Great Days of Service

Great Days of Service turned two years old in 2006, and more than 400 volunteers gave their time, talents and more than a little sweat, for those working on home improvement and the Operation Eden yard cleaning projects.

“Hundreds of volunteers gave selflessly to bring a smile to a lonely person in a nursing home, sew a gown for a new baby, prepare food for our public employees, bring hundreds of food items to feed some hungry families, paint a house for a disabled widow and build a new fence to replace one that was falling down,” co-chair Linda Harris said.

“Our volunteers worked tirelessly in the high heat and humidity to repair and paint 7 homes, clearing brush and cleaning up lawns and did some incredible back breaking work spreading two truckloads of dirt in a yard to keep a house from falling down the hill.  There is no way that any of this could have been accomplished if we hadn’t all heard God’s call to be His hands and to show His love in a world that sometimes seems cold and heartless to someone needing so much.”

Many volunteers worked 10-12 hours a day on home improvement and Operation Eden yard cleaning, and once they started a project, many locked on to it as “their personal project” and came back for another day or two to finish up what they had started.  

“Youth worked as hard as adults, and everyone who came out from age 4 to 92 played a role in making all six elements of Great Days of Service a success for a second year, “ said Debby Baugh, co-chair. “In addition to the volunteers, we couldn’t have done it again without the cooperation of local merchants who donated food, supplies and money and the City of DeSoto, which again played such a great part by helping us ‘build community’ and assisting us in identifying people in need.

“We received the impression in our feedback from our successful efforts to become an All-America City that one thing that the judges took very seriously was that the diverse team on stage clearly care deeply about one another,” Mrs. Baugh continued. “I don't think it is an accident that the people of DeSoto genuinely care about each other --and want to make things better--and that DeSoto was named All-America City.  The volunteers in Great Days of Service clearly treasure the knowledge that they are part of something larger than themselves!  Being part of Great Days of Service is exhausting, exhilarating, and addictive!”