Guest Post: Summertime...

One of my favorite songs is a song written by George Gershwin for the opera, “Porgy and Bess,” that was first performed in 1935.  The title of the song is “Summertime.” The beginning line is “Summertime, and the livin’ is easy; fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high.” Many of us feel that summertime is indeed a time when the livin’ is easy. It’s a time to kick back a bit and enjoy a relaxed pace of life.  For some, it means a break from school, taking a vacation, enjoying a meal outdoors on the patio, boating at the lake, playing a late-day round of golf when the shadows are long, playing in the neighborhood eagerly awaiting the tune of the ice cream truck, or hanging out at the pool. 

However, that’s not the case for everyone. For those less fortunate, summertime is not necessarily a time of easy livin’. For our homeless neighbors, summertime can be extremely difficult due to the hot temperatures and afternoon thunderstorms, which can crop up so easily. Finding shelter or a meal can be difficult due to high volumes of those in need. Also, during the summer, blood supplies at our blood banks drop to dangerously low levels. 

So what you can you do to make a difference in helping make someone’s summer a little easier?

You can volunteer through one of many Community Service programs at Sardis such as the Salvation Army Women’s Center of Hope. Sardis members provide meals on the first Sunday and third Tuesday of every month to homeless women and children who are sheltered there. It’s as simple as purchasing frozen lasagna, preparing or purchasing a dessert, or purchasing a bag of fruit. Sardis has lost a number of volunteers in this wonderful program due to illness, age, or relocation. We need your help to continue this program.            

Other ways you can help our homeless neighbors include volunteering at the Urban Ministries Soup Kitchen, providing a meal or serving as an overnight host at Charlotte Family Housing. You can also help those less fortunate by donating a basket of household cleaning or laundry supplies to a family through Sardis’ affiliation with the Community Link program or donate food items to Loaves and Fishes through the Sardis food drive scheduled for July 14-28.

Another way you can help this summer is by donating a pint of blood to the American Red Cross. Sardis hosts quarterly blood drives, and our next one is July 21. The goal is to collect 30 units of blood. Why not help us exceed that goal? Your donation can make someone’s life easier or even save a life.

Sardis is an amazing church doing many incredible things through awesome volunteers like you. These are just a few of the ways Sardis provides outreach to our community. Why not become one of those volunteers and perhaps make someone’s livin’ a little easier?

To learn more about these and other Sardis service opportunities for the summer, click here.

---

Lynne Ellison currently serves as Vice Chair of the Community Service Ministry at Sardis.  She loves the fact that Sardis is involved in so many areas of community outreach.  In her spare time, she enjoys working out, working in the yard, and cooking. She is especially busy cooking for the "bottomless pit" who's home from college for the summer, but loves every minute of it and wouldn't have it any other way.