Free Gas Given By Alexandria Church To 300 Cars Each At 3 Locations

ALEXANDRIA, VA — One day before the Easter holiday, one Alexandria church performed a good deed for hundreds in the community faced with high gas prices.

Alfred Street Baptist Church, a prominent and historic African American church, provided free gas for the first 300 cars each at three locations. The price of gas up to $50 was covered for each car.

"The Bible says be careful how you treat strangers. You never know when you're dealing with an angel," said Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley in a video message. "We have a project at Alfred Street called Hidden Halos, where we just show up and want to bless people, because you never know if they're an angel."

The three locations for Saturday's giveaway were Royal Farms at 3300 Forestville Road in District Heights, Maryland; Royal Farms at 6210 Allentown Road in Camp Springs, Maryland, and Exxon at 6261 Little River Turnpike in Alexandria, Virginia. Wesley himself was at the District Heights station to assist.

The act of kindness came as drivers pay higher-than-usual gas prices amid other impacts of inflation. Maryland drivers are paying an average of $3.921 per gallon for gas, according to AAA. The state's 30-day gas tax holiday ended after Saturday, bringing back the 36-cent tax to the pumps. AAA reports Virginia's gas price average is $3.936 per gallon, and there has been no action on Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin's proposal for a 90-day gas tax holiday.