The Kensington Community Garden received a huge helping hand as five Oxford residents participated in Oakland Christian School’s (OCS) Serve-a-thon Fundraiser on Thursday, Oct. 1.
Three students, Joshua Sylvester, Rain Fredericks and Emi Vonallmen, project coordinator Susan Slyvester and OCS Superintendent Randy Speck, all Oxford residents, were part of a team of 50 students and 16 parents who picked vegetables and cleaned the garden.
Once the food was harvested, FISH in Oxford, Grace Center of Hope and Lighthouse in Pontiac and the needy around Oxford and Lake Orion would be the recipients of the fresh produce, said Sylvester.
The farm is owned by Kensington Community Church. According to Nancy Wurm, the Campus Director at the Lake Orion campus, the owner gave permission to the church to plant a garden on the property. It was the first year of the garden, which was planted in April.
‘It has been a great year of learning for us and how we do things different. It has been a wonderful experience,? said Wurm.
Over 200 bushels of vegetables have been taken from the garden to the food pantries at FISH and Grace Center of Hope
Sylvester has been amazed at God’s blessing on the garden. The seeds and water were donated and a local farmer plows the field for Kensington.
‘It gives our community a sense of hope and purpose that Jesus commands us to take care of others and that is one of his greatest commands. So by us doing this we are honoring him and honoring our community and the world we live in,? said Sylvester.
The main focus of the Serve-a-thon was to serve in the community while raising money for the school.
‘Part of our mission as a school is to teach these kids how to be servants in the community,? said Speck. ‘We have 15 different projects throughout southeastern Michigan.?
According to Speck, nearly 1,000 members of the OCS family participated in service projects that were located in five different counties in southeast Michigan.
The Serve-a-thon replaced the schools walk-a-thon as a fundraiser three years ago and has been a instant success.
‘It has really grown, every year has gotten bigger. I think now that it is becoming a fabric of our community of our school,? said Speck.
As of Oct 1, OCS raised $40,000 through the fundraiser. Their goal was $50,000.
The fundraiser also set aside ten percent of the proceeds to go towards God’s Helping Hand’s, which provides food and clothing at no cost to local families in Oakland, Macomb and Lapeer Counties.