Arc Greater Twin Cities’ mission is to help individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families by providing them with resources and support while coping with the many challenges that arise in all aspects of their lives. Arc is a non-profit and relies on gifts and donations run optimally. While Arc does receive federal grants and individual donations, 60% of their income comes from the proceeds from their thrift stores. For this reason, V.I.D.A. selected Arc our Spring Quarter project for our Serve and Be Served event.

Once over 20 of us young adults from five different churches in the metro area had gathered, we proceeded to the back of the store where all the donated merchandise is sorted and priced. We were introduced to the very cheerful and upbeat volunteer manager, who showed us around and made us feel right at home. Then came one of my favorite parts of this whole experience: after giving us a brief overview about what Arc is all about, the volunteer manager put on a video that featured interviews with individual families who have been helped by Arc and its resources. The stories were very moving—they brought me to tears—and as I looked around the room, I saw I wasn’t the only one. It was very uplifting to see how Arc’s support helped improve the lives of those with disabilities and their families. My favorite story was about a girl named Abigail, who wanted to have a career as a fashion designer. Her mother was confident that, due in part to Arc’s help, Abigail would be able to hold down a job and live on her own. Seeing how proud Abigail’s mother was of her daughter was very moving.

After the video, we were divided into different groups by task. I immediately jumped at the chance to help unload the cars coming in with donations—wanted to be outdoors on such a beautiful day. Other members of our group worked on sorting clothing, and keeping the merchandise organized on the main floor and in the dressing rooms.

The man in charge of the unloading told us that Saturday was one of the busiest days for Arc—they typically get over 250 cars coming through per day. We definitely saw what he meant—for the next two-and-a-half hours, we worked non-stop in unloading and sorting all the donations from the cars that kept on coming through and lining up. The types of donations ranged from elegant women’s shoes to children’s toys, from camera equipment to bicycles. Although we were busy, volunteering was a lot of fun. We met some of the paid employees, like James, a young man who is working at Arc straight after high school. His positive attitude and friendly demeanor with the donors made it a blessing to work with him.

After we had worked for almost three hours, the volunteer manager gathered us together and thanked us for volunteering our time. After a prayer for Arc and a group picture, I left the strip mall feeling that I had seen G-d’s hand in the work done at Arc. Jesus loves and cares for every one of us, even the “least” of us (Matt. 25:40), and the fact that Arc is emulating Jesus in doing the same is truly inspiring. V.I.D.A. will definitely be back here to help out. Please keep Arc and their mission in your prayers, and feel free to come out and volunteer for Arc, on your own or with your family. Information about volunteering can be found here.

Hope to see you at V.I.D.A ‘s next Serve and Be Served adventure! Stay tuned to the websitefor more details coming soon. In the meantime, may you always be a blessing to others around you!

Stay tuned for more updates…

The Dead Sea Scrolls are widely considered one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of our time. A priceless collection of 2,000-year-old documents that shed light onto a little-known period in religious history, the scrolls are some of the oldest surviving written documents in human history… http://www.smm.org/scrolls/

V.I.D.A. will be meeting at the museum lobby at 10am and will enter the exhibit at 10:30am. Tickets ca…n be purchased at the lobby or in advance online. Free street parking is available throughout downtown. Paid parking ramp is also available at the museum.

Pack a lunch and mingle with V.I.D.A. and others at Rice Park (located across from the Ordway Theater & St. Paul Library) at 1pm.

Did you know that the world has more than 850 million hungry people? That is equivalent the entire population of the United States, multiplied by almost 3. Help us fight hunger by packing meals at the Eagan location of Feed My Starving Children on Saturday, October 9, 2010 at 4:30pm.

Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) provides a team-building environment where people of all ages can come together for a common cause: packing nutritious, life-saving meals for starving children. These meals are then shipped to nearly 70 countries around the world, truly offering hope to the hungry.

V.I.D.A. has committed to recruit 50 volunteers to package meals on this day. RSVP is required to attend Feed My Starving Children. This can be done through Facebook or by email to info@vidamn.com.

Join us for mingling and dinner at El Loro Mexican restaurant afterward! (1428 Yankee Doodle Rd Eagan, MN 55121)

“Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor.” Proverbs 22:9