Acollaborative ministry event One Day of Hope will be Saturday, Oct. 17 at the Coffee County Fairgrounds, following the Oct. 10 Grocery Day at Canvas Community Church.

Rev. CJ Thompson, President of One Day of Hope, said this year’s event will look much like previous years with donations that include clothing, hygiene items, medical and dental screenings, family portraits, job and career services and haircuts.

“We are carrying on the tradition of sharing hope,” Thompson said.

Jane Marcrom, wife of the late founder Ray Marcrom, said that area churches come together along with community partners and donors to make the event possible.

“No one church is represented. It is just the body representing Jesus and giving hope through him,” Marcrom said. “It is all one day for Jesus Christ.”

One of the most challenging yet rewarding jobs is working the prayer tent. Those attending the event are able to go through the optional prayer tent and pray with one of the volunteers.

“For the volunteers that’s a very draining place to be in because the stories, the things they ask to be prayed for are a lot. Our community that doesn’t know this level of poverty, the people who need and desires to be better, they need to volunteer and see what it’s all about,” Marcrom said.

Marcrom said that a large majority of the visitors do request prayer.

Canvas Community Church Executive Pastor Shanon Stowe noted that the event is Manchester and Tullahoma working together.

“It’s really beautiful that it’s really countywide,” Stowe said. “It’s not just Manchester centric. It’s wonderful that we can join together as a community and as a county to huge body of people.”

In recent years, the event was expanded into the twoday event, with the grocery day, a drive through food donation event, being held the Saturday before.

Stowe said the number of volunteers for the event is incredible.

“They bring such an excitement to the day. Everyone that’s there, it feels like they really want to be there and they really want to serve their community and love on people and give them hope,” she said.

“And it’s such a privilege to get to interact with those we serve. They are always so excited to be there and to receive the things that are being offered. It can be really life changing for some people to go through the tents and the services offered there. It’s a really special event.”

Marcrom is in charge of the clothing donation area. Guests are given a large bag they can fill with garments.

“Everything is set up like a department store, as best as we can. We have everything sized and marked by size and gender. There are at least two people in each bay to help guide them to what they want,” she said.

Coats and often shoes are provided to those in need.

“My greatest joy is seeing the children put on those new coats – the smiles; they may not even know how to say thank you. But their smiles are just incredible,” Marcrom said.

Marcrom said she is touched at the sight of seeing men break down in gratitude after getting a pair a steel toe boots so they can get a job.

“To see men sit down and cry because they have a pair of boots and can get a job now, that’s pretty incredible to me,” she said.

Thompson added “the ability to give access the day of the event is great, but there is a handful of things that what we give is an ongoing thing. If we can give you something that helps over months to come…that’s the gift that keeps giving.”

The event opens at 9 a.m. Traditionally, a line forms much earlier than that.

Last year Stowe was able to distribute breakfast pastries to those waiting in line. She handed the last one in the boxes to the last person in line.

“It was such an incredible thing. It was so fun to see smiles and the excitement. We had the exact number as the people standing in line. That was a sweet little God wink,” Stowe said.

One Day of Hope began with a discussion in 2011 by the Manchester Ministerial Association. The first event was held in 2012 with the assistance of about eight churches and 25 volunteers. About 2,000 people were served.

In 2025, those numbers have grown to 376 volunteers, 1800 guests and over 40 community partners.