Service 'blitz' sweeps area with acts of kindness

Families and strangers came together Saturday in an areawide community-service project. Forty Days of Community was an outreach program carried out mainly by La Croix Church members.

Based on the teachings of Rick Warren, author of many Christian books including "The Purpose Driven Life," 40 Days of Community picks up where the 40 Days of Purpose left off -- letting people know purpose can be enhanced when they work together.

Participants in this service "blitz" performed chores big and small throughout the area, repairing and winterizing some residents' homes and helping out 911 dispatchers and EMT personnel, Parkview School, East Missouri Action Agency, the Girl Scouts and the Scott City Food Pantry, among others. Altogether, 80 projects were carried out across Southeast Missouri.

La Croix Church member Riley Duncan, 11, decided that sampling homemade cookies and playing checkers with Gerald Palmer were about even when measured on the scale of things worth doing. Duncan, whose grandfather is a resident at the Missouri Veterans Home, is familiar with visiting there. Today was different because he was with his church, visiting residents he didn't know.

"I would do it again. I really enjoyed this. I bet this made them feel really good. We gave them someone to talk to and it gives them some company," he said. He liked seeing the residents' reactions when they saw the cookies. "It gives you a good feeling that you did something nice today."

Duncan's cousin, Justin Pullin, also 11, made friends with Palmer as well, winning one out of four checker games. Palmer, 84, said he used to play pool until he started shaking too much from Parkinson's disease. "It's nice to have a game. To work your brain. The cookies were real great -- excellent -- real homemade."

The McVay family stationed themselves at the Kingsway Drive and Lexington Avenue access of Cape La Croix recreation trail with a wagon and cooler to distribute complimentary water for walkers, bikers, skaters and trail enthusiasts. Heart Walkers Stacy Baker and Sally Hoggard, both of Cape Girardeau, thought it was kind of the family to offer the water.

Since American Heart Association walkers knew they might need some refreshment, many were prepared with their own water bottles. For 5-year-old Hudson McVay, it was disappointing when people on the trail declined his bottled water offer. But he kept trying.

His father, Kevin McVay, said a lot of people were timid when they first offered the bottled water. "The closed container works better in today's society. When they realize we're part of the church, with our yellow T-shirts and all, they're more accepting. This is something we always wanted -- to get involved with a church that gives back to the community."

La Gina McVay said they picked this project because it was the most family oriented. "It's a great opportunity for my boys, 5 and 3, to give back to the community. They can't paint or do some of the other things. It's an awesome thing the church is doing as a whole."

Cape Girardeau Senior Center director Susan McClanahan had 17 volunteers who trimmed the bushes around the center's property, mulched the flower beds with complimentary mulch from neighboring Foeste Nursery, landscaped around the flagpole, painted the exercise room and dug out grass from the horse shoe pits so the pits were again lined with sand. "The sand keeps the horseshoes from bouncing," said Justin Brown of Jackson. Brown learned how to prune from the friends he worked with at the Senior Center, a new skill he felt might be of use at home.

Three women painted the center's exercise room. Nancy Compass signed up for the project right away because painting is a stress reliever for her. Betty Myres signed up for it because of her experience. "I did a lot of painting at home."

Martha Dodson said, "What's important is not the painting but the fellowship. I'd seen Betty before and never met Nancy. But because we spent the morning together, later on I will know these people and it won't just be a hi and bye thing. It's special."

Debbie and Sean Pierce worked at cleaning a van belonging to a resident at Missouri Veterans Home. Sean's dad, Bobby Pierce, a Vietnam War veteran, watched from his wheelchair. He thought they were doing a good job, and when he heard they would wash his chair once they were through, he said, "They don't have to do that."

For Debbie, the day of service was a way of sharing God's love through actions, not words. She hoped that people seeing what they were doing would help them have a better relationship with God. "When others have a better relationship with God I'm at peace with myself. I don't like to see others struggling," she said.

Her son, Robbie Gregory, helped wash about 10 other vehicles. "We're here for our church because we want to serve God and give back," he said.

cpagano@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133