70 Volunteers From The Faith Community Join Thrivent Financial And Habitat For Humanity For Third Rock The Block Event In Woodland Heights Neighborhood
70 volunteers from five area churches will join Thrivent Financial, Habitat for Humanity of Springfield, MO (HFHS), and residents of Woodland Heights to Rock the Block for the third time focusing on Neighborhood Revitalization in Woodland Heights. Rock the Block, set for Saturday, October 7, 2017, will kick-off with a volunteer rally at North Side Assembly of God at 8:30 a.m. at 2310 N. Campbell Ave., Springfield, MO 65803, before volunteers disseminate to designated volunteer sites. Volunteers will work on projects from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. along Lyon, Campbell, and Boonville streets in Woodland Heights.
During Rock the Block, volunteers from the faith community and Thrivent Financial will complete 11 home preservation projects in Springfield’s Zone 1. Projects include exterior repair and yard clean-ups. The projects are funded by Thrivent Financial’s Thrivent Builds Repairs program which brings financial, volunteer and advocacy resources to the mission of Habitat for Humanity to assist with home builds and repairs at home and worldwide.
“The faith community has stepped up in a big way to support our Neighborhood Revitalization,” said Larry Peterson, executive director of HFHS. “Rock the Block is another example of bringing the community together to partner with Woodland Heights in its effort to improve the neighborhood.”
Neighborhood Revitalization (NR) is an approach to serve more families by responding to community goals with a variety of products, services and partnerships to enable residents to revive their neighborhoods and enhance their quality of life. Through NR, Habitat for Humanity will continue to provide home building and repair services, in addition to building partnerships with churches, schools, nonprofits, civic groups and businesses to provide an array of services that address the neighborhood goals determined by residents of Woodland Heights.
Woodland Heights was selected as the targeted area for Habitat for Humanity’s NR program in July 2016 for having a higher number of owner occupied homes in Springfield’s Zone 1, the number of residents identified as living in poverty, and a strong relationship with neighborhood leaders dedicated to achieving community goals.
