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Summarized by Kent Larsen
Hundreds of Mormon teens volunteering around county
Salisbury NC Post 24Jun00 D1
By Emily Ford: Salisbury Post
SALISBURY, NORTH CAROLINA -- The annual youth conference for several
stakes in North Carolina included a service project Friday afternoon
which found about 50 of the 525 youth attending the conference
working at the American Red Cross. The project was just one of 21
projects at nonprofit agencies in Rowan County, North Carolina.
At the Elizabeth Hanford Dole Chapter of the American Red Cross, the
youth washed 150 cots, stenciled 290 new cots, cleaned the grounds
and washed the Red Cross vehicles. "I've been putting this off for a
month," said the Red Cross' Jim Arnold. "They've done it in three
hours."
Teens in other projects spread mulch along nature trails at Horizon's
Unlimited, painted and did yard work at Overton Elementary and
Salisbury High Schools, and entertained veterans at the Hefner VA
Medical Center, among other things.
Leader Sue Davis said that the LDS Church has a culture that seeks to
help others, "We are very service oriented. It helps them appreciate
what they have and what great joy can come from serving other people."
The service projects also had to be planned, and Davis, along with 23
of the youth, searched for and planned the service projects. Davis
contacted the Salisbury ward and the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce
asking for a list of non-profits that might need help. She then
called each of them to find out what help they needed. Not one of the
groups turned down the help.
"They said, 'What are you willing to do?' I told them, 'We are here
to meet your needs,' " Davis said. "We're doing everything from
painting to picking up litter and weeding and planting. They were
overjoyed to have free labor, especially the schools."
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