PHOENIX (Mennonite Mission Network)—There were few idle hands at the Mennonite Church USA Convention in Phoenix.
Servant Projects brought out 2,100 volunteers who stepped out of the convention center to experience Phoenix.
Some volunteers washed cars and wheelchairs at a retirement home, and others helped to organize inventory at food banks and thrift stores. Volunteers served at 43 organizations, donating about 42,000 hours over the course of the week.
“This was a great way to work alongside people, both the employees and those being served, from the different nonprofits,” said Arloa Bontrager, director of SOOP and Youth Venture at Mennonite Mission Network, who coordinated the Servant Projects. “We get to learn from them and show them we care.”
For the various nonprofits served during the week, Mennonite volunteers provided extra hands to help regular staff members finish their projects. Many of the organizations expressed their gratitude, commenting on the positive attitudes and outcomes of the volunteers’ work.
“The youth team has come and gone. But they left behind a beautiful, clean patio for the seniors at one of our day centers,” wrote Debbie Donigan, the volunteer program assistant for Benevilla, an organization that helps people live independently. “They also helped clean up orange trees that line our property. They were a wonderful group, and I was happy to see they had fun as well—in spite of the heat!”
Bontrager told the story of one resident at Glencroft, a retirement community affiliated with Mennonite Health Alliance, who came out to ask volunteers washing his apartment windows how much he owed. He was surprised it was free and told them how hard it had been to wash the windows, since his wife used to do it and she had recently died.
“He asked them why they were doing it, and one volunteer responded that ‘we love you and want to share this love with you and the community,’” said Bontrager.
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Mennonite Mission Network, the mission agency of Mennonite Church USA, leads, mobilizes and equips the church to participate in holistic witness to Jesus Christ in a broken world. Media may contact news@mennonitemission.net.
