Church members spread cheer

Cornerstone's youth prays with Kim Caldwell who was in town to see his sick mother, Becky Roberts. Caldwell picked up a scarf and tobbogan for his mother. Photo by Shelley Smith, Salisbury Post.

April Hall helps 8-year-old Nadaliegh put on her new gloves that match her new winter coat. Nadaliegh's mother, Niki, cries with joy because until Cornerstone Church's youth showed up at her door, she didn't know how she'd be getting her daughter a new coat for the winter. Photo by shelley Smith, Salisbury Post.

Elisha and Edriana Clyde hand Lisa Jenkins coats and scarves for her children. Photo by Shelley Smith, Salisbury Post.

Rakia Grady, 4, zips up her new jacket. Photo by Shelley Smith, Salisbury Post.

Beverly Hight poses with youth from Cornerstone wearing her new toboggan and coat. The youth, left to right, are Matthew Wilcox, Ja'Kara Jefferies, Jaimy Medina, Latosha Tulloch, and Tya-Shawntae Shepard. Photo by Shelley Smith, Salisbury Post.

Cornerstone Church hits the streets to give out 250 coats. Photo by Shelley Smith, Salisbury Post.

Michelle Macon looks over her map of where the coats are in the van, while April Hall and Becky Zapata wait to be told where to dig. Photo by Shelley Smith, Salisbury Post.

By Shelley Smith

ssmith@salisburypost.com

Niki Lewis, a single mom and full-time student whose husband died last year, didn’t know how she would be able to get her Nadaliegh, 8, a proper coat for the winter this year.

Her worry ended Saturday after the young members of Cornerstone Church visited her neighborhood, giving away coats, hats, scarves and gloves — an initiative developed by young churchgoers.

“It’s a blessing,” she said. “The (coat) she has now outgrown she’s had for three years.”

Nadaliegh’s new pink coat fit perfectly, as did the pink toboggan and pink gloves.

Lewis, who has been out of work for two years, is also looking for a part-time job, she said, and members of the Cornerstone youth prayed with her, holding hands in a circle on Lewis’ front porch.

“I think this is great,” she said of the youths knocking on doors. The youths asked if anyone in the family needed a coat or a prayer.

“There’s a lot of people who need things,” Lewis said.

The youths, led by Orlando Zapata, set up a booth at Cornerstone Church, 315 Webb Road, to collect new and lightly used coats. They hit the streets with 30 youths, 250 coats, hats, scarves, gloves and several young leaders Saturday to visit Salisbury neighborhoods.

The youth, ages 13-19, are students of Cornerstone’s youth program called The Mix.

“They are the face of Cornerstone,” Zapata said. “That should be the face of the community as well.”

Taylor Scharf, 14, is one of those kids, and he was the first one to hit the streets during the coat giveaway.

“We’ve been given a lot of stuff at The Mix, and we felt like we needed to give back,” he said.

“Our church is very big on giving,” Zapata said.

Juanita Huntley, 14, was also excited to be giving back Saturday.

“My favorite thing about coming here is giving back and showing other teenagers there’s nothing wrong with being in love with God,” she said. “And even though the people may not need the coat, they may need just a ‘hello’ or a ‘Merry Christmas’ to brighten their day.”

Brandon Gaston, 15, said the “old Brandon” wouldn’t have cared to give back to the community.

“If it would have been the old me, I wouldn’t have even cared about these kids, or anybody out here,” he said. “But now I’ve changed and I’m glad to see the happy looks on these kids’ faces.”

The youth group gave out clothing, prayed and encouraged people they met Saturday, including Beverly Hight, a student at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, who said the youths talked her into going back to school to finish up her final exams.

“I was telling them that I was right here at the end of my semester and I was at my wit’s end and I didn’t want to go back to finish my exams,” she said.

“They were a blessing. They encouraged me this morning,” she said.

Jackie Lee, a Sunday school teacher for the youth at Cornerstone, and also a youth correctional officer, has seen kids at their best and their worst, and said the youth at Cornerstone give him a lot of hope.

“It’s hard to put into words,” Lee said of the feeling he gets watching the kids knock on each door and pray with the residents.

“At least they let you know there is hope for our youth, and I thank God for Pastor Bill Godair because he had a vision. He sees no color,” he said. “He knows everyone is God’s people.

“Instead of just reading the Bible, sometimes we have to be the Bible. We have to go out there and show people that God exists and God is love.”

Contact reporter Shelley Smith at 704-797-4246.