Crockett Brothers Initiate Blessing Box
By Sarah Naron
Messenger Reporter
CROCKETT – When Crockett resident Mickey Fields shared a video with her sons – nine-year-old Keegan and seven-year-old Koleson – about a “blessing box” someone had assembled as a means of lending a helping hand to those in need, the boys were instantly excited by the idea.
“We asked her if we could do it if there was none in town, and she said we could build one,” explained Keegan. “She said, ‘You know, we’re not that great at building, so we can get someone else to build it.’”
Koleson expressed an equal level of enthusiasm about the box.
“It’s giving back to the community,” he said. “The food is for people who really don’t have that much.”
Determined to make the blessing box happen despite her limited building skills, Fields reached out to several contractors throughout the local area, including Mike Sherley of ‘A blessing by faith’ Painting and Home Remodeling.
“He said he would do one for them for free,” Fields revealed. “He donated everything. He built it all for free, installed it – everything.”
The box has been displayed outside of the family’s residence since Tuesday, Sept. 25 and has already amassed numerous donations.
“Anyone can come get what they need, and anyone’s welcome to donate,” Fields said. “We check it twice a day – in the morning and late at night – to see if anything needs to be replaced.”
In its first week, the blessing box acquired donations of canned goods, other nonperishable food items and small toiletry items such as deodorant and razors.
Monetary donations are welcome in addition to the aforementioned items, and Fields promised full transparency in that regard.
“I’ll post all the receipts on Facebook so that people can see what was bought with the money,” she vowed.
As homeschooled students, the boys frequently undertake service projects of this sort.
“They adopted the street right here – Terrell Avenue – to help clean up the trash,” Fields divulged. “They had to go in front of the city council to get it approved, and the city council put them a sign up that says ‘Adopt a Street’ with their name.”
The blessing box – formally named the 2 Brothers Blessing Box – is located at 706 Terrell Ave. in Crockett. For more information, join the 2 Brothers Blessing Box group on Facebook.
Sarah Naron may be reached via email at [email protected].