Officials in Roswell, Ga., were so impressed by the Convoy of Hope outreach held in the city in 2009 that it invited the participating organizations back to do another outreach less than a year later.
“We teamed up with 28 churches and 32 community and health service organizations,” says Dan Clark, an outreach director for Convoy of Hope. “In doing so, we were able to serve 2,500 guests at the Roswell Day of Hope.”
Nine hundred volunteers served the honored guests by offering free medical and dental screenings, a carnival, AIDS testing, vaccinations, chiropractic care, vision screenings, groceries and a barbeque.
Two of the volunteers - Tony and Sherry - not only came to serve, but to give back.
During last year’s outreach, the couple explained, they were unemployed and homeless. But after sharing their story with a group of volunteers their lives were suddenly on a fast track for positive change. In the days after the outreach the volunteers helped the couple and their three children move from their car to a fully furnished house. They also found Tony a job.
“One year ago at the Convoy of Hope outreach my life changed,” Tony says.
For Clark, that is exactly why Convoy of Hope holds more than 50 citywide outreaches each year in the United States.
“When unstoppable compassion meets unstoppable momentum,” he says, “unstoppable change happens!”
