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Volunteer Coordinator/garden expert, Michael Bowen, teaching kids on a
field trip from NRS Summer Camp about aquaponic and hydroponic gardening |
This summer at CSM, we hosted 37 volunteer groups and 1,250 volunteers in just two months! The time was a great example of how we continue to steward God's gifts of human capital at CSM throughout our city. From disaster relief and school cleanups in Fairfield alongside Restoration Academy and Urban Hope Church; to outreach, kid's camp, managing our gardens, and a building makeover in Inglenook at True Vine Church; to the launch of our Cooking Well program and teaching Aquaponics garden in East Lake at New Rising Star; to the rebuilding and restoration of houses and churches all over the city—we have had our hands full over the last couple of months. Talk about impact!
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Michael sharing how CSM impacts communities
with the Gospel and giving project instructions
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CSM helped to create, staff and/or assist with five different kids' camps throughout the city at True Vine Church (Inglenook/North Birmingham), Bethel Baptist (Collegeville), New Rising Star (East Lake), Urban Hope (Fairfield), and Antioch Baptist (Pratt City). With the help of volunteers, interns, and several church serve-days, we were able to assist our church partners in reaching around 400 kids this summer for educational purposes (such as improving math skills) and teaching of the Gospel!
All of this innovation and impact for our city involved the hard work and big hearts of 10
summer interns and 1,250 volunteers. Thousands of lives were impacted with the Gospel of Jesus Christ through our relationships with pastors, partnerships with churches, and projects in communities from Fairfield to East Lake and everywhere in between! Just like we do with a donation of food or financial resource, at CSM we choose to take the helping hands and willing hearts of our volunteers to connect them with needs that have been identified by our local ministry partners in each of the communities that they serve.
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| All ten amazing summer interns with Rhonda Marshall (c) |
God continues to amaze us with the small part that we get to play in His story here in our "Magic City" and He continues to grant us opportunities to proclaim His Gospel, teach others about our love and values, and to promote the work of our partners around Birmingham that are doing great "boots on the ground" work for Christ and digging into the messiness of relationships in their homes and neighboring communities. Thank you so much to everyone who played a part in God's great work this summer in Birmingham and to all of those who partner with and continue to connect with CSM. Your help allows us to do what we do in answering the call that God has put on each of our lives!
