Today the weather cooperated with us so we got a full day of work in! We started off at Off the Streets Toledo, a five year organization that supports neighbors experiencing homelessness secure permit housing with security deposit assistances & furniture. Today we loaded up a truck with furniture and delivered them to two different homes. It was a such a blessing to be invited into these homes & be a small part of providing our neighbors a new start. Here is one of our youth’s experience of our morning:
“This morning we went to off the street Toledo and we helped deliver furniture to people with new homes. We delivered to 2 different homes today. But one of the people really stood out to me because of his story. His name is Jaymar and he told us that he went to prison for 7 years and got out around 7 weeks ago. And he runs an organization for at risk youth. After we moved in all the furniture we prayed and he preached to us and it was really inspiring.”
-Braden Longest
Our afternoon brought us to H.O.O.V.E.S. (Healing Of Our Veterans Equine Services). Their acreages house 35 horses, including mini horses, goats, pigs, chickens, a handful of cabins, and one main house. The property is used for week-long retreats with veterans & first responders experiencing PTSD to in order to turn “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder into Post Traumatic Growth”. While there we got to tour the space, spend time petting the animals, and the best part, of course, weeding! Hear about it first hand from our youth:
“My experience at Hooves was so fun! I loved being able to help out with the organization and see all the horses. I think that what they are doing is so important to veterans who are struggling. It was just the simple task of pulling weeds, but I am so glad i could help in a small way for such a great organization.”
-Kendall Kerr
Geist Christian Youth Service-Learning Trip Blog 