ShareFest 08

Robin and I worked at the 5th Annual Boulder ShareFest this weekend. Friends of AFMWA might recall that last year at this time I had my own personal ShareFest. This year with so many Boulder area churches involved (35 at last count), some churches like ours worked for other service organizations than just the Boulder Valley School District.

Cornerstone worked for RSVP of Boulder County. RSVP is a national program, part of Senior Corps and under the same umbrella as VISTA, Peace Corps and Americorps. Actually started by Tricky Dick in the 70's. RSVP in Boulder serves Senior Citizens in county who still live at home and who might need fix-it jobs or someone to buy groceries for them etc.

I think RSVP nominated about 30 homes for our church to help with things like painting, yard work etc. We also had a few homes in the neighborhood near our church nominated through the neighborhood association and ones nominated by people in our church of people who were disabled, single moms and elderly.

Robin and I worked with 6 other people for a home in Boulder just a block off of Pearl Street. One couple we worked with - Chad & Katie - are going with me to South Africa in July. We did yard work for a lady named Meta Moldenhour. Meta is 93 years old and is currently in a nursing care with a congestive heart failure. But she still lives in this house where she has lived since 1940. Some friends from her church were taking care of it for her but they are in their 70's themselves. It had gotten out of control.

So all morning we pulled weeds, removed rocks and random metal pipes, trimmed trees, mowed and weed whacked. We finished around lunchtime and had a little picnic together on the freshly cut front lawn. Then we loaded up this truck of debris - adding into the mix 20+ cinder blocks - and then a few of us unloaded that in a dumpster at the church.

Good day fun day.

I actually am looking at volunteering for RSVP though their website says they take volunteers 55 and older.