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Update: Faith in Action Xtreme
By Mary Jo McNeill
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As summer in San Diego begins, Faith in Action Xtreme efforts are ramping up to full speed! Churches throughout the county are engaging in five of San Diego’s greatest needs: Foster Care, Tutoring, Mentoring, Elder Care and Military. Here are a few updates from each area of impact:
Foster Care
What’s happening now: Doors continue to open for volunteer teams to serve in group homes in San Diego. Students from Oregon and Arizona have painted rooms, tended gardens and cleaned kitchens; it’s all about serving kids in the foster care system and the adults who take care of them.
Coming up: Opportunities for local churches to help by providing respite care for foster parents, and organizing group activities for foster children.
Tutoring
What’s happening now: Tutors are already working throughout San Diego County, giving an hour each week to read with first, second and third grade students.
Coming up: Local churches are working on strategies to serve schools in their neighborhoods, including providing school supplies and teacher care packages. Some churches have also expressed interest in establishing an after-school tutoring program for local kids.
Mentoring
What’s happening now: God has been so faithful to provide connections with existing mentoring organizations, and with government officials who believe children and youth in San Diego need adults who can encourage and support them.
Coming up: Projects like assisting Travis Stocking, who mentors kids through his Gladiator Boxing Club. The club will move to a new location this summer, and local churches and incoming volunteers will have the opportunity to help Travis refurbish the space so that more kids can be mentored.
Elder Care
What’s happening now: The Faith in Action Xtreme team is working with local officials to identify seniors who could use help from nearby churches. Volunteers can serve by visiting individuals, helping with home improvement projects, or transporting seniors to/from appointments.
Coming up: Opportunities to “adopt” senior centers, engaging on a long-term basis and developing relationships individual seniors and care workers.
Military
What’s happening now: Volunteers recently planted a prayer garden at South Mesa Chapel on Camp Pendleton, which houses the largest concentration of military personnel in the world. Chaplain Mark Diconti hopes the garden will be a reminder to the 60,000 people who live on the base that God cares about each of them and desires a personal relationship with them.
Coming up: Local churches will partner with visiting volunteer teams to host Vacation Bible Schools on Camp Pendelton.
For more information about Faith in Action Xtreme, and how you can get involved, visit www.visionsandiego.com/xtreme or call 1.877.817.4777.
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