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| Huskies in front of North Birmingham house they painted in one afternoon! |
The University of Connecticut was our first volunteer team of 2017, sending a team of 55 college students looking to escape the cold weather and accomplish a full week of service on the side! UCONN has been a great partner to CSM over the last three years and has increased their involvement with us more and more each year. This year, we had the opportunity to work with them for three days and on a number of different projects. The biggest projects included: cleaning and organizing our old work shop (which houses our construction supplies and equipment) into a functional manner; painting and preparing our new work-shop for our new woodworking ministry; and also painting an entire house for Bethel Baptist Church, our ministry partners in Collegeville.
As they have every year, these students came with a will to work hard and with hearts that were eager to learn about Birmingham’s history, poverty’s effect on inner-city communities, and how Christian Service Mission finds solutions that last. Michael Bowen led the team and members of the CSM staff interacted with them throughout the week. These students left a great impact on our city, but they were also impacted in many ways by their time serving alongside CSM as well. We are always amazed by all that is accomplished during their time here. Thanks to the Huskies for another great year, and we look forward to seeing them again next year!
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| Group picture after a Civil Rights session at the historical Bethel Baptist Church |
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Tracy and Norman wrap up the session with practical application
for effective and sustainable Community Development |
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UCONN students gather at the spot of the bombing of Pastor Shuttlesworth's
house next door to the church |
