Lutheran Students To Dig, Paint, Rebuild
1,200 Youth To Serve on Island
By Jessica Delaney

Many helping hands make small work, and that’s what the Michigan District of Lutheran Churches is hoping as they host a Senior High Youth Gathering on Mackinac Island. About 1,200 young people from throughout Michigan will be heading to the Island Sunday, June 26, to help paint, dig, and serve the community and to worship. They will remain on the Island until Wednesday, June 29.

According to Eric Steinke, who is organizing the service-related side of the affair, the Gathering is held every three years on Mackinac. They are based at Mission Point, where most are housed and fed and where after-work activities are staged.

The students will work four hours a day on hundreds of projects. Split up into teams of seven youth and one chaperoning adult, they hope to contribute about 4,000 hours of service.

“We will be working on impacting the community, those who live there and those who visit for years to come,” said Mr. Steinke.

Among their contributions will be landscaping and grass seeding at low income houses, painting apartments, and helping with painting at Shepler’s dock with paint donated by ICI Dulux.

One of the biggest projects will be at Great Turtle Park, where the youth will scrape and paint the concession stand, stain the deck, dig a 300-foot ditch for electric cable and water pipes, help with landscaping, and clear brush.

In past years, the group noticed several projects on the Island that they wanted to help with, and several of those will begin this year. For example, three years ago the youth visited during one of the hottest weeks of the summer and they noticed many dehydrated tourists on the street. This year they raised money to buy 5,000 water bottles to hand out.

Small projects like this, which are done through the group and not with the aid of Island agencies, are called Random Acts of Kindness.

Another project will to clean trails and the shoreline for Mackinac State Historic Parks the Mackinac Island Community Foundation and to work with the Foundation to perform basic yard work and paint fences at the homes of senior citizens. Other projects include work at Mission Point Resort.

“They basically take over the Island,” said Community Foundation Director Jennifer Bloswick. “The environmental part, they came up with. When they were last here it was something they wanted to help with, so we put our heads together with the State Park and it’s just a great opportunity for us to get help.”

In addition to their work on location here, students will assist in St. Ignace and Mackinaw City to clean up the downtown and boardwalk areas of both communities. One team will work with the senior home in Mackinaw City while another will help at the new disc golf course in St. Ignace.

Also in St. Ignace, the Lutheran youth will work with Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME) on four sites. At three newly finished homes, they will spread topsoil and create flower beds and at a fourth site they will help with landscaping.

HOME, which builds affordable housing, will coordinate the projects by providing a local helper and by making sure the youth have shovels and other materials needed for the job.

According to Lori Pieri of HOME, this is a terrific opportunity for both the youth and the community. It gives the kids the opportunity to interact with homeowners and to work with the community.

“We’re very grateful they’ll be able to do this for us,” she said. “The funding grants are inclusive, but I hate to be left with a barren front lawn. It’s helpful for the owners, too,” who will get a decent lawn with their new home.

Another St. Ignace-based initiative will help Strong Families, Safe Children. Youth will work at Nancy’s Place, which offers transitional housing for domestic violence victims and their families, which has almost no budget for upkeep and maintenance. Youth will apply fresh coats of paint in four apartments.

But it’s not all work for the youth donating a week to the projects. There will also be Christian speakers and live music, including Bob Lenz, Lost & Found, and HappyFunTimes. There will be optional games, dances, and cruises.

Activities follow the theme of the Senior High Youth Gathering, “Island Dreams,” which the Gathering committee has interpreted as the islands of the Caribbean and South Seas. There will be a steel drum band, the youth will receive leis, and Mission Point will be decorated with tiki torches.

“We’re going to change the perception of the Island for a week,” said Mr. Steinke.

The primary goal of the Gathering actually isn’t service, Mr. Steinke said, but rather a faith-based event that fits service in with the Christian message. Because the event is only offered every three years, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most high school students.

“They come to grow closer to God, to hang out with their friends, and because of their faith,” said Mr. Steinke.

The Gathering costs $350 for each youth. They arrive in “families,” groups of around seven youth with one or two chaperones, Mr. Steinke said. Throughout the week, they remain in these families for prayer groups, housing, and service work.

Along with helping hands, each student will bring items for the St. Ignace Food Pantry or items for foreign workers on the Island, which are distributed through Ste. Anne’s Church.