in helping me spearhead our 2nd Annual Love Feast.
-What do you hope it brings to the community?
My hope with any local endeavor is to bring people together and foster a greater sense of community. Since last year's Love Feast I have become a member of the East Point Main Street Association and also the Jefferson Park Neighbors Association. Both of these organizations focus on community. However, Love Feast is extra special to me because it evolved from something so simple and has so much heart behind it. With the Love Feast, my main objective was to give back to those who give so much of themselves and their time to keep us safe. They work while we are sleeping, they work on weekends, they work on holidays, and they are often away from their loved ones. Public safety jobs are not glamorous and they are not lucrative, these jobs are labors of love. You have to love what you do in these fields. I don't know of another community where the chief of police, additional police units, firefighters, and a public service worker with a backhoe would come out on the weekend in the pouring rain at night to rescue a drowing cat from a storm drain! Our first responders truly care about the citizens, even the furry ones!
-What is required of the participants?
We just ask that our neighbors bring a covered dish to share at the event and extend their appreciation to the first responders. We had some delicious food last year.Two residents even baked treats featuring the different public safety departments. There were cupcakes with the police, fire, and EMT insignias piped onto each cupcake with icing and another resident made heart cookies that said "Thank You." It is the little things such as this that show our first repsonders how much we appreciate them.
-How can someone get involved with this event?
The easiest way to get involved is to just come out (with a covered dish to share) for some great fellowship and to extend your appreciation to our first responders. In addition to having top notch first responders who genuinely care about their community, one of the things that makes East Point such a wonderful place to live is the amazing sense of community that our neighbors share for each other and our city. If someone wanted to donate their time or goods to the cause, they may contact me to coordinate.
-How has the response been from the public safety agencies in East Point?
They were thrilled! Nothing like this had been done before last year. Having members from all over the community come out just to shake their hand, give them a hug, and offer up a home baked dish made their day. The smiles on their faces made my week.
-What are the future plans for the event?
This is the second year for the event. We plan to make this an annual event. We may add another gathering in the Fall, most likely around Thanksgiving. Showing our appreciation around Valentine's Day and Thanksgiving seems like a great time to give back to our Police, Fire/EMT departments.
