Weeks 1-2
We have had a great first two weeks of our Heat Respite Program. We had 1,898 entries for our program, including almost 700 total volunteer hours. We spent most of the first two weeks under an Excessive Heat Warning, with a nearby sign reading 125 degrees on Tuesday the 20th! Obviously, we’ve had our “speedbumps”, but we got through them, never stopping to strive to be In The City 4 Good and always working towards the Heat Respite Program’s mission to provide a space for heat relief while building community through the sharing of community resources, meals, water, and ourselves in a place of being, belonging, and becoming.
Week at a glance for Week Two: June 19th – June 23rd
I would like to thank the following persons for volunteering their time and hard work almost every day of the past two weeks:
Marlene Haller
Frank Soto
Moses Elder
Charles Mack
Lori Thompson
Stephanie A.
Roy Larkin
Tarvies Mayweather
We also several groups either donate food for lunches as well as volunteer their time with us. Thank yous go out to:
First UCC
Peace Lutheran Church
Next Generation Service Corp (NGSC) students through the Public Service Academy in the ASU College of Public Service & Community Solutions along with active duty service men and women from Luke Air Force Base. (For more information on this group, please see the upcoming July Grapevine. There were approximately 75 volunteers on site on Friday, 6/16!)
Boys Hope Girls Hope
Grace Lutheran’s own Youth Group
The program is using up to 3 to 4 cases of water every two hours, and I would like to thank some very large water donors recently. They include:
Mountain View Lutheran Church
City of Phoenix Heat Relief Network
New Covenant Lutheran Church
Also, thank you to St. Andrews Lutheran Church for donating snack items several times over the past several weeks.
If you interesting in volunteering or donating to the Heat Respite Program, please contact Kim Davidson, Outreach Coordinator, at outreach@graceinthecity.com or at 602-651-1182 to discuss opportunities available for you and/or a group! Thank you and God Bless.