Today the Service in Camden group traveled to the most southern tip of Camden to volunteer at The Neighborhood Center.
We were greeted by incredibly open, welcoming, friendly hosts (Michael and Lisa), who broke us up to complete a variety of tasks that help the Neighborhood Center continue serving their neighbors. The three missions of The Neighborhood Center are: 1) to make being a parent easy, 2) to make it difficult to go hungry, and 3) to build a network of good neighbors. Here is how our MFS volunteers helped out:
Carly, Noah, Amanda, Katie, Jess & Hannah:
At The Neighborhood Center in Camden, NJ we painted some walls, filling in areas that were chipped or needed a second coat. Painting over the chipped paint protects the young children from possibly eating lead from the paint left on the wall from before 1978. The new paint makes the interior of a beautiful, old building look clean and welcoming.
Edward, Kevin, Brad, Gaelyn, Isaac & Dylan:
We were assigned to move items out of the “scary pantry” into a room upstairs so that shelves can be constructed in the former in the near future. Included in these items to be moved was a massive black metal cabinet, the moving of which took great amounts of brute force, innovation, and help from one of the staffers at the Community Center. Although tiring, this work was very rewarding, as it will permit the Center to create another room in which to store food. While working, we made sure to follow the one guideline we had been given: “If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right!”
AJ, Billie Rae, Tak, Jordan, Olivier, Sasha
Today, we organized and cleaned the supplies closet and food pantry. It was a difficult task at times, but we were able to do it because we worked together. Our seemingly small job will hopefully make a big difference for the people involved in the center. It will be more efficient, organized and useful, allowing it to be easier to find and distribute food and supplies.
Zach, Kieran, Matthew, David, Adam & Andrew:
We worked outdoors turning soil to prepare the grounds for vegetable gardens. The Neighborhood Center in Camden, N.J. relies on fresh and healthy food to be prepared so they can fulfill one of their three main goals. The center strives to make Camden a city without hunger, and the vegetable garden helps in doing that. After turning the soil, we put new soil on top of the turned soil, so the crops could be planted. Even though it was cold at first, we all warmed up to task, and worked efficiently.
Today the Service in Camden group traveled to the most southern tip of Camden to volunteer at The Neighborhood Center.