Prom Prep morning 2024
We had a fantastic morning spoiling Pleasantville’s prom attendee girls! All young women attending prom were invited to stop by the Memorial Hall to grab an iced coffee or juice, some delicious carbohydrates from Panera Bread, and a goody bag from us! Bags were filled with prom day essentials like lip gloss, gum, bandaids, tissues, hair clips, and more.
Girls were also invited to reserve an appointment to have their hair or makeup done for free by talented volunteers! The spots filled up fast, but we also had volunteers on hand for walk-ins.
We had a great morning encouraging these young women with some pampering and fun!
Happy May Day! 2023
We delivered our annual May Baskets to the elementary school on May 1st! 600 little bags of fun for each student. Little surprises bring a lot of joy to life, don’t they!
16,040 Meals Distributed: Summer 2022
This Summer, we helped distribute 16,040 meals to Pleasantville Kids and Teens! A total of 4,010 Bags were passed out, each containing two breakfasts and two lunches. Knoxville Food Youth Initiative has worked so hard to meet Pleasantville’s requested numbers, and we were so blessed to work with them to get those meals into the hands of our community members. They serve not only Pleasantville, but Knoxville, Melcher, and more!
Teens and kids showed up with parents to pick up their meals. They also came on their own, pulling wagons or riding their bicycles. We loved serving them and getting to say hello every Monday Wednesday and Friday.
Over the summer, we had many incredible volunteers who helped us! We would like to give a special shout-out to teens Reagan Murray and Adoniah Koenig who were present almost every day that we distributed meals. Also to the many little ones who came along with their moms or grandmas to help out!
A HUGE thanks goes to Pleasantville’s St. Paul United Methodist Church for the use of their facility, and for the women who volunteered each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Their hard work, hospitality, and joyful presence reminded us so much of Jesus, who they love and serve.
And we can’t forget to say thank you to our dear friend Jim Brees, who delivered the meals and took care of much of the heavy lifting every single day. Selfless, helpful, and generous, we looked forward to hearing his big booming “hello!” each time he arrived. His arms were always full of boxes and coolers, or popsicles he brought for the children who were helping.
We love our community. We were so happy to help serve them this summer!
Blue Christmas 2021- Ecumenical Service
On December 21, 2021, PvilleYI joined together with St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Pleasantville Christian Church, and Fairview Christian Church to host a Blue Christmas event.
The Holiday season isn’t always joyful for everyone. Many struggle with grief, depression, and loneliness this time of year. This event provides a space for people who struggle during the holidays to acknowledge loss, receive prayer, and find light in the darkness.
Special thanks to Pastor Brandon Campbell from St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Pastor Don Naftz from Pleasantville Christian Church, Pastor Clinton Wallace from Fairview Christian Church, and Pastor Willa Heaberlin from Woodburn Christian Church. Each Pastor shared a short message with the crowd.
Stations were set up where people could light a candle in memory of a loved one, write down their hurts and symbolically lay them at the foot of the cross, and where they could write an encouraging note for someone else to take home with them.
This was the fist ecumenical service in Pleasantville for many years, and we were honored to be a part of it.
Another huge THANK YOU to Smokey Row for allowing us to use your facility for this event!
Over 3,000 Meals Distributed to Pleasantville Kids & Teens
This summer, PvilleYI partnered with Knoxville Youth Food Initiative (KYFI) and St Pauls United Methodist Church to deliver free meals to Pleasantville’s Kids and Teens. KYFI delivered around 100 meals each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to Saint Paul’s Family Center where PvilleYI and church volunteers worked together to distribute the meals.
At the summer’s end, we had distributed over 3,000 meals in Pleasantville. This is an incredible blessing to the children, teens, and to their families.
We cannot thank KYFI enough for all they are doing in Marion County, and for letting us partner with them in this work. We are also so incredibly grateful to the folks at St. Paul’s, for not only letting us using their facility but for showing up each and every MWF to help. What an incredible example of being the hands and feet of Jesus!
We will continue to partner with KYFI for at least the next 5 years to supply Pleasantville kids and teens with much needed nutrition during the summer!
May Day 2020: Over 600 May Baskets!
On May 1st, 2020, we handed out and delivered 600 May Baskets to our community! Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we adjusted our plans to be extra careful.
Volunteers put together and filled the baskets with candy and some flower seeds to plant!
We met at Shadle Park in Pleasantville and began a drive-thru May Day Basket pick up. Of course we dressed up in fun costumes and had music playing! Everyone needed a boost of HAPPY after so much time in quarantine.
After our drive-thru time ended, we left the baskets we had left at random homes around Pleasantville.
We had so much fun bringing back this fantastic tradition!