Convoy of Hope rolls through Polson

A convoy of trucks rolled into Polson filled with food, water, cleaning supplies and more. Several community groups and organizations added clothes, shoes, school supplies, books, bicycle helmets, backpacks, infant car seats and a sundry of additional items.

Booths offering the items and free services lined 3rd Avenue on both sides of Main Street. It was the community coming together to help and to give hope to other community members less fortunate than they in this Fourth Annual Day of Hope event.

The Convoy Of Hope is a disaster relief arm of the Assemblies of God Fellowship and their mission is to provide help and hope around the world. Teenagers who are affiliated with the Assemblies of God Speed the Light program raise funds that are used to fund the convoys from their base in Springfield, Missouri. Earlier this summer the Speed the Light convoy helped two towns in southcentral Montana that were ravaged by the floods.

New Life Church’s Pastor Jason Burrough, who came to Polson from Houston, had witnessed the outreach program there and began organizing this similar event in Polson. Several others from the church including Kristi Sopki and Bonnie Klein helped manage the event and led dances and games.

Other churches in the area including the Lake City Baptist Church and the Pablo Christian Church, as well as both Montana State University and the University of Montana, St. Lukes hospital, Polson City Police, Findley Point Fire Department, CASA, the North Lake County Public Library, Anderson Broadcasting, Bird Family Dentistry, and the Polson Football, Volleyball, and Cheer squads participated in various ways to make it a fun and beneficial day.

The CSKT Tribal Health and Tribal Education had nearly a block of booths offering dental screenings, Covid tests, bike helmets, water, boxes of tissus, books, and more. Perhaps the most appreciated give away of the day was the 350 backpacks of various colors given by the Pablo Christian Church. All of the backpacks had been dispersed within two hours and were promptly filled with school supplies provided by Tribal Education and others.

The atmosphere at the event was truly positive with the variety of groups and organizations interacting to provide a community event that lightened the load and brought relief and smiles. Even the Cats and Griz came together for the day to contribute to the community spirit. Moods were also lifted by the Polson Cheerleaders painting faces, the football and volleyball players signing posters and, if you timed it right, the volleyball team dancing a choreographed line dance.

As morning moved to noon, the day got hotter and the crowd got smaller, but there were still many kids sporting bike helmets and backpacks and many parents carrying boxes of food, water, and other items. This joyful event really brought the ‘Be Kind’ movement to life and those who attended are likely looking forward to next year’s event.