Day of Service 2010

Stake: Memphis Stake

From left to right: Memphis Stake President Steven Dorius, stands with John and Ann Buxton with St. John's Food Pantry and Brother Daryl Tanner, Day of Service committee chair.

Community Partners: Donated to St. John's Food Bank
Organization Served: St. John's Food Bank which was founded by St. John's Methodist Church
Influencers: Brother Daryl Tanner led our stake efforts and worked with Ann Buxton at the St. John's Food Pantry to find out what their needs were.
Total people involved: N/A (Every ward in our stake.)
Total volunteer hours: N/A

After speaking with St. John’s Food Pantry, volunteer organizers learned that the pantry was in need of food, especially high-protein products. Young women in the Memphis 2nd Ward made boxes for collection, and then each ward worked to collect items. On the morning of the Day of Service, church volunteers were able to hand over 13 boxes with more than 600 cans of food. The pantry uses this food to help feed Memphians who are in need. 

John and Ann Buxton with St. John's Food Pantry stand with donations from Day of Service.

Joe Williams, center, helps carry food donated to St. John's Food Pantry at the 2010 Day of Service in Memphis.

Volunteers helped stock St. John's Food Pantry during Memphis' 2010 Day of Service.

Contact Person: rennis

Stake: Memphis Stake

Day of Service volunteers in Memphis cleaned the gardens and grounds surrounding the Church Health Center.

Community Partners: Clean Memphis and City Beautiful to benefit the Church Health Center Church members worked with Clean Memphis, which also partners with City Beautiful, to clean up the area in and around the Church Health Center. Gardens and grounds of the Church Health Center were also weeded and prepared for planting.
Organization Served: Church Health Center - The Church Health Center seeks to reclaim the Church’s biblical commitment to care for bodies and spirits. Its ministries provide health care for the poor and promote healthy bodies and spirits for all.
Influencers: Brother Daryl Tanner led our stake efforts. Work was coordinated with Janet Boscarino, director of Clean Memphis. Clean Memphis, which wants to make Memphis the cleanest city in the country, provided garbage bags and support. Clean Memphis also coordinated with the city to have the collected litter picked up. Brother Tanner also met with Butch Odom, director of faith community outreach and facilities at the Church Health Center, to help plan the work that needed to be done.
Total people involved: 88
Total volunteer hours: 308

Because of severe weather on our original Day of Service, this portion of our projects was rescheduled for May 22. Volunteers gathered at the Church Health Center and after a brief kick-off meeting got to work cleaning the area. Volunteers cleaned trash and debris from the surrounding streets. They also worked in the Meditation Garden, raking, weeding and trimming flower beds. Some of the garden area was also prepared for planting vegetables. A wall around the garden area was also painted.

The Church Health Center not only cares for the sick that are uninsured, but also has a Wellness Center that teaches healthy habits, such as exercise and cooking nutritious meals. They often use food from the garden to teach and help those in need. Patients and patrons of the Church Health Center benefit from the garden area.
 

Bishop Doug Hipp helps to clean the streets near the Church Health Center.

Whitney Logan, 11, helps to paint a wall surrounding the gardens at the Church Health Center.

Cameron Faulkner picks up trash to clean up the streets near the Church Health Center.

Contact Person: rennis

Stake: Memphis Stake

Rebecca Helmer spreads spackle on the wall of a home in Memphis.

Community Partners: Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association - MIFA
Religious Partners:None Organization Served: MIFA and Memphis residents who benefit from MIFA's services.
Influencers: Daryl Tanner, LDS committee chair, worked with leaders at MIFA to determine what work was needed and how volunteers could help.
Total people involved: 30
Total volunteer hours: 105

The Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association - MIFA - identified elderly Memphis residents whose homes where in need of repair. Day of Service volunteers patched, pulled paper and repaired the needed areas. Volunteers also worked at the MIFA offices to organize a supply closet that housed tools and supplies. That group also built shelves and organized a storage shed that housed wood and yard equipment. The service helped MIFA continue to fulfill its mission - which is to change the community by helping change lives through programs, which sustain the independence of seniors, stabilize and transform families in crisis, and equip urban teens for success.

Ethan Helmer and Steven Walters work on the roof of a home of an elderly resident who receives support from MIFA in Memphis.

Tommy Wright III, a family member of the resident being served, and Elder Nield take measurements of a ceiling to be repaired.

Carla Tanner, Jordan Sandridge (standing on the counter), Brittnie Sandridge and Tiffany Sandridge remove old wallpaper.

Contact Person: rennis