HillSpring Church holds community Serve Day across Sand Springs

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HillSpring Church invaded Sand Springs Saturday morning, undertaking dozens of projects to show the love of Christ for the community.

On their annual summer “Serve Day” more than a hundred volunteers in Sand Springs joined with hundreds of churches across the nation to make an impact both physically and spiritually.

“We’re doing this so we can make a difference,” said Lead Pastor Brent Kellogg. “To show the love of Christ and show the power impact of the church.”

At the Sand Springs Care Closet volunteers helped Katie Acuna sort clothing in preparation for an upcoming outreach. On August 6 & 7 the Care Closet will partner with Clary Sage College to provide children with free haircuts and a free outfit to start the school year. The organization opened last July and offers free diapers, formula, toys, clothes, and more at 3417 South 113th West Avenue.

Helping schools was a big part of the day. Volunteers painted at Lake Country Christian, Angus Valley, and Limestone Elementary schools. At Lake Country they also repaired appliances like sinks. At Pratt Elementary they mowed the lawn and worked in the flower beds.

Kellogg led a team at American Legion Post 17 painting the exterior, replacing old caulking, and serving the community’s veterans. HillSpring volunteers have plans for additional work at the Legion in the near future. 

Workers cleaned up and organized storage rooms at the Sand Springs Cultural and Historical Museum and Sand Springs Community Services. At SSCS they cleaned out the basement and sorted through food and clothing donations. 

"Folks from the Sand Springs area are connecting with the agency in a way that allows for us to better utilize the donations and the items that we have," said SSCS Director Nathan Woodmansee. "It really is meaningful to us. We really appreciate the work they're doing, it's going to help us serve our clients better."

Just down the road from the those two teams was a group including Vice Mayor Phil Nollan and State Representative Jadine Nollan. The crew completely moved the Sand Springs Chamber of Commerce from their old location to a new facility around the corner. 

At the Salvation Army campus workers cleared hundreds of yards of brush along their back fenceline. They also picked up trash in downtown, cleaned up overgrown areas obstructing City traffic signs, did home and lawn improvement for the elderly, and painted the front gate at the Keystone Ancient Forest.

One group constructed a raised wooden walking path at Hamalot Pot Bellied Pig Rescue to keep the organization volunteers from having to walk in the mud and risk getting knocked down by the pigs at feeding time.

Another team spent the day making blankets for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. 

Associate Pastor Matt Barnett said that they had around 130 volunteers, up from 100 the year before. He hopes to see HillSpring team up with other churches for a city-wide service day in the future. 

HillSpring meets at 8801 West 41st Street on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. They can be found online at http://www.hillspring.tv/

Word of Life church holds Serve Day, paints Limestone Elementary cafeteria

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Word of Life, a non-denominational Christian church in Sand Springs, held a "Serve Day" Sunday afternoon, and more than sixty volunteers donated their time to various organizations around town.

Following their 10:00 a.m. Sunday service, the church members headed to Limestone Technology Academy, Sand Springs Community Services, and Green Tree Assisted Living & Memory Care. 

At Limestone Elementary, the workers painted a large cafeteria in the district colors. They also cleaned up an outdoor classroom area. Another group visited with elderly residents at Green Tree Assisted Living, leading them in praise and worship.

At Sand Springs Community Services, volunteers helped to spot clean the facility to get it ready for its annual Tulsa Area United Way Panel Review. According to SSCS Director Nathan Woodmansee, the organization served over 1000 households from the Sand Springs community in 2017. The nonprofit can provide families with a full week’s worth of food up to six times a year, or more if there is a verifiable emergency. They also offer clothing, household items, a computer lab and job-search assistance, utility and rent assistance, and other client-specific assistance.

“SSCS does not receive government funding,” says Woodmansee. “It depends fully on donations and partnerships from churches like WOL, local coprorate sponsorships, individual donations, partnerships with Sand Sprigns Public Schools, local foundation grants, and its partnership with the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma.”

Word of Life, whose motto is "we exist to reach people," has a long history of serve days, most recently partnering with local schools. In August they painted the Limestone gymnasium and auditorium, and improved the grounds and landscaping. In October they painted the gym, a classroom, and a pair of bathrooms at Angus Valley Elementary. 

Founded in 1981, Word of Life has been serving Sand Springs for 37 years. Lead Pastor Chad Stewart has led the congregation since 2011.

Word of Life
1402 North 81st West Avenue
Sand Springs, Oklahoma 74063
(918) 245-0262
Service: Sunday 10:00 a.m.
Office Hours: Monday - Thursday 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
http://www.mywordoflife.com
Facebook: @Wordoflifess
Instagram: @Wordoflifess

Sand Springs Community Services
114 West 4th Street
(918) 245-5183
Hours: Monday - Thursday 10:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Friday 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
http://sscsok.org
Facebook: @SanditesHere2Help

*Contact SSCS by phone or web to volunteer.

Limestone students experience day in the life of an adult at JA Biztown

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Sand Springs City Councilman Brian Jackson speaks to students before their day begins.

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Students from Limestone Elementary School in Sand Springs got to experience a day in the life of adulthood this past week at Junior Achievement Biztown. More than forty students spent a month learning how to balance checkbooks, interview for positions, request loans, and more in preparation for the day-long trip to the indoor Tulsa pseudo-city. 

Junior Achievement is a non-profit youth organization with worldwide reach that aims to "inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy." The Tulsa Biztown location first opened fourteen years ago, and Sand Springs Public Schools have been sending their students there ever since. More than 100,000 students have visited the Tulsa program since it opened in April of 2004.

The Cox Radio DJ entertained throughout the day with song requests and commercials for the Biztown establishments.

The program uses sponsorships from local businesses to provide authentic career experience for students in fields they may very well find themselves occupying in the future. 

Before arriving at Biztown, students apply for a bank account through Bank of Oklahoma. They then learn how to endorse and deposit a check, and how to manage a checking account register. They are also taught the consequences of writing checks without sufficient funds. Focus is given to the difference between a debit card and a credit card, and students utilize debit, checks, and cash during their visit. Students fill out various job applications and practice interview skills, and elect a mayor before arriving.

Cherokee Phoenix employees hard at work on the daily paper.

Marketing is an important skill the students learn prior to their visit, and the various business teams come up with radio and newspaper advertisements to run during their visit. When they arrive the students fill out loan applications with BOK for their businesses and are expected to run a profit throughout the day and pay off the loan at the conclusion.

The students were broken up into three different groups that each had lunch/shopping breaks at different times. Employees of Arby's served drinks, cookies, and other snacks to the students during their lunch breaks. Employees of Reasor's and Linde sold various toys and activities. The Cancer Treatment Center offered brief physicals, and students could pick up copies of their own newspaper from the Cherokee Phoenix.

Cox Communications filmed the students throughout the day and sent the school home with the footage.

Cox radio employees a student DJ who takes song requests throughout the day and does commercials for the various businesses. They also had students shooting video throughout the trip and brought back the final product to school with them. At City Hall students were able to "vote" by filling out a survey on their visit. 

Students from every Sand Springs Elementary school visited Biztown throughout the year, but Garfield and Northwoods kids were almost unable to attend for monetary reasons. The school district experienced major budget cuts after last year's State revenue shortfall and the schools were forced to turn to outside help to raise the funds.

SEE RELATED: Sand Springs City Council members help fund Elementary field trip

Editor's note: 

I myself attended Biztown more than a decade ago when it was called Exchange City. Everyone in my class had a great time. I worked at the newspaper as the Senior Reporter and still have my copy of that paper to this day. Our Managing Editor, Shelby Lawson, went on to self-publish a book in the ninth grade, which I also keep a copy of.