Cypress Wesleyan Church

What is ServeFest?
ServeFest is an annual event uniting churches in the greater Columbus area to meet some of the deep needs in our community.  On Saturday, October 3, 2009, hundreds of people from area churches will put feet to their faith with one goal in mind -- to demonstrate the love of Christ to our city!

Focusing on inner-city neighborhoods, parks, schools, the elderly, homeless shelters and MORE, ServeFest Columbus will provide a bridge for churches to connect with needs in our urban communities and throughout Columbus.  Individuals and groups of all ages are invited to pick a project and spend the day (a few hours, actually) serving the community through ServeFest Columbus.

How to Get Involved
1.  In your small group, or as a family, decide upon a project (ideas are listed below, but be creative --anything is
     fair game! You can also visit www.city-vision.org, www.servefestcolumbus.com, www.firstlink.org, or
     www.lowerlights.org for contacts)

2.  Fill out the Project Proposal form (print off a pdf version here) to organize your thoughts and develop a plan

3.  Make a copy of the Proposal and submit to Laurie Hurd at the church office (by mail: P.O. Box 360, Galloway,
    OH 43119 or by fax: (614) 878-2174).  Deadline is September 20 so that t-shirts can be ordered.

4. Be sure everyone is on board, purchase any supplies needed, and get ready for October 3!

5. On October 3 (or before, if you make arrangements with Laurie), check in at the Cypress Cafe from 9-10:00am
    to collect your group's t-shirts ($5 each to be paid when picked up - checks payable to Cypress) and to sign
    the ServeFest liability release form.

6.  Head out and SERVE!!!

Project Ideas (these are just a few -- the possibilities are endless)

- Choose particular streets in the Village at Galloway Ridge neighborhood (right across the street from the
  church) and replace any garage floodlights that may be out -- would require someone to scope out the streets at
  night-time when the lights are on as they are sensored, would require the purchase of bulbs needed, and could
  be completed very quickly on the day of the 3rd.  Recommended that you leave a printed note on the home-
  owner's door explaining that the bulbs were replaced as part of ServeFest Columbus, including the web address
  www.servefestcolumbus.com.

- Contact Faith Mission's volunteer director, Julian Simmons, jsimmons@lssco.org or (614) 224-6617, to see
  what projects may be completed for their ministry -- painting, repair work, gift-wrapping, sorting donations, etc.

- Adopt a classroom of a local school and find out the needs of the class by conversing with the teacher.  As a
  group you could help with a class project, purchase needed supplies, make a gift basket for the teacher, or
  create special "help-packets" for each of the students.

- Identify someone you know who has been ill (battling cancer, had recent surgery, etc.) and discover his/her
  needs.  Choose to help do yardwork, undertake a home fix-it project, prepare a week's worth of meals, or
  anything else helpful to the family.

- Call your city offices and ask about people in CODE VIOLATION - find a homeowner who is elderly or needy and
  may just need assistance.  Mow their grass, paint the porch, haul off trash, or whatever needs to be done to
  bring them up to code.

- Find a complex of low-income apartments then go door-to-door with items like lightbulbs, toilet paper, smoke
  alarm batteries, small bags of staple groceries, and offer to bless them.

- Go to an area where a bunch of people hang out (strip mall, local park, etc.) and give away bottles of water,
  snack bags of M&Ms, or some other treat just to offer them some refreshment.  (If at a mall, make sure to give
  treats to the store employees as well.) Affix stickers to the items which read, "You have just been served! --
 ServeFest Columbus 2009"

- Choose a litter-ridden area of town and attack it with love!  Clean up all the garbage you can find as a favor to
  those who live there, and to help preserve our ecosystem.

- Go to a local grocery/department store and, for a few hours, help round up carts from the parking lot and push
  them toward the store entrance.  (Don't push them inside, however, as that would cross the bounds of liability)
  If the store is near a housing or apartment complex, go in search of stray carts and return them to the store.

- Throw an early tailgating party for your cul-de-sac or at a local park, giving out free hot dogs and drinks.  Wear
  your ServeFest t-shirt, but otherwise wear as much Buckeye attire as possible!

- Coordinate a multi-family garage sale and give all proceeds to a local charity or to a family in need.

- Contact a local realtor and find a family who is moving that day.  Show up with packing boxes, tape, newspaper
  and bubble wrap and offer to lend a hand.

• We are ordering pens, pads of sticky notes, and magnetic clips which will bear the Cypress logo and web address, all of which will need to be "packaged" with information about Cypress (KidStuf schedule, upcoming sermon series, service times & styles, other ways to get involved...)  WE WILL NEED HELP ASSEMBLING the "baggies" which will then be distributed the night of Halloween.  The assembly will take place Tuesday, October 20, 2009.
• We need PEOPLE....LOTS & LOTS of PEOPLE to help distribute the bags on Halloween night.  The neighborhoods we are targeting are Young Estates & Wexford Green.  These are some of the busiest neighborhoods (a large number of people handing out candy) in proximity to the church and have the best chance of people visiting due to short drive-time.  Assuming that 25% of homes will have their lights turned off, that still leaves over 500 homes to visit.  We have maps printed off and the neighborhoods broken down to manageable "bits" of 20-50 houses for an individual or family to visit.  To make sure that this is organized and orderly, and that we don't hit the same houses more than once, we will have an organizational meeting on Tuesday, October 27, 2009, at 6:30 pm (location TBD).  At that meeting, we will assign streets, and each person/family will be able to take the number of "baggies" they need to distribute.
  

Who Can Do This?

• adults who don't have children at home who still trick-or-treatadults with children who are old enough to be involved in the process...getting their
• candy, then handing the packet to the home-owner saying, "Thanks...now we have something for you."
• teens who still like to dress up (or not), but who are willing to do it for a purpose
• small groups who want to serve together
  

Will You Help? 
If you can, please email Laurie Hurd in advance, especially if you are FROM one of the neighborhoods we'll be targeting and wish to be assigned to the area around your home.  Otherwise, please show up to the meeting on the 27th to get your assignment and to pick up your bags.

Opportunity to Sponsor Potluck Dinner for Internationals