Churches partner to 'do good' in the community
Saturday, April 16, was a gloriously sunny and warm morning - perfect weather for more than 150 volunteers from First Presbyterian and Southminster Presbyterian Churches in Arlington Heights to spread out into the community to help others. It was the seventh annual Service Day for First Presbyterian Church, and for a second year, First Presbyterian partnered with Southminster to make an even bigger difference. The two churches' combined forces served 10 separate sites from six community organizations as well as residents of two local senior-living communities.
Service Day began as usual, with volunteers gathering at First Presbyterian Church at 8 am, clad in red Service Day T-shirts. By 8:30 a.m., the volunteers had separated into 10 teams of people, each with a mix of volunteers from both churches. The teams then set out, in groups ranging from 12 to 18 volunteers, to clean, organize, repair, paint, weed, rake, mulch and otherwise spruce up buildings, property and homes affiliated with or served by Journeys: The Road Home, WINGS, Little City, Clearbrook, Shelter, Inc. and the Arlington Heights Senior Center. One team gathered at Southminster Church to work on a spring craft for residents of Arlington Heights senior-living communities at Church Creek and The Moorings.
Team captain Fernando Egea of First Presbyterian led a group of 21 at Journeys, who changed light bulbs, organized donated clothing and food, cleaned out a supply closet and artfully arranged a display of photos of all the PADS overnight shelter sites affiliated with Journeys. A photo of First Presbyterian was among them.
"I was able to witness, firsthand, what it meant to my team to give and care for others. We may not have been able to see the faces of the homeless people who came in Monday morning, but I am sure there were smiles of appreciation," said Egea, who is a Journeys board member.
The members of the other teams were also greatly impacted by the difference they were able to make through a single half day of hard work. Team captain Ed Gudonis of Southminster led a team of 29 to visit four homes affiliated with Little City in Palatine, where they painted and cleaned inside and took on yard cleanup work outside. At one home, the team painted two bedrooms and a large hallway with 20-foot ceilings. The paint color, selected by the residents, was bright and cheerful, bringing a fresh spring look to the building.
Chuck Cooper of First Presbyterian, led a group of 15 adults and youth at the Arlington Heights Senior Center. Undaunted by a little spilled paint, they set to work with gusto on the roughly 1,700 square feet of hallway wall to be painted.
"Everyone pitched in to do what was needed, and we completed and touched up the entire hallway up to a height of 10 feet or more, exceeding expectations for the day," reported Cooper.
Shawn Erikson of Southminster led a team of 18 enthusiastic workers to produce 120 decorative centerpieces to give to residents of Church Creek and The Moorings.
"Before we knew it, we were out of flowers to put in the centerpieces. We were done in record time," said Erikson.
Team captain Gary McClung of First Presbyterian led a team of 15 volunteers who spent a productive morning at the WINGS Logistics Center in Elk Grove Village. The team was charged with sorting many bags of donated clothing.
"It was fun to work together, and by the end of our shift we had classified and sorted thousands of donated items," McClung said.
Keith North of Southminister led a group of 18 volunteers at a Shelter group home, where they did extensive yard work: cutting, trimming, raking and bagging yard waste.
Haven McClung of First Presbyterian split her 27 volunteers into two groups. Seven adults and eight children went to a Clearbrook group home, where they spread mulch, cleaned windows inside and out and swept the porch and driveway. Inside, they cleaned the laundry room, kitchen, garage, living room and bathrooms. Next, the team enjoyed singing songs with the residents. Twelve adults went to the Clearbrook Commons, where 77 adults live. They helped the residents with activities such as games and crafts.
Jessica Thompson, a representative of Clearbrook, said, "I want to thank you and the other volunteers for what you did for our guys. Thank you so much for your kindness."
"Service Day is a highlight of spring," said the Rev. Alex Lang, pastor at First Presbyterian. "Partnering with Southminster is a great way to build relationships and do even more good in the community."
Plans are currently under way for First Presbyterian and Southminster to work together on Service Day again next year. First Presbyterian Church is at 302 N. Dunton Ave. (www.fpcah.org). Southminster Presbyterian Church is at 916 E. Central Rd. (www.spcah.org).