‘Blount County has a big heart': Warming center serving food and fellowship
MARYVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The warming center at First Baptist Church in Maryville has been in operation for seven years and is open when the temperatures are below 25 degrees. There is a rotation between 10 area churches for where the warming center is held.
The John 3:16 organization, the group opening the warming center, has a goal of opening up their own standalone location so there can be a warm place for people all winter long.
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'We want to open a center where we can be open all winter long. We are going to use this space as long it's available and as long as we need it,' said warming center coordinator Philip Hoffman. 'The aim is to convert a building, to build a building on property we own to make a space we can open from Thanksgiving until it warms up in March. 26 degrees is really not comfortable being outside. We just need to provide shelter.'
More than a dozen people were at the church getting warm. The center provides a warm meal in the evening and breakfast before they leave the next morning. One volunteer said he was called to help others.
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'I was there. It's been several years ago, been homeless and without a place,' said Michael Davenport. 'We have a son that has addiction. It's just something that our heart is for.'
For Davenport, he is helping people who were like a family to him.
'It makes me feel real good. Me and my wife both do this so she'll be here in a little bit,' Davenport said. 'A lot of these people are family. I mean they're like family. We've known a lot of these people for six years.'
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Hoffman told 6 News they have no issue finding people to volunteer when the warming center is open.
'Blount County has a big heart. They want to do something about this and people have stepped up,' Hoffman said. 'One Christmas we were open four days in a row, because the library was closed. We had 90 people come through to play basketball with them, play board games, feed, bring food and just provide fellowship. It's well received and we don't have any trouble finding volunteers.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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