Church camp goers donate $2,300 to flood victims
July 10, 2019
Vinnie Roberts
On Wednesday, June 26, dozens of Cassville homes and businesses were damaged by flash flooding. In response, the children of Camp SPARK, a summer camp program sponsored by First Baptist Church of Cassville, took recovery matters into their own hands and shifted the focus of their charitable efforts to helping victims of the flood.
According to Jeff Allee, minister of recreation and education for First Baptist Church, the children of Camp SPARK were already collecting money for another worthy cause. When the disaster hit, both the campers and the administration of the church made the decision to divert those funds to a more immediate local charitable cause.
“We originally were collecting money for Operation: Christmas Child,” said Allee. “There’s a special project called the Thousand Box Project that we were going to be a part of. The kids were all excited about that, but then, the flood hit.
“So, [church leadership] started talking and praying about it and talking with the kids about it. We decided to change that and move those funds to disaster relief efforts to people that may have had damage or lost things in the flood.”
Camp SPARK averages about 177 campers a day. Those campers were able to raise approximately $2,300 in offerings. On Thursday, June 27, those funds were presented to the Cassville branch of the Ozark Area Community Action Corporation (OACAC) to aid in buying and distributing cleanup supplies for families affected by the flooding.
According to Allee, the church’s governing body was happy to assist the community in any way that they can. He also remarked on the willingness of the campers to help the community in times of need.
“It’s one of the reasons we exist,” said Allee. “Our job as a church is to minister and take care of the folks here as best we can. We’re fulfilling something that we’re challenged to do. It excites me that the kids saw that as a possibility for this.”
Funds for cleanup supplies are still in use at Cassville’s OACAC center, according to supervisor Gail Reed. For more information on OACAC’s supply funds for families in need during the flood cleanup, contact the center at (417) 847-2140.
Vinnie Roberts
On Wednesday, June 26, dozens of Cassville homes and businesses were damaged by flash flooding. In response, the children of Camp SPARK, a summer camp program sponsored by First Baptist Church of Cassville, took recovery matters into their own hands and shifted the focus of their charitable efforts to helping victims of the flood.
According to Jeff Allee, minister of recreation and education for First Baptist Church, the children of Camp SPARK were already collecting money for another worthy cause. When the disaster hit, both the campers and the administration of the church made the decision to divert those funds to a more immediate local charitable cause.
“We originally were collecting money for Operation: Christmas Child,” said Allee. “There’s a special project called the Thousand Box Project that we were going to be a part of. The kids were all excited about that, but then, the flood hit.
“So, [church leadership] started talking and praying about it and talking with the kids about it. We decided to change that and move those funds to disaster relief efforts to people that may have had damage or lost things in the flood.”
Camp SPARK averages about 177 campers a day. Those campers were able to raise approximately $2,300 in offerings. On Thursday, June 27, those funds were presented to the Cassville branch of the Ozark Area Community Action Corporation (OACAC) to aid in buying and distributing cleanup supplies for families affected by the flooding.
According to Allee, the church’s governing body was happy to assist the community in any way that they can. He also remarked on the willingness of the campers to help the community in times of need.
“It’s one of the reasons we exist,” said Allee. “Our job as a church is to minister and take care of the folks here as best we can. We’re fulfilling something that we’re challenged to do. It excites me that the kids saw that as a possibility for this.”
Funds for cleanup supplies are still in use at Cassville’s OACAC center, according to supervisor Gail Reed. For more information on OACAC’s supply funds for families in need during the flood cleanup, contact the center at (417) 847-2140.