Summer of Service

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young women serving

Photographs courtesy of Marcia Marshall

Young women in one Michigan ward decided to take things up a notch with regard to providing service. They chose to focus their activities on service projects during the entire summer, calling it the “Summer of Service,” and they completed 11 projects in all. Their activities included babysitting, making blueberry jam for new members in the ward, packing food at the bishops’ storehouse, scraping wallpaper in a member’s home, picking up garbage at a local playground, and more. “I thought it would be exhausting,” says Ann M., “but it was really fun!”

While the young women certainly helped plenty of people in their ward, they also looked for others to serve. For one service project, they ran a cupcake walk as part of an annual fund-raising event that provides inner-city school children with free school supplies. “It felt good to help people outside the Church,” says Sara V.

The young women learned to love service and are still on the lookout for more service opportunities. “It was one of the most memorable and life-changing experiences for me spiritually,” says Ashley J.