4,048 Items Collected and Distributed During Yesterday's 1st Annual "Love Thy Neighbor" Valentine's Food Drive!!!!

(Above: Preparing to take the second trip of the day to Lawrenceville Co-op and first trip to the Quinn House in Lawrenceville)

(Below: James, husband of Clipping for a Cause member, volunteered his time (and truck!) to make deliveries for us. Couldn't have done it without his help! Above: Two of the vehicles leaving to make deliveries! They were packed full with over 1,000 items.)

(Above: Lee C., ministry member, got her neighborhood involved and collected over 400 items! Left: 5-2 Ministry of Grayson got involved and collected an amazing 1,334 items that were distributed to the Southeast Gwinnett Co-op!!!)

(Right: My friend Michelle was a Godsend yesterday! She got out of the car to pick up and count the items during the mobile drive in several neighborhoods! Below: A picture of the back of Lee's car during their pickups that were delivered to the North Gwinnett Co-op!)

(Below Left: A volunteer sorting and counting items at the Lawrenceville Co-op. Over 1,000 items were delivered here alone. Below right: Our spare room at the house was temporarily converted to a interim food bank!)

4,048 items donated to the needy in one day has been one of very few things in my lifetime that has left me speechless (for those who know me, I kinda like to talk!) To say the least, our first annual "Love Thy Neighbor" Valentine's Food Drive" was an overwhelming success. Clipping for a Cause cannot begin to thank each one of you who participated in this effort. Your passion for blessing others-- neighbors who could very well live right next door--was overwhelming. It was an amazing thing to witness His work in bringing the whole community together yesterday.

To me, some of the greatest moments about this event were the emails I received with updates throughout the drive. "We have 10 neighborhoods signed up to participate on our end!" "1,334 items were dropped off at the Southeast Gwinnett Co-op today!" "The donation box is completely full at Wells and pouring out onto the floor!" "We are on our second car load to the Lawrenceville Co-op!" You could feel and hear the excitement, even without seeing that person face to face. In a world where the chaos never seems to cease and you cannot turn on the 5 o'clock news without hearing about all of the bad, yesterday seemed to magically erase all of the negative.

I am without words. Unfortunately, there aren't any that exist that could possibly begin to articulate my gratitude. Thank you for spreading the love you have for your neighbor and turning this effort into something more than we could have ever imagined. The very essence of this Valentine's Day Food Drive was summed up in one word: LOVE.