Advent Cares day of service gives back to the community

Strengthening our local communities is an important part of the Thrivent mission. Our local chapter was honored to once again support the Advent Cares day of service, which is a perfect example of this mission in action.

The tradition began last year, as Advent United Methodist Church celebrated their 30th anniversary, with 54 volunteers giving back to their local communities through hands-on projects. This year, the church wanted to expand their reach and double the number of volunteers – and they did. Over 100 volunteers worked on service projects across Eagan and the surrounding communities on August 23.

Volunteers at Advent helped to run a free document shredding event open to the public. The documents were shredded by Veteran Shredding, a firm dedicated to keeping individual’s business confidential. “Reaching out into the community to help others is just a really good feeling,” said Sheryl Buss, Advent Cares co-chair who organized the document shredding project. “What I personally appreciate is having the shred it truck in our parking lot. With all the identity theft going on, people were very grateful to have this opportunity, right in their town, to have personal documents shredded. Sometimes it’s not the big acts of kindness that mean the most, but the smaller ways people can help others that mean the most.”

Volunteers spread out from the church to work at 14 different locations, providing assistance wherever it was needed. Projects included labeling library books at a local elementary school, clearing bushes and landscaping at the home of a disabled veteran, and conducting worship services at Clare Bridge and The Commons on Marice senior living complexes in Eagan.

At Feed My Starving Children in Eagan, a group helped to pack 121 boxes, which will feed 26,300 people or 72 kids for one year. Those boxes will be delivered to Haiti, Philippines and Nicaragua. One young volunteer described the experience as life-changing.

At Glacier Hills Elementary School, a team spread mulch and planted flowers. Two teams of window washers made windows sparkle at Good Samaritan Society nursing home in Inver Grove Heights and the Open Door food shelf in Eagan. Young volunteers and their parents helped bag dry dog and cat food at Advent UMC Saturday morning. Those were then delivered to the Open Door. At 360 Communities Lewis House in Eagan, a group of children and adult volunteers organized a carnival for children at the shelter. At Northview Elementary, a team trimmed bushes and picked up trash in anticipation of students’ arrival next week.

“Advent cares about our friends, neighbors and our community and on Aug. 23 we went out to prove it,” said Deb Trainer, Advent Cares co-chair. “At the end of that day there were a lot of happy people, a lot of excited people, a lot of grateful people, and that was just the volunteers. It was a day of outreach that reached right back to Advent.”

For more information about Advent United Methodist Church of Eagan, located at 3945 Lexington Avenue South, visit www.advent-umc.com.

The Northern Dakota County Chapter of Thrivent Financial supports many organizations and activities that help our communities thrive. For more information about our chapter, visit www.LutheransOnline.com/NorthernDakotaCountyChapter.