Women’s Shelter receives help from Corinth Teens

Twenty young women, ages 11 to 17, from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Corinth spent the evening of December 7, 2021, helping to organize the incoming holiday donations at Friends of the Family in Denton County.

Along with their adult leaders, the girls set up rooms to organize food and toy donations and create a system to facilitate the organization’s upcoming holiday events.

The girls, members of the Oakmont congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ, are no strangers to performing acts of service in their community, regularly donating their time and talents to benefit others.

Emma Ray, a young women’s leader of the Church of Jesus Christ said, “We teach them that serving others is the closest we can get to becoming like Christ. When Jesus was on the Earth, he went around serving and doing good. There’s no better way to feel His love and to be an instrument in His hands.”

Payton Coon, 15, agrees: “When I serve, it helps me realize my own blessings and feel grateful that I can serve others.”

Friends of the Family (DCFOF) is the sole provider in Denton County of shelter and free outreach services to those who have been affected by relationship violence and/or sexual assault. Its website states, “We are dedicated to providing compassionate, comprehensive services to those impacted by rape, sexual abuse, and domestic violence, while partnering with our community to promote safety, hope, healing, justice, and prevention.”

“Many of girls have donated time to Friends of the Family in the past. When we walked into the shelter, there was definitely a special spirit there. The girls quickly did what was needed in a short amount of time and wished they could have done more,’ said Ray.

“It helps me forget about my own worries when I help others and lifts my spirit,” said Mackay Erickson, 17.

“We try to do service every month or so,” said Emma Ray. “The last one we did was to write letters of gratitude to people serving in the military. There are service opportunities all around us. You don’t have to wait for an organized event to help others. A great way to find an organization in need is to go to JustServe.org which matches up volunteers with organizations that need help in their own communities.”

Click HERE to learn about volunteer opportunities at Denton County Friends of the Family.