Longboat Key church helps students start the year on the right foot

Longboat Island Chapel is gathering athletic shoes, socks and shoelaces for Stillpoint Mission as this month's fundraising focus.

By Dana Kampa
| 5:00 a.m. August 23, 2025

Connie DiMaggio, a member of Longboat Island Chapel, shows off some of the stylish shoes community members donated to its shoe drive-focused Gather and Give on Aug. 19 at the chapel.

Longboat Key
Neighbors

A size 7, pink and black pair of New Balance sneakers provides more than footwear for a student walking into school for a new semester. Something stylish can give a child the confidence boost they need to start the year right.

Longboat Island Chapel Rev. Brock Patterson thanked attendees at the Aug. 19 Gather and Give drive for their donations of athletic shoes, socks and shoelaces.

The donations support the work of Stillpoint Mission, a Bradenton-based nonprofit that provides food, clothing and utility bill relief to local families needing support.

Athletic shoes, socks and shoelaces were the focus of this month's Gather and Give drive at Longboat Island Chapel.

Brock said this drive will specifically provide support for families at Daughtrey Elementary School. The chapel welcomed teachers from the school to speak at February's Gather and Give, where they highlighted the accomplishments of the students despite any challenges that come their way.

The chapel and Stillpoint Mission work together closely, most recently collaborating on a toilet paper drive.

Patterson took the opportunity at the potluck to highlight some of the chapel's charitable outreach.

"You all do a lot," Patterson. "Last year, when the storms hit, we had been so used to giving out. We then found ourselves in a position where we needed a bit of help. But to see the way you've still been helping each other means a lot. You've done incredible work."

He particularly commended the work done through the Lord's Warehouse thrift shop.

Rev. Brock Patterson from Longboat Island Chapel thanks attendees at the Aug. 19 Gather and Give drive for their ongoing charitable support of communities in the area.

Any items, particularly large furniture, that don't immediately get sold go toward supporting the Mt. Carmel Community Resource Center in Palmetto.

Valerie Evanko, senior manager of the Lord's Warehouse, roughly estimated that the thrift shop has sent at least 20 carloads so far this year.

"When you hear the numbers, it makes you say, 'Oh my goodness, we actually do help,'" Patterson said.

Ted Atkinson, Marcia Pryde, Donna Heffner, Greg Fiore, Gordon Govalet and Judy Govalet join the Aug. 19 Gather and Give drive at Longboat Island Chapel.

The warehouse is open from 9 a.m. to noon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. It will temporarily close in September for deep cleaning before reopening for the season.

Coming up in September, the Chapel will be working with a new charitable partner.

The next Gather and Give, on Sept. 16, will focus on collecting men's clothing for Sarasota's Resurrection House, Inc. The faith-based resource center helps at-risk individuals find a path toward self-sufficiency.

author

Dana Kampa

Dana Kampa is the Longboat Key neighbors reporter for the Observer. She first ventured into journalism in her home state of Wisconsin, going on to report community stories everywhere from the snowy mountains of Washington State to the sunny shores of the Caribbean. She has been a writer and photographer for more than a decade, covering what matters most to readers.