An Eventful Year of Giving
Courtesy of Shine City Project and YSP Bay Area & Chicago
“2021 was truly an eventful year,” said Jeff Silerio, director of the Shine City Project (SCP) in Las Vegas. “It was great to spend time with people we care about and appreciate, but we’re also grateful for the many volunteers who joined our service projects throughout the year. Together, we put in more than 1,150 volunteer hours and completed 48 service projects,” — nearly one every week.
Despite the pandemic, Unificationists across the U.S., like Silerio, were delighted to make a difference in their communities during the past year through a range of service projects benefiting countless people in need.
“In 2020, everything changed; our service projects were put on hold, and there was uncertainty about when we would be able to see each other in person again,” said Silerio. “We learned to live our lives at home, learned new skills and hobbies, and familiarized ourselves with virtual meetings. But 2021 was different.”
With some ease of restrictions, volunteers hit the ground running.
“For 11 consecutive weeks, we focused on helping with meal services for both residents of the Rescue Mission shelter and our local community,” said Silerio. “We also mixed soil in garden beds, revegetated areas with plants, raised funds for a community garage sale, performed yard work, welcomed visitors to a holiday theme park, and we handed out food at a mobile food pantry. We even had the opportunity to help out at a gala and auction for the Shaquille O'Neal Foundation.”
SCP welcomed familiar faces and connected with new people as well, with many looking to contribute their time and talents to various causes. Partnering with a host of local organizations — including CARP Las Vegas, YSP USA, GPA, Green Our Planet, Ahern Orchard, Harrison House, and Get Outdoors Nevada to name a few — the group was able to make a tremendous impact, particularly during the holidays.
On Dec. 4, SCP volunteered with Opportunity Village, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing enrichment, empowerment, and employment opportunities to people with disabilities. SCP helped staff the nonprofit’s Magical Forest fundraising event, which supports different programs, services, benefits and wages for those with disabilities.
The following week, on Dec. 11, SCP supported The Just One Project to distribute food through its mobile food pantry, which provides and delivers groceries across Southern Nevada to individuals and families experiencing food insecurity. The group went to Jim Bridger Middle School, one of the 13 locations where food is given away every month by The Just One Project.
In other parts of the country, YSP chapters in the Bay Area and Chicago were also hard at work with charitable endeavors.
YSP Chicago partnered with the local CARP chapter at Harper Community College on Dec. 8. The group put together snack bags for people in need at All Saints Lutheran Church in Palatine, Ill. The group wrote positive affirmations on gift bags filled with assorted snacks and decorated bookmarks for the church.
In Oakland, YSP members supported a toy giveaway on Dec. 17 hosted by B.A.S.I.C. Ministry. Volunteers collected more than 60 toys and surpassed $300 in donations to buy toys for kids in need. The gifts were then distributed at Elmhurst Park where there was live music entertainment, food, and a bouncy house for kids.
“The atmosphere was filled with joy from the community coming together,” said a local YSP volunteer. “The kids waited patiently for the moment when they could receive their gifts. And after lots of anticipation, the kids approached in small, excited groups and left with big smiles on their faces... To see the joy and many smiles of families as they were handed gifts was a wonderful and heartwarming experience for all of us. I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
For Silerio and many volunteers, this new year is about more opportunities to give and serve — putting their faith into practice with those they meet.
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