Twenty-three middle school students and five chaperones spent April 23-26 volunteering with ministries in Philadelphia that assist the homeless, low-income families, and people in recovery, as part of a missions trip organized by the Center for Student Missions (CSM).
The team spent time at the Whosoever Gospel Rescue Mission, where they helped sort clothing donations for its thrift shop, working alongside men in the Mission’s recovery program. The team also worked with the Hands of Hope ministry, packing over 500 bagged lunches and helping distribute some of them to the homeless on the streets in Philadelphia’s Museum District. In lower Germantown, the missions team assisted the Friends of Germantown non-profit with a street beautification project, doing trash and leaf clean-up. On their final day of service, the team members volunteered at City Team Ministries, a ministry for men in recovery and low-income mothers, and at the Inglis House, a community of people who utilize wheelchairs. At the Inglis House, the team enjoyed getting to know the residents as they played games and sang music together.
“It was so wonderful to see such a large group of our middle school students choose to spend part of their spring break being the hands and feet of Jesus,” said Chief School Administrator Karen Oblen, who was one of the trip chaperones. “They have true hearts of service and this experience helped emphasize the important message that God calls all of us to serve the poor and needy in our communities.”
The students who participated in the missions trip were: Jake DeNick, Maddie DeNick, Rebecca DiMaio, Tommy Ellison, Jackson Gayeski, Sam Glancey, Alex Holmstrom, Grace Johnson, Manny Johnson, Moges Johnson, Sophia Johnson, Hunter Jorgenson, Samuel Lilley, Alli Lushina, Paige Noble, Tiana Purdy-Phillips, Dylan Reilly, Haven Sanchez, Adam Schlundt, Allie Schlundt, Taylor Sutton, Makayla Tomlinson, and Yariah Wilkens. In addition to Mrs. Oblen, the chaperones were faculty member Lisa Dye, school parent Tom Ellison, and faculty member Grant Miller and his wife, Minelva.
