SHELBY — LifeWise Shelby was able to provide a Bible this year to all 330 students it serves.
Emily King, LifeWise Shelby’s program director, said generous donations made it possible.
She described the moment a Bible was given to a second-grade student who had recently been unable to locate his own.
“It was the most pure and precious moment because it was like time slowed down and he received his Bible and he just sat down immediately, opened it up and didn’t care about what chaos was going on around him,” King said.
This specific story, and others like it, were shared during LifeWise Shelby’s recent “Evening of Impact” event, which took place March 17 at the Shelby Dream Center.
LifeWise Shelby is directed by King and includes five board members, four teachers and 11 volunteers. She said there are currently 330 Shelby youth in kindergarten through eighth grade involved with the program.
Those students helped serve a meal to those in attendance March 17, providing an opportunity to learn about server etiquette, King said.
“They (students) were the highlight of the evening,” the director said. “They plated, served and got drinks for everybody, just interacting with everybody.”
After each of the five board members spoke, King said there was a group prayer session.
“All around I’d say it was a great evening. I was very thankful,” she said.
LifeWise Shelby operates out of the Shelby Dream Center, which was formerly Auburn Elementary School. Shelby City Schools sold former elementary school buildings Auburn and Dowds to Core Community Church in 2021 during a public auction.
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Open Source: What is the Shelby Dream Center?
The Shelby Dream Center is a volunteer-driven organization which works toward meeting the needs of the community and local schools.
LifeWise Shelby currently uses four classrooms in the Dream Center, King said.
Moving forward, the director hopes to have an open house event at the beginning of the 2026-2027 school year for the community to get a glimpse into the program.
“I feel like our LifeWise is the best kept secret in some ways and it really doesn’t need to be,” she said. “It’s powerful and it’s awesome what’s happening, what the Lord is doing through this program.”