The warehouse of Georgia Pine Straw in Lyons was abuzz Saturday morning as well over 350 families in the community drove through and received free boxes of nonperishable food and other necessities of life.
Joseph Akins, Pastor of Faith Assembly of God in Lyons, and the Executive Director of the 501(c)(3) organization called Loving Lyons was an integral part of forming the event and said it truly was a community event. Volunteering their time Saturday morning was members of the Robert Toombs Christian Academy and Toombs County High School football teams, Toombs County Sheriff's Office, Vidalia Police Department, Lyons Fire Department, church youth groups, civic organizations and more. In fact, he said, "I haven't even counted how many volunteers and organizations we've got represented; there so many! But with this many people, it makes it fun and lessens the workload, and it's such a blessing to be able to give back to others in the community."
Saturday's event came to life, Akins said, after watching a video from a national organization known as Faith in Blue which was introduced to Lyons last month by Lyons Chief of Police Wesley Walker.