BARTOW, Fla. — For a Polk County woman, two tragic family deaths were followed by the inspiration to honor their memories.
Kathy Lewis is this week’s Everyday Hero.
Inside Bartow’s First Providence Baptist Church, the oldest black church in the county, is the heavenly apparel clothing ministry.
What You Need To Know
- Kathy Lewis created Heavenly Apparel at her Polk County church
- Clothing ministry honors Lewis' daughters, who both died during the past few years
- Want to nominate an Everyday Hero? Click here
And there we meet Lewis, a mother who had experienced the death of two children.
Lewis said her oldest daughter Tiffany was a free spirit and who dealt with cardiac issues most of her life. In October 2017, Tiffany died from cardiac arrest.
“Tamaria, my second daughter, had diabetes and developed kidney disease and she passed away in October of ’19.”
When Lewis decided it was time to give her girls’ clothes to others who could use them, her pastor Deryl Jones had a suggestion.
“Why don’t we take your kids things and start a clothing ministry and just seed the clothing ministry with those articles of clothing?” Jones asked.
Lewis took comfort from his idea and asked life-long friend Mary Parrish to help build it.
“I was excited because Kathy needed me,” Parrish said. “At that moment she needed some help, some comforting as she started to donate her daughter’s clothing.”
The closet has been a great success with some taking what they need and other donating.
And for Lewis a way to honor the memory of those she so loved.