The WUMC Helping Hands Service Corps (a.k.a. Helping Hands Ministry) has been up and running quietly in the background for almost a year. We have a small team of volunteers that have fielded the requests and met the needs of a number of ‘clients,’ including both members of our congregation and members of our extended community. Our intent was to start small and work the kinks out before gradually scaling up our efforts.

We are pleased to announce that have entered into an informal partnership with the Woodbury Senior Center, who has been referring both potential clients and volunteers to us. Flyers (see righthand column) are now posted at the Senior Center and the Woodbury Foodbank. We are approaching other local churches and our collaborative parish church in Watertown to expand our network of volunteers (and potential clients). In the near future, we will be creating graphics to be posted visibly on our front fence and social media.

We would like to invite you to join our Helping Hands team. We hope to create a critical mass of Woodbury UMC volunteers before expanding much beyond our current footprint in the community. We welcome children and youth as volunteers. We will be intentionally looking for appropriate opportunities for intergenerational team projects in addition to unsolicited requests for support. And we will be following our Safe Sanctuary protocols for such projects.

If you or a friend is interested in volunteering, please submit the one-page volunteer application (see righthand column) or comparable information via email to HelpingHands@WoodburyUMC.net with “Volunteer” in the subject line. We gladly welcome non church members as volunteers. Submittal of an application is not a commitment, but rather an indication of interest, which begins a conversation. We plan to hold an informational meeting in July to answer any questions you have.

Lastly, if you know someone in need, please make them aware of the existence of our Helping Hands Ministry. You can give them the flyer and/or the one-page support request form (see righthand column), which can be submitted to the above e-mail. Alternatively, a potential client can call our church office to being the conversation about their needs.