Onward..

Last week we finished up our Picnics in the Park program. It has been a great program enabling us to get to know our neighbors, especially the children in the area. Now, we venture into the world of After School programs. Our church ran one last year which was quality, but lacking in participants. This year we are focused in on the area around us making the program free, and cutting cost by eliminating travel expenses. We already have about 10 kids signed up with more on the way (hopefully). We will be capping the program at 30 kids for the year.

The Fall is always an exciting launching point and with each year that passes, we have more insight into what needs to be done to effectively reach people and offer valuable services to the community. Some of these services have been offered in years past under the community center aspect of the corps, sometimes with minimal results. As we relaunch or refocus some of these ministries with the focus on the neighborhood, I feel that we will see more vitality in these ministries.

Summer feels like it has officially ended (especially with the cold weather) now that the Grand Traverse Family Fest has come and gone. Yesterday from 3-6 we had about 350-400 people in the park for food, games, giveaways, face painting, and more. It was an exhausting ordeal but well worth it. From here on out, there are few big projects and more weekly ongoing activities until Christmas. I have a feeling this year is going to fly by and be more awesome than we anticipated.

I can't promise that we have a whole bunch of cool opportunities, but we do have lots of opportunities that center around the mission and calling of The Salvation Army.