Our dream is that our community will one day soon be vibrant and beautiful, full of families with children outside playing, brimming with excitement and expectations of a beautiful future surrounded by the love of God. Joining together as a community is imperative to the success of this dream. As we’ve built relationships with neighbors, volunteers, and supporters for 7 years, we continue to ask ourselves: What can we do to truly bring Camp Restore family, friends, and neighbors together, bringing this dream one step closer to reality?
Community dinners, tours and dinners, and prayer walks, of course!
The Camp Restore team, led by community leaders, have worked to create a space where our neighbors can learn more about one another through cordial and personal conversations, while building strong connections deeper than a mere hello. What started as a desire to bring the community together led to friends from all around the northeast sector of Detroit coming together every Wednesday during the summer to enjoy food, family, and fellowship. Volunteers throughout the summer helped set up tables, clear space, and spread the word to our neighbors, inviting those their teams had met during the week to come on Wednesday. Each week new families came and enjoyed food, fellowship, and by the end of summer, even Karaoke! Long time residents of our neighborhood were able to come and get a meal while meeting old and new neighbors.
One neighbor came to the BBQ with a neighbor’s child she regularly watched. He was a flight risk and she was extremely high stressed and in need of respite. At the BBQ, not only did she meet new neighbors and gain relationships, but she also heard of the Literacy Program and was encouraged to find respite by bringing him to Miss Clare and her team to improve both his reading and his outlook on life - restoring hope. This is just one story of neighbors meeting neighbors, of community being built, and a glimmer of hope restored.
With your donations, support, and the leadership of community leaders, we have been able to not only provide these dinners weekly throughout the summer, but have been able to extend these dinners into the rest of the year, continuing to build community and restore hope in this way throughout the year!
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