“Visualize a building surrounded by dirt and mud,” says Rod Malloy, chief operations officer of Mission Solano Rescue Mission in Fairfield, Calif. That’s what the mission’s Bridge to Life Center dorm for homeless veterans looked like before volunteers from Valley Church in Vacaville, Calif., spruced up the grounds in observance of Earth Day.
Volunteers from the church planted a total of about 50 trees, plants and shrubs at the center. The church raised $8,000 in donations for the makeover.
In addition to the landscaping project, a youth group from Valley Church prepared breakfast for Bridge to Life residents and spent the night outside of the center to better understand homelessness. Since Mission Solano opened in 1998, Valley Church volunteers have served the faith-based organization in a variety of capacities. But Malloy says residents—believers and nonbelievers alike—especially appreciate the Earth Day outreach.
“The impact of the beautification, the tree planting—it’s really life-giving,” he says. “It gives the residents the pride of ownership. It’s definitely a morale boost for everybody in the veterans’ building.”
Valley Church Teaching and Equipping Pastor Raleigh Galgan says church volunteers sought “to honor the Creator and be good stewards of the earth” by landscaping Bridge to Life.
Church volunteers lived out the Gospel with their work, and their efforts made a lasting impression on Bridge to Life residents, Chief Executive Director Ronald Marlette says. “The people see them really making a difference,” he says.
“A group like Valley Church could have just written a check, but they’re helping us physically,” Marlette says. “They came on campus and spent a day-and-a-half doing the work of the Gospel. In my opinion, that’s what makes the difference in our communities.” —Nadra Kareem Nittle
ONLINE: ValleyChurch.com
