After helping Knox Area Rescue Ministries serve meals several years ago with his church, homeless people and their needs touched 15-year-old Townsend resident Nick Bryant, and he decided to do something about it.
Since his 10th birthday, instead of asking for presents, Nick, who goes to Heritage High School, requests cases of bottled water that he can donate to KARM.
This is the sixth year Bryant has donated bottled water.
For his 10th birthday, he received 10 cases to give, and the number of cases he’s donated has increased each year, according to his mother, Tanisha Bryant.
"This year at one time Nick actually said … ‘Is there a point that it gets too far that we need to ask to stop taking donations?’ But as long as there’s a need here, we would never stop it as long as the help was still coming in for it.” After they unloaded the water, Nick said they would pass out more bottles of water and Bibles to the homeless people around KARM.
“Anybody knows what ice cold water can do to replenish your body, so this is just a total … blessing that when they’re sitting out on the courtyard, they’ve got ice cold water," said Doris Davenport, a cook at KARM.
"That is very important to us," Davenport added.
"We care about all of our guests here, and water is one thing … we (have) a short supply of.
I know he has because this is going to bless many people, and this will bless them for a while to come.” Tanisha Bryant recalled the time when she brought her son to help feed homeless people with their church, the Church of the Cove in Wears Valley.
I plan on doing this for a long time.