By Guest Blogger Amber T. Harris
Are you looking for opportunities to serve that are safe and fulfilling for your kids, your kids and their friends, and maybe even your families? SPARK wants to work with you to design a project that shares peace and rekindles kindness to ALL. We can design an experience that fulfills your passion towards a specific cause and ultimately works toward making a positive impact on the community.
SPARK designs and manages service experiences for the community and with the community. SPARK’s passion is to create opportunities for service for all generations. It’s great when people who share the same passion for a cause come together and serve. SPARK works with local organizations and sacred spaces to fan the flame for a just and thriving community. Some people ask, “Can we design a project around that cause and can it look like this?” The answer is yes! As SPARK’s Founder, I enjoy being creative and working with community members to design a project that serves those in need, as well as fills the hearts of those serving. SPARK is working with girl and boy scout troops, school clubs, community councils, youth groups and all generations wanting to serve. We’ve found a way to serve safely through outdoor opportunities, socially distanced, and virtual opportunities in the midst of 2020’s pandemic.
The year 2020 has been difficult for everyone on the globe. SPARK shares a message that we are all light. At times our light seems dim. For some, this year has been difficult to let our lights shine. We need each other. We must fan each other’s flame. It only takes a spark to get something great going. When our sparks come together imagine what can be done in our communities!
While SPARK designs and manages projects year-round, there is a real heartbeat for week-long faith-based service experiences in the summer. Amber works with groups who want to travel to and serve in Winston-Salem, but she also works with local groups to provide new experiences and perspectives around caring for our neighbors. These weeks look like service during the daytime hours, sharing meals with neighbors, engaging in meaningful relationships with new friends, evening devotion and community activities. For groups traveling to Winston-Salem there is lodging at a local church or venue. For local groups, the opportunity to lodge at a new-to-you place is available, but there is also space to stay at home and still experience a SPARKsummer. Read more here!
If you’re looking for a service project for a few hours, a day, weekend and/or summer SPARK is excited to work with you! SPARK partners with local organizations to ensure that kindness is shared with ALL. Many projects that SPARK designs are to help spark the great work of other local organizations. We handle all of the logistics of a project. Many times organizations need projects to be done in order to serve their community more fully. SPARK works with the organization and assembles a team to meet the need.
Some of SPARK’s Fall & Winter 2020 service experiences:
- A local high school men’s basketball team doing outdoors service in the Northwoods Neighborhood, which is working to provide housing for our city’s homeless neighbors who are medically compromised.
- A local girl scout troop serving outdoors at Burkhead UMC digging and planting liriope outside of the sanctuary.
- An outdoor landscaping opportunity for young families to serve together at a local church.
- Virtual and hands-on opportunities partnering with Love Out Loud’s “30 Days of Serving” working with local organizations that do incredible work! A few examples are: drop-off donation opportunities to help fill local food pantries with shelf-stable food, supply the WSFCS Educator Warehouse with items for teachers to shop from, and collect winter wear for a local coat closet.
Let’s serve together! You can visit SPARK’s website at spark-community.org and follow us on Facebook at SPARKcommunityws. and Instagram at SPARKcommunityws.
Read about more non-profits and ways to volunteer in our other “Doing Good Things” blogs here!
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