July 2011

From left: Mary Lou Masters, Alex McManus, Lauren Howland, Sharon Ayers, Katie Stone, and Carly Schnable at the PAR Garden. Photo: Fayette Presbyterian Church.

This year, Vacation Bible School (VBS) at Fayette Presbyterian Church in Fayetteville introduced a homegrown service program for middle-schoolers. (The eighth through twelfth graders were already working as “shepherds” in classes with the younger children.)

Church member Sara Reams, herself a very active church and community volunteer, worked with various local groups to identify and arrange projects for the youngsters. Kelly Gandy, another church member and mom to one of the participants, loaded the youngsters into her van each morning and drove them to and from the project sites. The program, for rising fifth through seventh graders, was attended by Hope Gandy, Lauren Howland, Alex McManus, Mary Lou Masters, Carly Schnable, and Katie Stone (all girls just by chance).

The group helped pack lunches for the Meals on Wheels program of Fayette Senior Services. They visited residents at Cambridge House senior center in Newnan, where they worked on crafts and shared time during the pet therapy session. They cleaned soccer fields and parking lots as part of a “Keep Peachtree City Beautiful” project, and portions of Kiwanis Park for the Fayette County Parks and Recreation Department.

They worked with church member Sharon Ayers, a Fayette Master Gardener, at the Plant a Row for the Hungry Garden in Fayetteville. After harvesting cucumbers, squash, and onions, they delivered part of the produce to Fayette Samaritans. They also delivered the proceeds of a weeklong, VBS-wide food drive to the Fayette Samaritans, as well as helping to shelve the items, fill orders for clients, and sort clothing for the clothes closet.

The program was such a success that VBS Directors Rebecca Stone and Cindy Philips plan to make it a new tradition at the church.