Brad and Robin Bannister created the nonprofit Drew’s Plots in Chillicothe after being blessed by an anonymous donor who paid for their oldest son Drew’s burial plot when he died in a car accident in Florida in 2013. The organization holds an annual fundraiser in the spring so they can help others during similar times of grief and loss. (Photo courtesy of the Bannister family)

After an anonymous donor paid for their son’s burial plot during one of the worst moments of their lives, a Chillicothe family has felt called to do the same for others.

“Our community really came together and another family blessed us, so in turn the Lord put it on our hearts to do something to pay it forward,” said Brad Bannister, who with his wife, Robin, started Drew’s Plots to help others bury their loved ones after their son’s death five years ago.

The nonprofit organization is named for their son, Drew Bannister, who died in a car accident in Florida on March 13, 2013. The 28-year-old had been camping in the area with friends and was a passenger in the car. The wreck also killed the driver and another passenger, both friends of his.

Besides the overwhelming grief the family experienced from the loss, bringing their son’s body home to be buried in Chillicothe was “an enormous challenge and financial hardship,” according to the organization’s website at www.drewsplots.com.

“We had just gone to City Hall and paid for the plot and the opening and closing fees, and then the city clerk called us back about 20 minutes later and said a local family had covered all those costs, so they gave us that money back,” Brad Bannister said.

The idea for Drew’s Plots eventually grew, and the Bannisters began purchasing plots near where their son is buried in the Chillicothe City Cemetery. They look to a Bible verse, Galatians 6:2, which states “Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ,” for inspiration.

“We thought initially it would just be in Chillicothe, but we’ve worked with people from Galesburg, Bloomington, Springfield, Sycamore and Peoria,” Brad said. “We’ve helped (families of ) people who have died from suicide to murder to overdose to a drowning to a car wreck. Most of the time I don’t even ask what happened, but lots of people will share it.”

So far Drew’s Plots has helped families bury loved ones ranging in age from a 6-day-old baby to an 80-year-old grandmother. “There’s no pattern, there’s nothing common,” Brad said. “We never know who our next call is going to be.”

Drew’s Plots also has begun donating urns to families that choose cremation rather than burial.

The nonprofit group Drew’s Plots, run by Brad and Robin Bannister, has purchased burial plots near the grave of their son, Drew, in the Chillicothe City Cemetery to help other families who are faced with burying a loved one. Drew died at 28 in a car accident in Florida five years ago. (Photo by Elise Zwicky/ for Chronicle Media)

“We’ve discovered in our journey that a lot of people nowadays really don’t have the money for plots and burials, so they’re turning to cremation more often. It’s a less expensive way to do things,” Robin Bannister said.

There aren’t any specific requirements necessary to receive assistance, with Brad noting, “It’s on a case-by-case basis what the family needs and how we can help.”

The first family to benefit from Drew’s Plots in 2014 is still overwhelmed by the group’s generosity and assistance at an extremely difficult time in their lives.

“I can’t imagine going through what I and my family did without their assistance,” said Chillicothe resident Mark Smith, whose 17-year-old daughter, Danielle, died in a car accident in Peoria in December 2014.

While Smith had known of the Bannisters, he hadn’t heard of Drew’s Plots and was shocked and humbled when the family called him after his daughter’s death.

“They had heard of our situation and reached out to ask if they could offer the plot and the opening and closing fees, and it just absolutely blessed our lives with easing that burden. I didn’t even know them personally. It’s mind blowing the compassion they have,” Smith said. “A parent or any family member shouldn’t ever have to experience that, but if and when that does happen it’s so wonderful to know that there are people that care and are willing to help and share that burden.”

Smith now volunteers at Drew’s Plots’ annual fundraiser called Spring Loose held  at Three Sisters Park. Planning is already underway for next year’s Spring Loose, which will take place on April 6, 2019.

The fundraiser features food, music and raffles, as well something new each year. Events have included a motorcycle run, drone racing and a rock hunt in the woods to find painted rocks hidden by the WTP Rocks Kindness group.

The Bannister siblings created a life-sized photo of their late brother, Drew, to have him at the wedding of his youngest sister, Faith. From left are his siblings Faith, Levi, (Drew), Jordan and Ivy, as well as Faith’s husband, Scott, and Jordan’s wife, Kourtney. The siblings are all involved in one way or another with Drew’s Plots, a nonprofit group their parents formed in Drew’s memory to help give people a funeral plot or urn in times of need. (Photo courtesy of the Bannister family)

“We’re also attempting each year to try to set a world record cake walk, and everybody enjoys that,” Brad said

The Bannisters stress that Drew’s Plots couldn’t exist without the strong community support they receive. “We give all the credit to the Lord,” Brad said. “It’s just what we’re directed to do. And that’s how Drew lived his life. He just shared what he had and wasn’t worried about money. He might have only $2 in his pocket, and if somebody needed a dollar, he’d give it to them and not think twice about how he was going to make it through the night.”

Drew, the oldest of the Bannisters’ five children, had attended Nashville Auto Diesel College and was known to accept a 12-pack of beer as payment to fix someone’s car if they were short on money.

“He touched a lot of people all over the place, and we had no idea how many people he knew in different states and different places,” Brad said. “He didn’t chase the dream of material things.”

Their son is never far from their thoughts when they reach out to help others. “When I take a call from someone in that situation, it seems like I may cry and they cry, and it brings Drew back to the surface every time,” Brad said.

For more information about Drew’s Plots or to make a donation to the cause, visit the group’s Facebook page or website at www.drewsplots.com. The group will also pay the transfer fee for anyone wishing to donate a burial plot.

—- In times of grief, a family steps up to ease burdens —–