Service with a smile from a community that cares
Rev. Allen Snider talks with Brenda Carroll working at Washington Street Project
JOE DAN BOYD
Special Correspondent
It was a day when everything, and nearly everyone, worked!
The first Annual Winnsboro Community Service Day (WCSD), June 23, attracted 90 eager volunteers to a 6:00 a.m. breakfast in Wesley Hall at First UMC, Winnsboro, where this idea had blossomed, months earlier, in the vision of pastor, Rev. Allen Snider.
First UMC men cooked breakfast for the volunteers, serving them pancakes, patty sausage, fruit, juice and hot coffee, then cleaned up in time for lunch, which was donated by several local businesses including Pizza Inn, Subway, Bodacious Barbecue, The Outpost and Brookshire's Grocery.
Rev. Snider says this idea was patterned after the Great Days of Service program in Sherman, where he previously served as a pastor. But after more than two years in Winnsboro, Rev. Snider believes Winnsboro has a great heart for community service. What's more, he says this kind of service is a part of what members of churches and civic organizations are called to do.
One of Rev. Snider's leaflets carried this suggestion for potential WCSD volunteers: "Tune up your scraper, paint brush, work shoes, visiting shoes, apron, hammer, saw, pots and pans, lawn mower, weed-eater, edger or whatever tools you will need."
Among the WCSD's volunteers are Mayor Carolyn Jones, City Manager Ronny Knight and Councilman Pat Patrick, all of whom also worship at First UMC, Winnsboro.
Mayor Jones called herself the WCSD "water girl," as she transported bottled water, donated by the nearby Ozarka plant, to all WCSD project sites.
A host of volunteers from other area churches, businesses and civic organizations, including such local celebrities as Winnsboro Superintendent of Schools Mark Bosold, painted, weeded, mowed, pruned, hammered, nailed, power-washed, ramped, cooked, served, picked up trash and were constantly on top of anything that needed doing on this very special day.
Lives were enriched and joy overflowed as work finally got underway on WCSD projects, all of which had materialized during a series of Planning Team and Project Coordinator meetings that began in late February.
The projects included work at a local Women’s Drug Rehabilitation Center, the Northeast Texas Child Advocacy Center and several private homes.
In addition, four crews conducted a four-quadrant city sweep, using trucks and trailers to pick up and dispose of anything that was left outside for the pre-arranged pickup.
Rev. Snider, brought his own tools to help with pre-paint scraping at the home of Johnnie Rhoten, whose niece, Mickey Stewart, is a First UMC member. Among others helping out on the project were Superintendent Bosold; Greg Duffey, one of the pastors at Winnsboro’s CME congregation, Hynson Chapel; and Brenda Carroll, an employee of Peoples Telephone Company.
Afterwards, Rhoten had this to say: "Words are not enough to say a mere 'thank you’ for all you've done for me. What a blessing! God Bless!"
Rev. Snider offered an overall summary for the Day: "We built two wheelchair ramps. Two houses got painted. Trash was picked up all over town. Morgan's Mercy Mansion, the Women's drug rehab center, got a ceiling in the washroom, the gutters got cleaned, and some trash got hauled away. Important repairs were done to two houses. Some plumbing got fixed. Dead and dangerous trees were cut down, brush was cleared out, lawns were leaned up, landscaping was done. And prayers made a difference." In addition to the sweat equity projects, WCSD also sponsored a community-wide food drive to restock local food pantries.
"Grants and donations from Winnsboro Presbyterian Hospital, Keller's Creamery, local churches and individuals funded the projects and covered our expenses, which included, among other things, a special umbrella insurance policy for the day," explains Rev. Snider. "More than 20 local churches, agencies and organizations were represented.
"We were a part of something wonderfully right on this Day," adds Rev. Snider. "I thank God I was there. I thank God that Methodists, Baptists, Christians, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, churches, government agencies and institutions did not matter so much as people working together to do the good we were able to do in the community.
"The Ministerial Alliance of Winnsboro, the Mayor, the City Administrator and representatives of the Chamber of Commerce all supported this effort,” he emphasized.
Best of all, Rev. Snider expects a re-run of the event next year, and the next, and the next, for at least as long as he remains in Winnsboro: "We hope that it grows into a multiple day event, similar to the one in Sherman."
"Of course there is much more that needs doing in the Winnsboro area, concedes Rev. Snider. "But we hope this has raised awareness, and it's just a beginning.
"We started small our first time out," he concludes. "But, by working together to help each other, we made Winnsboro a little better for all of us because we made living better for some of us."
Michael Monk and Romy Knight volunteered to repair front porch for a Winnboro resident.
