Community Serve Day
Volunteer effort Saturday aims to make a local impact
By Sean Hart
Argus Observer
Sunday, May 10, 2009 1:23 AM PDT
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| The bleachers of the grandstand at the Malheur County Fairgrounds in Ontario will receive a fresh coat of paint Saturday, thanks to volunteers participating in the second annual Community Serve Day, which was established to bring people together to make a positive impact locally. |
ONTARIO — A community is more than just a place. It is characterized by the people who are unified within it.
When a collection of those people come together to improve their community, they can have a far greater effect than anyone alone — at least, that’s the idea behind Community Serve Day.
Groups of individuals from throughout the area will be tackling a number of projects aimed at making a positive local impact Saturday in the second annual volunteer-driven event.
“We had a great response last year and hopefully will this year. We accomplished a lot of good,” James Vogt, pastor at Origins Faith Community and an organizer of Serve Day, said Wednesday.
Members of Origins Faith Community came up with the idea last year, Vogt said, and other churches came together to make the event successful. The project, though, was never intended to be religiously based.
“Even though we’re from a church, it’s not a church event,” Vogt said. “Basically, we’re just bringing down barriers. We want to unite around what we have in common to make our community a better place.”
Last year, 250 volunteers worked on 14 local projects, including painting a house, Serve Day Project Coordinator Sharla Phelps said. Anyone was able to submit projects for consideration, she said, and they were evaluated to determine what impact could be made.
From repainting the grandstand bleachers at the Malheur County Fairgrounds to removing graffiti and “dead cars” from property in Ontario — and a variety of projects in between — Community Serve Day’s organizers hope to visibly improve their community again this year.
People with graffiti or dead cars can contact Phelps, (208) 230-0164, lala10@cableone.net, before the event for free removal.
Serve Day participants will also be collecting food donations during the Apple Blossom Parade at noon Saturday on Main Street in Payette. Patrons are encouraged to bring non-perishable items to the parade for local food pantries.
To get involved, volunteers can preregister online at www.serveday.info, which the organizers said they would prefer, or register between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. Saturday at Four Rivers Cultural Center, 676 S.W. Fifth Ave., Ontario. At least 17 projects will begin locally at 9 a.m.
There is no cost to the volunteers, but they are expected to bring their own lunch.
Ontario Mayor Joe Dominick and City Council member Norm Crume have offered support for Community Serve Day, its organizers said and added they hope it will be supported by other members of the community as well.
“In the next five years, I hope to see this thing explode into something that’s bigger than we can even imagine,” Phelps said. “What a statement we can make. More hands make quicker work.”
