When Holly Dangerfield, a congregation member at Trinity Assembly of God (AG), learned that many Native American families living on reservations in Arizona had only one toothbrush to share, she immediately began organizing a collection drive for them.
Through the end of August, the church is accepting donations of toothbrushes and toothpaste that will be shipped in September to Indian Mobile Mission, which will distribute the collected donations.
Toothbrushes and toothpaste can be dropped off in the church foyer during office hours on Mondays through Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Sundays during the 10 a.m. worship service and on Wednesdays during the 6:30 p.m. Bible study. Donations can also be placed at any time in the food collection bins located at the church entrance. Volunteers will check the bins on a regular basis.
Dangerfield, who has been a congregation member at Trinity Ag for 30 years, is also involved with Joseph's Closet, the church's food outreach ministry. She explained that she has had an interest in Native American causes since she was in high school.
"It bothered me how they have been treated, and it never left my heart," she said. "I wanted to help, and I didn't know how. Years later, I was in the Mustard Seed, which was a Christian bookstore, and I overheard a few people talking about missionaries in Arizona who helped Native Americans."
The missionaries they were referring to were from the Indian Mobile Mission, which is headquartered in Snowflake, Ariz. The organization was founded by the late Ken Webb and his wife, Sylvia Webb. Today, Sylvia regularly makes the journey to area Indian reservations to donate needed supplies, toiletries and clothing, including shoes and jackets.
"I got the information and I contacted these missionaries out there and started sponsoring children 15 to 20 years ago," Dangerfield recalled. "I was talking to (Sylvia) recently, and she said children get really excited when they get a toothbrush. I could understand getting excited about a cool new toy, so I asked her why. She said one entire family uses the same toothbrush. In 2019, I could not believe that was happening."
After speaking to Sylvia and learning that 600 toothbrushes were needed, Dangerfield approached Trinity AG pastor Jimmy Smuda to ask for help. "Pastor Jimmy wanted me to present this to the church, and he had me tell them (about the need). People have been responding," said Dangerfield, noting that more than 1,000 toothbrushes have already been donated.
"This is what we are doing right now, but who knows where it will go from here because I'm sure there are other needs," said Dangerfield. "Sylvia said that the adult Indian women get excited over coloring books and crayons because when they were kids, they didn't have that."
Trinity AG is located at 1022 Pottstown Pike, West Chester. For more information, readers may call 610-692-1897 or visit http://www.trinityag.org or http://www.facebook.com/TrinityAGWC. More information about the mission is available at http://www.indianmobilemission.org.
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