Today, my family and I volunteered at Serve Visalia. Neighborhood Church started a community centered ministry a few years ago that focuses on serving our local communities. Serve Visalia is a concerted effort that helps the community with graffiti removal, tree planting, feeding the homeless, fire hydrant repainting, and decorating local elementary schools to help motivate the students as they begin STAR testing to name a few. My family and I chose to help decorate Goshen Elementary School. We helped put together gift baskets for all the students participating in STAR testing. Each student received a gift basket that included candy, fruit snacks, pencils, and a notepad. We also helped design and paint posters that would eventually be hung in the student classrooms. Each poster had an encouraging message aimed at motivating the students to do their best while taking the STAR test. We also hung banners down the halls and decorated the teacher’s lounge.
It was very important for me to have my kids participate because, as the spiritual leader of my home, I wanted to show my children that they can serve God in many ways other than attending church on Sunday. Several years ago, I made a commitment to help my family grow in their faith by serving others in need. I wanted their lives to take on a much greater significance. Helping others has become part of our lives and Serve Visalia is a great way to do that with friends and family. We usually try to make it fun by randomly choosing the project we will be helping with. My sons write the projects available on pieces of paper and then they place them into a hat to draw. We never know exactly where we will be serving however; it is a great way to inject some fun and camaraderie among the family.
The most amazing part of the experience for me was watching my kids enjoy themselves as they were painting, drawing, gluing, taping, coloring, hanging, and stapling! When we were finished I asked them how they felt about their day and what they felt they accomplished. They all agreed that they wanted to bring a sense of community spirit to Goshen Elementary School. They also wanted the students to see that people truly care about them and are interested in their success.
After Goshen Elementary we decided to pay a visit and help a group of friends that decided to help senior citizens and people with disabilities with chores around their homes and to also collect usable clothing and non-perishables for the needy. WOW! What an experience. We had several groups of people doing various jobs to help people in need. All involved some type of job around their homes. We did everything from raking leaves, mowing lawns, trimmed trees and bushes, cleaned a dryer vent, fixed a mailbox, and just made their yards look fantastic. When it was all said and done, the residents that we helped were practically speechless. They couldn't thank us enough. They hoped that we would continue the tradition next year. All the volunteers were excited about helping and even though we came away tired and sore, we felt a significant sense of accomplishment. The overwhelming feeling that we accomplished all of those tasks, however small; it made a big difference in the lives of our neighbors. It was truly a wonderful feeling. Plus, the added bonus was that we collected over a trailer full of items that we were able to donate to our local shelter and food bank. The response was phenomenal.
My family and I will continue the annual Serve Visalia tradition as long as we possibly can. We look forward to it every year and it feeds and encourages us for many months after the fact. I encourage all families to serve together in order to grow as a family. I am thankful every day that my church is part of such an amazing ministry.