Some folks in Blount County wanted to bring alcohol sales to the dry county, and though Mark Towns didn’t know exactly what to do about it, he knew he had to do something.
So he called the Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP).
“We started at ground zero in our fight against alcohol sales — we didn’t know anything. Joe Godfrey (ALCAP executive director) helped us get up and running and did a lot for us. He’s been here four times at least in the last 40 days, and he’s e-mailed or called right back any time we needed help or had a legal question,” said Towns, a deacon at First Baptist Church, Oneonta, in Friendship Baptist Association.
A little direction from ALCAP turned into a full-fledged campaign called Keep Blount County Special that unleashed signs, direct mailings and voter registration efforts aimed at defeating the proposal. It’s one of many situations where ALCAP has been a driving force behind an anti-gambling or anti-alcohol sales campaign.
ALCAP also monitored 116 bills during this year’s legislative session, including 50 that dealt with alcohol and other drugs, as well as 15 that dealt with gambling expansion, all of which were stopped.
“Whenever the Legislature is in session, you can count upon ALCAP’s presence,” said Seth Hammett, speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives. “Many lawmakers seek their counsel while bills are created and amended in the legislative process. We especially appreciate their ministry to us and our families as we work on behalf of the citizens we represent.”
ALCAP’s ministry also spreads into Alabama’s schools, where 34 speakers reached 108,320 students with presentations.
John Faile, director of the Tuscaloosa Juvenile Detention Center, said ALCAP speakers help fill in some gaps in his classrooms, teaching on some “very important” topics such as drugs and personal relationships.
“These kids don’t know how to get along with each other — they think violence is the only way to handle things,” Faile said. “The ALCAP program really teaches them a lot about dealing with each other.”
Godfrey says ALCAP wouldn’t exist were it not for the churches of Alabama. “We are totally dependent on the churches’ support financially but also spiritually — their prayer support is vital,” he said. “I shudder to think of what would be going on if we didn’t have the prayer cover of Christians and churches all over the state of Alabama.”
For more information, call ALCAP at 205-985-9062.
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