Physical Therapist John Blackburn, Engineer Mark Conn, Chaplin Brian Smith and Clinical Director Rebecca Webb with the new blessing box at Cox Rehab and Sport Medicine located at 700 Cleveland Ave.
COX MONETT:
Cox Engineer Mark Conn took it upon himself to construct a new, custom blessing box at Cox Rehab and Sports Medicine as the older donation box began to deteriorate due to weather and use.
Blessings in abundance
C
ox Monett is spreading blessings throughout the community through Cox Rehab and Sports Medicine located at 700 Cleveland Ave. in Monett. The rehab and sports medicine facility has hosted one of three local blessing boxes for the past several years and may be the first blessing box to appear in Monett thanks to the efforts of local physical therapist John Blackburn. Blessing boxes are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year for community members to donate food or other nonperishable items for residents in need. In return, those who may need something from the box are welcome to open it up and take the donation whenever they can. Recently, the original box placed at the rehab facility by Blackburn in 2016
Story by Melonie Roberts
was replaced with a brand new, custom built box made to last as it serves the community “It’s not my original idea,” Blackburn said. “I saw it on TV a long time ago, and I thought it would be a good idea here because it’s really in keeping with the values here at Cox.” When the first box went up all those years ago, it was a lower kitchen cabinet that Blackburn had found and refurbished. Once he had placed the first blessing box at the rehab center, then Monett High School student Abigail Patton took the blessing box on as a Go CAPS project, working with Blackburn and other community organizations to create a donation schedule that ensures there are always donations available for the box. Blackburn explained that the community partners who supply donations
for the blessing box bring the food and other donation items to the rehab facility, and staff at the facility check the blessing box daily and restock items as needed. “That ensures that there’s always something in the box and somebody can’t come by and clear out all the donations in a day,” he said. The program has worked almost flawlessly since it was conceived, but recently, the original blessing box placed by Blackburn had begun to show the wear and tear of its age. That’s when Cox Engineer Mark Conn stepped in. Over the years, Conn has been responsible for making repairs to the blessing box, and recently, he came to the realization that the box was too worn out to serve. He began scouring his shop at Cox and identified some
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