Islanders volunteer at New Mexico school

On Saturday, a group of volunteers returned from a week at the McCurdy Mission and Charter School, near Santa Fe. Bob Webster, Linda Maclanlan, Barbara Garrison, Bob Dixon, Marlyce Dixon, Vonnie Feyen, Amanda Ohmert, Mary Margaret Pearson, and Nancy Vanderpool – all part of the Mission Team of Vashon United Methodist Church – spent last week serving meals, cleaning, gardening, organizing, and helping with maintenance for the school that serves many Hispanics and Native Americans.
 
"This trip was a step up in commitment for our team because it involves people’s money, time, and effort," said Nancy Vanderpool, who helped organize the trip along with Mary Margaret Pearson. "It’s an important opportunity for us to be aware of what’s happening outside our own community."
 
Each volunteer secured funds to make the trip. The group of nine stayed in dorms on the McCurdy campus and began work each day at 8:30, working until 3:30. Late afternoons provided opportunities to explore the area.
 
Many of the volunteers had already traveled together on a March 2012 trip to Haiti. "It’s a great group and we work well together," says Mary Margaret Pearson. "On that trip, we could see the frustration of a country so devastated and how very difficult, but also important, for our church and other NGOs to help rebuild and improve people’s situations."