MARYSVILLE — It’s a volunteer campaign with a trendy name and a simple message of faith and service.
“iheart: love your city.”
More than 500 volunteers from The Grove Church in Marysville participated in the 2016 iheart effort. It’s the fifth year the church has helped around Marysville. This year, they expanded the volunteer work to Stanwood, Arlington, Everett, Lake Stevens and Tulalip.
Between Aug. 2 and Aug. 6, up to 300 volunteers a day helped paint, plant, pick up and scrub at schools, libraries, parks and other locations where families gather. They worked at the Tulalip Boys and Girls Club, replaced signs in Lake Stevens, cleaned up and painted at schools in Everett and painted the libraries in Arlington and Stanwood.
“We provide manpower, which is a lot of the expense for these cities and schools,” said Jen Ervig, assistant to pastor Andrew Muñoz, who came up with the idea for iheart. “They supply the materials, but we bring our own tools. A lot of cities or schools have projects they’ve wanted to get done forever.”
While adults and teens helped with the labor, younger kids from the church volunteered at traveling carnivals throughout the week. They ran games and activities for other children and families. The largest carnival, at Shoultes Elementary in Marysville, drew more than 400 kids and parents.
The kids who ran the carnivals didn’t play the games. They were there to learn the value of service and make sure other people had fun, Ervig said.
“We need to teach them early on to serve in their communities,” she said.
New dates are expected soon for next summer’s iheart week so people can start planning. They don’t have to attend the church to help out. People interested in volunteering can go to grove.church/iheart for more information. Locals also can nominate projects for next year.
The work is more than volunteering. It’s an at-home mission trip, Ervig said. Instead of traveling for missionary service, people do work in their own communities. Many volunteers take the entire week off and make it a family vacation of sorts, she said.
“The whole goal is showing love to the community,” Ervig said. “It’s love without strings attached.”
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
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