On Friday, September 10, ValpoLife kicked off a new initiative called Closed for Community Interaction. We closed down the office for two hours and spent time doing some good in the community. Here is what we did!
Robyn: Well, the boss man who loves promoting good people doing good things, told all of us staff to stop working and go help good people doing good things. Hmmm where to go? I thought of places I could help, places that would have a fun story, or at the very least an absurd story of me trying to do something I was not really trained to do. All good for fun and laughs, and probably would have helped someone, but being in a sales position at ValpoLife/PortageLife, I feared they would think I had ulterior motives. (I will let the rest of the team, who steer away from sales, help those guys.) So I chose a school.
Victory Christian Academy in Valparaiso to be exact. The kids were scurrying today to make popcorn leis and signs for the Popcorn Festival parade, others were practicing for the big soccer tournament the school is hosting tomorrow, and others were making banners and decorations in preparation for spirit week next week. I was asked to help make the popcorn leis. Now, this was definitely not a hard task but it was a time consuming task. I think it took me 15 minutes to make the first one! Pretty sad huh? This was NOT because I ate more than I threaded (as I was told it was leftover from last weeks volleyball game concessions.) It was because as get closer to 40, my eyesight is not what it used to be and threading a needle is a darn near impossible task, plus I had to throw a lot of popcorn away because I bloodied it from continually poking myself with the needle.
I enjoyed seeing these kids get into the spirit of some friendly competition between the grades for decorating the hallways and seeing young people work together, having fun.
If you have not heard of Victory Christian Academy, it is an accredited non-denominational Christian school serving Pre-K through 12th grade, with 2 campuses in Valparaiso. For more information contact the Elementary Campus at 219-548-8803.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the boss-man, Chris Mahlmann, for encouraging each of us to help in the community we all love so much. It was fun!
Karin: When Chris first proposed this idea, I immediately thought of my church, GracePoint. This past Sunday, GracePoint celebrated their one year birthday! If you haven’t heard of GracePoint, you can find out more about them on their website, but they are a church unlike any other I’ve ever been to. We are truly a family and it’s been a cool experience to watch the church grow and continue to grow.
In preparation for the birthday celebration, I went up to the “hub” (as they call their office) and helped wrap CDs that were given away as “presents’ during the Sunday worship service. It was a small act of service but it added to the greater picture, the celebration of all that has happened and all that we have to look forward to in the future.
If you haven’t heard yet, GracePoint is sponsoring Lemon:AID, which is happening this Saturday, September 18th. There will be lemonade stands all over Valpo selling lemonade for $1, and then a big concert at the courthouse in the evening. All of the money will go overseas to help build wells in Africa. $1 can provide 1 year of clean water for 1 African.
I was glad to have this opportunity to help further a cause I believe in. I encourage all of you to donate a couple hours of your time to something you care about. Help others, spread the good!
Maureen: I met the residents at the Sterling House in Valparaiso on Friday and helped the staff pick up dishes during lunch hour. It was really great to interact with them and help the staff and hopefully make things easier for them that day!