Churches partner to do good in the community
On Saturday, May 6, more than 120 volunteers from First Presbyterian and Southminster Presbyterian churches in Arlington Heights spread out into the community to help others.
This is the third year the two churches have partnered to make a difference in the community. The two churches served at 10 separate sites from seven community organizations, as well as two local senior-living communities.
Service Day began with volunteers gathering at First Presbyterian Church at 8 a.m., clad in red Service Day T-shirts and buoyed by a prayer from the Rev. David Carlton from Southminster. The groups headed out at 8:30 a.m. to their assigned sites around the area.
The teams, ranging from 8 to 18 volunteers per group, worked to clean, organize, repair, paint, weed, garden, mulch and spruce up buildings, properties, and homes.
The organizations that were served were Journeys | The Road Home, WINGS, Little City, Clearbrook, Shelter, Inc., the Arlington Heights Senior Center, and the Barrington Youth and Family Services Center in Barrington.
One team also gathered at Southminster Church to work on a spring craft for residents of Arlington Heights senior-living communities at Church Creek and The Moorings. This team was led by Shawn Erikson of Southminster.
Team captain Fernando Egea of First Presbyterian led 17 volunteers at Journeys | The Road Home. The group separated into four smaller teams to organize a storage POD, clean and organize the food pantry, sort through a closet removing seasonal clothing, and sorting additional donated items.
Another team, led by Sandy Pifer of Southminster, had 10 volunteers who worked on an outside garden for a Shelter, Inc. home. The team turned over borders, planted flowers, weeded and planted a vegetable garden filled with tomatoes, peppers and beans. They also constructed a new outdoor bench.
Ed Gudonis and Bob Miles led their team of volunteers in painting several rooms at the Barrington Youth and Family Services site in downtown Barrington, a new site added this year.
Other team captains leading volunteers at Little City and Shelter, Inc. sites included Paul Bourke, Keith North, and John Erickson of Southminster.
"Service Day continues to be a highlight of the spring," said First Presbyterian's Alex Lang. "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., and Southminster Presbyterian Church is at 916 E. Central Road.
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