Serving others is a good vacation for Florida church group
Beach United Methodist Church performs community service in Albany
Staff Photo: Alan Mauldin
By Alan Mauldin
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ALBANY — For a group of Florida middle-school students, spending a week in muggy southwest Georgia cleaning and sprucing up a community in another state was a perfect summer trip.
Three vans from Beach United Methodist Church in Jacksonville Beach spread out across Albany during the week painting a resident’s house, trimming crape myrtles at Southwest Georgia Regional Airport and performing yard work for residents, among other chores.
A group of about 10 girls weeded and picked up debris at Radium Springs Gardens on Thursday. It was the 11th year the church has been involved in community projects in Albany.
“I’ve always loved serving and helping my church,” said Riley Chatman, 12. “My parents have always gone. I always wanted to go on one as a child.”
The group, which arrived Sunday, is wrapping up its work here. In addition to the cleaning efforts, they also visited a nursing home, and a fourth group is conducting a Vacation Bible School class.
“It’s been great,” said Elle Steiger, 12. “It’s good to give back and help out the community.”
Before getting started, the girls at Radium Springs admired the clear blue water bubbling out of the largest underground spring on the Flint River system. Other groups were working at two other parks in the city.
“It’s very pretty here.” Steiger said. “We got the best of the parks today.”
About 40 of the students, boys and girls, were out on Thursday, said Tracy Machinski, who was chaperoning the group at Radium Springs.
Machinski said the slots for the annual trip to Albany are filled each year on the first day of sign-up.
“I hope the lasting impression is: The people of Albany are loved, not just by us but by God,” she said. “It’s great for kids this age to be given an opportunity to serve. Frequently, I think, our youth are not given the credit that is due.
“They are serving just like adults. That’s important.”
Judy Bowles, executive director of Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful, which arranged the schedule and locations for the trip, said the church makes a noticeable impact on the community.
“It’s just awesome to see these volunteers in Albany,” she said. “They’re enduring our heat and they’re enduring our gnats and they’re learning at a young age to give back to the community.”
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