By Kayley Adams
Youth Board Member, from Corona United Methodist Church
We often find ourselves in some sort of melancholy in the months following our SSP service trip during the summer. An easy way to ameliorate this pain is to participate in one of Sierra Service Project’s year round programs; i.e. Weekend of Service. You get all the aspects of the summer program in just three days.
During the weekend of January 16-18, volunteers from my church (Corona United Methodist Church) and Camarillo United Methodist Church joined to provide service to the neighborhoods of South Los Angeles. We worked in multiple community gardens, painted a transitional home, and repaired stables at Compton Junior Posse.
My work team had the wonderful opportunity to lengthen the roofs of the horse stables at Compton Junior Posse. By doing this we protect the horses from multiple weather conditions, assuring their safety and competence in order for them to earmark in the organizations mission of “Keeping Kids on Horses and Off the Streets”. Because SSP has done a few other projects here in the past; we had the opportunity to observe the handiwork of those before us be put into good use.
Although only having a couple of work days, our little bit of elbow grease resulted in a significant impact in the community. Leaving us humbled by the theme of the weekend:
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” – Mother Theresa
Something to think about during these last few weeks before we head out for the summer.
Editor’s Note: See more photos of Kayley’s Weekend of Service. Email Megan Walsh if your group has dates for a Weekend of Service or Alternative Break during the 2015-2016 season which starts this fall! We offer Weekends of Service in Portland, Vernonia, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and Phoenix and Alternative Breaks in Portland, Vernonia, and Los Angeles.