Jenks football coach Allan Trimble has seen the community rally around him as he battles ALS, but on Wednesday night, it was his chance to give back.
The Jenks community has gone through the loss of loved ones and tough ordeals.
Head Football coach Allan Trimble, who's dealing with his own battle with ALS, has made it his mission to help others.
"I'm going to ... hopefully be a good example to those people to deal with crisis in the right way and in a spiritual fashion," Trimble said.
Wednesday night, Jenks hosted a "Hope is Alive" event.
"We got different community leaders that are battling disease and loss of family members, we got students here who are dealing with tough things. We're going to hopefully try and help them through these tough times," said Trimble.
After so many had helped him through “Trimble Strong” events, he feels it's his turn to help inspire. "The message of hope is this, as long as you're breathing, as long as you're upright and moving around. God's got a purpose for you. Having been the recipient of that kind of hope that other people gave me when I was down and out, I need to reciprocate that and give it back to others," Trimble said.
People who came to the Hope is Alive event were encouraged to write notes and put them in envelopes for the family's dealing with grief.
It's all part of a community effort to help those in need.
Bonnie Rogers lost her husband after a 3-and-a-half-year battle with cancer last year.
"To hear him speak so passionately about his faith and his family and just his whole life and stand for what you believe in, inspires me to do the same thing,” Rogers said, "It's important in those times when you're suffering to see somebody like him, who's in the same position, he's suffering too, yet he wants to help other people and wants to spread a message that people need to hear."
So, with this gathering of hope, it's the community's hope that a strong bond will see them turn the page for brighter days to come
"…life's journey is going to be tough, but we're going to go through it together," Trimble said.
