Little hands helping the Denver Rescue Mission
CPCC’s Summit Sunday school class and adult volunteers deliver more than 1,000 food items and serve meal at the Denver Rescue Mission. (Left to right) Carter Almquist, Sam Prosser, Elaina Muterspaugh, Hope Larson, Chris Prosser, Marlayna Prosser, Elizabeth Curtright, Jamie Laraia, Bella Schneider, and Candis Gaerte. Photo by Emily Hibpshman.
By Elizabeth Wood West
After learning a special lesson this spring about community service, the fifth and sixth graders from the Summit Sunday School class at Castle Pines Community Church (CPCC) wanted to apply what they learned and make a difference, no matter how small, in someone else’s life. After further discussion with their Sunday school teachers, Chris Prosser and Candis Gaerte, the kids decided to do a canned food drive for the Denver Rescue Mission.
With a goal of a few hundred food items in mind, they placed a large box in the church’s lobby and solicited church members, school friends, and neighbors. To their amazement, donated items filled the box again and again over the course of one month. The final count was more than 1,000 food items.
The kids loaded up the church bus and delivered their collection to the Denver Rescue Mission in June. They sorted and put away the items, then volunteered to serve dinner to Denver’s homeless people. CPCC’s Children’s Ministry Director Emily Hibpshman said, “It was amazing to see how dedicated the kids were to serving and learning more about the Denver Rescue Mission. The impact that it had on the kids and us as volunteers was wonderful. We are looking forward to being able to do it again!”
The Denver Rescue Mission has been serving the Denver metro area’s poor and needy since 1892, and is Denver’s oldest, full-service Christian charity in the Rocky Mountain region. For information about the Denver Rescue Mission, visit call 303-297-1815 or visit www.denverrescuemission.org. For information about Castle Pines Community Church, call 303-663-9755 or visit www.castlepineschurch.org.
