Volunteers in Mission Experience: Day 1

Today the Micah Corps was part of the United Methodist Ministries VIM Mission Experience. Our day began at the Intercultural Senior Center garden in Omaha. We were introduced to Jaimee Trobough who explained what our first “Big Garden” experience would be like. Jaimee gave us some background information about how the project got started and how it is sustained. We were interested to learn that some of the community gardens are funded by USDA grants. This indicates that federal government decisions have had a positive effect on the “Big Garden Project” thus far. However, this government funding did not simply pop up out of nowhere; it was made possible by the advocacy work done by the United Methodist Ministries Team and many UMC members.

After working on the garden we headed to the Heart Ministry Center. We were met by June Bear who gave us a tour of the center and explained what services the center offered. When we went through the food bank we learned that not everyone in need has access to the food in most food banks. June explained that the Heart Community Center has separate shelves for food sent by the government and donated food. This is because undocumented immigrants are not allowed to access the food sent by the government because of government regulations. June also took us through the center's clothing closet, which is stocked by donated clothing and free to people in need. We also saw the medical facility which offers everything from checkups to vaccinations. The medical services are provided by doctors and nurses from Creighton University. The last stop on our tour was the center's brand new dental room. Beginning later this month, the center will offer dental services to children, and later on will open up the service to adults. While the center is partially funded by the government, its primary funding comes from donations and church support.

See some photos from our day below. Come back tomorrow for photos and updates from the second day of our VIM experience!

The Micah Corps talking with Jaimee about the Big Gardens.

Barbara, Philip, and Caryn work with Evan to build a fence around the garden.

Caryn, Barbara, Philip, and Rachel (me) organizing the shelves at Heart Ministry Center in Omaha.