LDS Youth Honored for Volunteer Service
Janene Nielsen
Over 150 youth from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hurst, Texas, answered the call to serve during Great American Clean-up 2016, earning the group the President’s Volunteer Service Award. This honor is given to encourage a life of service through presidential gratitude and national recognition.
Giving up a day of their spring break, the teens from far north Fort Worth, Saginaw, Hurst, Watauga, and North Richland Hills partnered with the city of Southlake to make some serious improvements at Bob Jones Nature Center.
“We spent our spring break doing service because we believe that by serving our fellow men on this earth, we are serving God. Instead of taking the week off to enjoy to ourselves, we thought it a better idea to give back to our community,” said Emily Johnson, age 16, of Saginaw. “There is a special feeling of happiness that only comes when doing service, and I personally felt that while cleaning, shoveling, and working in that park I was making a difference in the world.”
Claire Growald, age 14, of North Richland Hills agrees, “While others may think that taking time off from doing your own thing to serve is boring, it was fun and a good leading experience for me. My group and I got to know each other and serve the community, which I think is one of the greatest activities.”
Donning the yellow vests of the Mormon Helping Hands program, the youth—under the direction of community equestrian volunteers as well as the City of Southlake’s Park Crew—moved horse pens, repaired washed out trails and cleared brush all the way from the Bob Jones Nature Center to Lake Grapevine. In addition, they painted restrooms and helped to improve the accessibility for all users by installing 200 cubic feet of decomposed granite.
The City of Southlake estimates 336 total man hours of service were donated saving the City over $8,000 in labor costs.
The Mormon Helping Hands program was established in 1998 as a means to bring together members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their neighbors to provide community service in times of natural disasters and emergencies, as well as to partner with government and nonprofit organizations to support and improve the communities where they live.
Pictured in the featured image are Hurst Stake Young Men’s President Tommy Hamilton, Stake Young Women’s President Abby Hickson, Stake Young Women’s 2nd Counselor Cassaundra Webb, youth representative Samantha Webb and Young Men’s High Council Representative Ben Thatcher.
