August 31, 2010 6:08 AM
It is the kind of response you hope to receive when you are part of a major project that helps so many people:
"We heard from so many people that the service project was one of the highlights of their entire conference experience."
Those are the words of Pastor John Lowder, one of the organizers of the "Grace Breaking Through 2010" Family Bible Conference, an event that saw nearly 170 volunteers serve in Grand Rapids. The Bible Conference is an annual event for Grace Gospel Fellowship and draws people from all over the country.
Volunteers served in either three or six-hour shifts and performed a variety of tasks including painting, landscaping, and serving in a food pantry. Volunteers In Service coordinated all of the serving projects at eight locations in Grand Rapids.
August 20, 2010 7:58 AM
Congratulations to all of the "Cycle to Serve" Door Prize winners: One Night at the Airport Hilton-Julie VanVoorst, 4 Grand Rapids Griffins tickets-Dave & Deb Kimball, 4 Whitecaps tickets-Raymond Pater, 2 Children's Museum passes-Allison & Emily Groenenboom and Seth & Nora Ellens, $10 Celebration Cinema Cards-Kelley Tuinenga, Stephanie Tuinenga, and Don & Donna VanderLinde. Cycle to Serve was a great event as nearly $5,000 was raised for Volunteers In Service! Thank you to all who rode or served as a volunteer!
August 4, 2010 6:48 AM
Nearly 100 GFS employees, from their Marketplace division, experienced the joy of serving on Tuesday, August 3, as they were involved in a "Day of Serving" organized by Volunteers In Service. VIS, through the work of Connections Directors Bernita Tuinenga and Debbie Jones, had GFS employees at ten different locations across the city. Volunteers served for several organizations including ICCF, Rays of Hope for Haiti, God's Kitchen, Mel Trotter Ministries, Emerald Meadows, St. John's Home, UCOM, and Burton Elementary.
"Gordon Food Service, which has long recognized and practiced the value of serving and giving back to the community, hopes their Marketplace leaders will continue to be involved in efforts like this," said Doug Redford, Executive Director of VIS.
"Every one who participated had a great story to tell at the end of the day," Redford said. "It was not what they were expecting to do when they began the day. They thought they were going to do something for themselves; they wound up doing something for others. It was a great day."
This marks the second large serving event that VIS has coordinated in the past two weeks following the "Day of Service" by Grace Gospel Fellowship on July 21.
July 30, 2010 5:30 AM
VIS volunteers, those volunteers connected to a serving opportunity through VIS, logged 4,523 hours of service through June of this year. Second quarter (April-June) hours served totaled 2,924, an increase of 55-percent from the first quarter. A total of 231 volunteers served in some capacity during the second quarter.
"While we're encouraged by the numbers, we're more interested in the lives that have been changed and helped through the service of some very dedicated volunteers," said Doug Redford, Executive Director of VIS. "Through volunteer service people are able to start relationships with people they otherwise would not have met. These can be life-changing experiences for everyone involved."
While much has been accomplished in the first half of 2010, Redford says there is much more that can be done.
"With more volunteers we can have more needs being met. The list of needs is almost infinite."
July 27, 2010 10:17 AM
It truly did demonstrate "the love of Christ to people living in the Grand Rapids community." As part of their annual Family Bible Conference, nearly 160 members of Grace Gospel Fellowship participated in a "Day of Service" organized by Volunteers In Service. The volunteers served at a variety of agencies that included UCOM, St. John's Home, D.A. Blodgett, Emerald Meadows, ICCF, Pine Rest, and Garfield Park Neighborhood Association. Volunteers did landscaping, painting, alley clean-up, assisted clients at a food pantry, and spent time with retirees.
"I'm sure it was a day they'll never forget," said VIS Executive Director Doug Redford. "I sensed they really understood how valuable their service was and how much their work impacts the lives of so many. I know the agencies were very pleased with the work they did and with how much that was accomplished."
Volunteers In Service, which enables churches to be Christ's servants in their communities, can help your church develop a service program or assist with a service project. Contact us at Info@visgr.org or call (616) 459-7500.
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