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‘Adopt A Student’ Events Set in August in Wheeling

WHEELING — The Rev. Darrell Cummings said he has reached the point where children who once received notebooks, pencils and paper from him now are approaching him as adults and thanking him for the help.

Cummings and the Bethlehem Apostolic Temple will host “Adopt A Student” back-to-school events to give youths backpacks and school supplies, and get them excited for the upcoming school year. He said this is the 28th year for the events, which started in 1990.

The first will take place beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 12, at the Dream Center at 407 Main St. across from Bethlehem Apostolic Temple.

The second is set for 5 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 12, at the Wheeling Park amphitheater.

Cummings said the program’s longevity gives him mixed emotions.

“That is both joyful and disheartening to me,” he said. “If we have been at this that long, it means I must have gotten old.

“Some of the students we helped are now parents themselves, and some are in high school,” he said. “We’re happy to have them come back to help the next generation. And they are happy to do that as well.”

Cummings said the program has been a life-changing experience for him. Some adults tell him they are thankful for the supplies they received when they were young.

“I was at the mall, and one man came up to me and said, ‘You helped me when I was in third grade,'” Cummings said. “Now we’ve got another generation going on, and we’re glad to be a positive influence.”

The “Adopt A Student” program provides free bookbags with school supplies to students. But they also are provided at the events with enough food to feed their family in the coming days.

“We’re hoping the whole family celebrates the children going back to school by having special meals, and spending time together,” he said.

“There is no residency requirement,” said Cummings. “All you have to do is say you are in need.”

The church will also distribute school supplies and food prior to Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.

“We’re the only ones who let you come back two months later and get more,” Cummings said. “We adopt you for a year. All you have to do is come back and ask for it. We’ll give it to you.”

The money for the supplies and food distributed comes from grants, community partners and individual donations to the church.

Cummings said his own childhood experiences led him to start the “Adopt a Student” program. There was one year he had a growth spurt over the summer and outgrew the pants his mother had bought him off a clearance rack in the spring, and there wasn’t money available for new pants that fall.

She instead bought him a pair of cowboy boots in which to tuck his too-short pants.

“I always say your attitude determines your altitude,” Cummings said. “If you don’t have the right clothes, this will affect how you receive the teachings and how you interact with others. I speak from experience because I went through that.”

He said he wants children to go back to school with the attitude, “I’m ready for school and everything.”

“I know it doesn’t solve all a child’s problems,” Cummings said. “But eating together, celebrating and just having that family, church and community support affects your attitude and how well you do in school. We never seem to have enough to help, but God makes a way.

“We want to let anybody in need know there is help in this community,” he said. “There’s no need to be ashamed. There’s only need to be ashamed if you need help and don’t get it.”

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