By Grace Thornton
Correspondent, The Alabama Baptist
For LaJuana Holloway to feed her household, it takes a little more than most people.
She has 50 living there, and all of them can’t always afford to eat.
“We have extremely low and very low income residents based on the county median income,” said Holloway, manager of Knollwood Retirement Community in Roanoke.
It’s not a hardship for Holloway to help them put food on the table — it’s exactly the way she wants it. Knollwood, one of several residences run by Alabama Baptist Retirement Centers (ABRC), is intended as a ministry to members of the state’s elderly population who may find themselves in a place of financial struggle, she said.
Helping people
“We are all about helping people,” Holloway said. “We want to have a facility that reaches out.”
She’s not alone in that thought.
Other Baptists in the area have taken on Knollwood as a way to assist those who need a little extra help. Randolph Baptist Association — with food pantry director Elaine Bedinfield leading the way — has stepped up for the past two years to supply more than 30 residents with a bag of groceries each month.
Charlotte Crane, director of financial services for ABRC, said the assistance is very much appreciated.
Associational partnerships
“We are so grateful for this partnership with the Randolph Baptist Association,” she said. “The monthly food provision fills a great need in this rural community.”
And in addition to that, local farmers provide more than 3,700 pounds of food each month, Holloway said. “We are also able to get assistance from the World Hunger Fund.”
It’s a great help to a retirement center whose residents sometimes move in with very little to support themselves, she said.
“I have tenants who move in with no furniture, absolutely nothing, and they can go up to the Baptist association and get vouchers for their stores. Then they can go and get a bed or other things that they need,” Holloway said. “We are so blessed with people here who in a little town do their part to help.”
Meeting physical needs also has opened the door to meet spiritual ones, Holloway said. A while back, Bedinfield and her husband, James, started a Sunday School class at Knollwood after Holloway mentioned at the associational meeting that it was a need at the center.
“We have a wonderful class now thanks to them,” Holloway said.
Crane said similar ministries also are taking place at ABRC’s other centers.
“Like at Knollwood, at our other locations, area churches and associations meet spiritual and physical needs by conducting Vacation Bible School, concerts, Bible studies and various social activities,” Crane said. “There are many ministry opportunities at each of our facilities, and we welcome your church to get involved.”
Income-based rent
ABRC owns and operates Baptist Village Hutto Towers and Townhouses in Dothan and Eastview in Montgomery as well as Knollwood, she said.
With the exception of the Townhouses in Dothan, rent is based on the resident’s income, thereby providing an affordable home. This ministry has met the needs of a few who would have otherwise been homeless, Crane said.
‘Loving care’
“We provide a safe, affordable home for 200 senior adults or handicapped individuals,” she said, revealing the Source for this approach. “Perhaps the greatest thing that sets us apart from similar facilities is the loving care and personal touch provided by our managers.”
Crane said she’s learned over her years at ABRC that they “really are a well-kept secret among Baptist life, and we’d love to see that change.”
ABRC’s mission is to minister to the elderly in three ways:
4Directly on its campuses.
4Indirectly by helping churches and associations like the ones in Roanoke establish and strengthen the ministry of the retirement facilities.
4Educationally as they seek to serve as advocates for the needs of the elderly in the state.
“The number of senior adults is growing exponentially as baby boomers reach retirement age,” Crane said. “Therefore, at Alabama Baptist Retirement Centers we feel our ministry exists for such a time as this.”
For more information about ABRC, call 334-613-2328 or visit www.albrc.org.
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