On Oct. 30, Potomac Conference staff members volunteered in several locations to connect with and serve the community. Groups volunteered at Bessie Weller Elementary School, Habitat for Humanity Restore and Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.
Bessie Weller is located at the bottom of ‘the lane’ at the conference office, just off Greenville Avenue. The school has 23 classrooms teachers, plus 29 staff members, including specialists, assistants and office staff. Several Potomac groups volunteered at the school.
One group cleared out the ‘outdoor lab,’ an area that a creek runs through with a loop trail. Volunteers cleaned out the creek, cleared branches, dead trees and brush and laid down mulch to give the students a clear and safe place to enjoy nature. Other groups helped tutor students in math, reading and computer skills, organized the reading room, put up a bulletin board and worked cafeteria duty. A final group cleared flower beds of weeds and repainted playground outlines.
The second location staff members visited was Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore. There community members can shop for an/or donate furniture, construction materials and household items. Each year, that organization provides low cost household materials and helps maintain the environment by keeping materials out of landfills. Potomac staff moved large items around the ReStore to better organize the floor space and to prepare for their annual Fire Sale.
The final location was at the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. This facility operates as an emergency food assistance agency and serves more than 114,000 people each month. Last year, the food bank distributed 18 million meals to hungry families across the Blue Ridge. There Potomac staff worked to dissemble, properly mark and repackage 1,200 packs of applesauce to be shipped out to local food banks.
The Potomac Conference exists to make health, disciple-making churches and to reach out into the community for the purpose of maturing in the faith and engaging in God’s mission.
