Report on CAM visit at Gates Community Church By Mary Lou Hazelwood

I visited the Gates Community Church location and the Christian Aid Ministries community of volunteers.  I spoke with Coordinator Joe Nicholes and Secretary Marlene Miller and visited with several women who volunteer with them for food preparation and serving. Several pictures were taken at the church.

The group has about 24 residents for month-long service and has an additional 15 volunteers weekly.  The volunteers come from all over the United States and pay all of their own expenses.  The resident volunteers live in trailers, and the group is self-sufficient.  They provide their own food and serve breakfast and dinner at the Gates Church and provide box lunches for the crews.  They even have a shower trailer and have 3 washers and dryers for laundry services.  They are very well established in their community living. The women said they did not need any assistance in food items or help with preparation or serving.

I offered our many, many thanks and appreciation for their endeavors and expressed our gratefulness for all their work.  They were here from August to October and returned in January for work until May.  Their services are all volunteer based without payment for services or transportation and housing.

I offered any assistance for their subsistence while in residence.  They do not need any assistance at this time for food service or laundry, etc. The persons provide their own hygiene products and personal needs. 

SCWRF can help them with the following items:

Paper products, including paper plates, napkins, cups – hot and cold, and plastic spoons.  They would also accept toilet paper for the church’s toilet paper and could also use “1 ply” toilet paper for the trailers.  We need to plan to provide these items soon.