Inspired by Oprah's Big Give, which aired on ABC last spring, more than 60 "contestants" at Grace Fellowship of North Augusta competed to give "big" to the community.
Grace's Big Give was broken into three teams that had to out-give one another to help someone in the community Saturday.
There was no $1 million prize to the contest winner, just the countless lives touched by the generosity of the congregation.
Event organizer Leanne Gurley said she was looking for ideas to increase the church's outreach focus.
The idea came to her while she was watching Oprah Winfrey's show in April.
"That's what the church was called to do," she said. "Everybody in our church has been participating in some form."
Leaders were appointed for each team, and the teams chose community projects they wanted to tackle.
"The team leaders have really just taken the ball and run with it," she said.
Team Purple, led by Harold Hodge, built 50 beds and two 6-foot sections of cabinets for the Southeastern Firefighters Burn Foundation's Chavis House.
Hodge said the team wanted to do something for the foundation's house because it shelters families of burn victims and offers meals free of charge.
"I think that's one of the most awesome things I've heard of," he said.
In addition, the team grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for the families for lunch and served them a spaghetti dinner in the evening.
Hodge said that as a result of this event, the church will now provide meals for Chavis House families once a month.
Team Green, made up of children and college-age members, held a flag-football tournament at Harrison-Caver Park in Clearwater. Entry fees for the tournament were 30 canned goods per team to donate to Golden Harvest Food Bank.
The team also collected for Books for Troops, which sends books to soldiers overseas, and it helped a 97-year-old neighbor of the church with yard and home maintenance.
The third team, Team Red, held a yard sale Saturday for a family in Bath whose mobile home was destroyed by the tornado that ripped through the area in March.
The team plans to help the family raise enough money to replace their home.
After the yard sale, the team visited the elderly at National Health Care in North Augusta.
Church member Diana Hamilton said she wanted to be a part of more than one team. She helped at the yard sale, which earned more than $500, and then went to the Chavis House. Her husband led the flag football group.
Hamilton said she was overwhelmed by the generosity of church members and others in the community in serving the needy. At the yard sale, Hamilton said, people were donating extra money to help their cause.
Items left over were donated to Community Ministry of North Augusta.
In the end, each team was a winner. Hamilton said that it would be hard to decide who touched more lives or who was the most giving and that a winner was not selected.
Gurley said the project went well, surpassing expectations.
"It's just kind of gone bigger than we thought it would the first time around," she said.
Reach Lisa Kaylor at lisa.kaylor@northaugustatoday.com.
