Powerful partners came together in Suwannee and Hamilton County to host the Uplift Suwannee Hamilton event on July 25^th. The event was held at the fun and dynamic rec room of Melody Christian School in Live Oak. A big thank you to Greg and Laura Player of Recovery Church and Chrissy and Nick Polovich of Mountains to the Sea Ministries for all their help and dedication to setting up, prepping, cleaning up, inviting so many partners and faith leaders in the community, and praying for the Lord to have his way. Also, a big thank you to the planning team and Jarred Pfeffer and Natalie Hebison for their help. Lastly, not to forget our sponsors that made everything so nice for the day; The Suwannee Valley Community Foundation for our BBQ lunches, Hamilton Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Coalition for breakfast, Circle of Life for our handy swag bags, Recovery Church for drinks for all day, Arise Coffee for our caffeine, and Living Well Therapy for our door prizes.

During the event, we heard from powerful presenters like Pastor Eliut Alicea from St Augustine who talked about the Intersection of Faith & Mental Health; he shared how we as the church can support and assist those with mental health needs. He pointed out, many times we have people in our congregations who are licensed and trained to help in these situations, or are retired from the field and willing to lend a hand. Zach Zedar from Canvas Church Alachua shared his personal recovery story and how his faith and the church played a role in his journey. He now runs a recovery ministry at Canvas Church and shared how to start a similar ministry at your church. We also heard from great programs, ministries, and resources in the community like Recovery Church, The Pregnancy Center, Embrace Grace Ministry, Care Portal, and Living Hope. Lastly, the day was ended with an Adverse Childhood Experiences Training from LSF Health Systems. Uplift Communities is proving to be a blessing to each community it is activated in.

Here’s what others are saying:

• • What a wonderful and uplifting event! We walked away with new information, new friendships, and a strong desire to be involved and available to other organizations within our communities. Thank you so much for inviting us and giving us the opportunity to share. Together, making a difference.
  • Engaging speakers, interesting topics, great tools and programs to learn about, good networking with people in the community.
  • Overall, I just loved this event, strengths were God first, everything really ran smoothly, connection in the entire event with everyone.