Marsh Foundation Youth Spend Spring Break Serving Others
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VAN WERT, Ohio – For the past several years, the youth at The Marsh Foundation have completed service projects during their spring break that revolve around the theme of serving others. This year, they continued their efforts.
Activities coordinator Sherry Grone coordinated the week’s projects. To start, a group of independent living aged youth prepared and served the meal Good Friday evening at the Van Wert Bread & Bowl at First United Methodist.
The Marsh girls spent time helping with the Van Wert City Easter Egg Hunt and a small group also volunteered at the Humane Society’s Animal Shelter, cleaning and socializing animals in need of extra care. During the week, they also took a trip to Ft. Wayne and worked at Miss Virginia’s Food Pantry, serving a record high 388 individuals.
One group of boys volunteered at the Lima Rescue Mission, serving dinner to homeless men and cleaning up after the meal. Another group went to Habitat for Humanity Restore in Lima and learned about how the organization builds homes and empowers people in need. The boys then helped to clean and organize the supply area in the store.
Service is a strong component of The Marsh program that works to instill a sense of stewardship in its youth.
George, Hilinda and Katie Marsh left a strong legacy by being compassionate and helping the less fortunate in the Van Wert community. Hilinda, especially, left behind writings that were very spiritual in nature. In her funeral memorial it was quoted, “Many were the days when she went about in her well-provisioned carriage, helping the sick and needy, in the very joy of her Master who went about doing good. In the church [she was] a humble and conscientious follower of the Christ; a leader for years in the Ladies’ Society of the church. Our sense of loss is deep; we shall ever hold her services in grateful remembrance.” The Marsh Foundation continues to build on and carry out that legacy and this is the inspiration behind these service projects.
Serving children and families since 1922, The Marsh Foundation is a not-for-profit children’s services agency that provides behavioral treatment in a variety of settings. Services include group homes, foster care, an intensive treatment program and independent living. Located in Van Wert, Ohio, the organization’s group homes are licensed for up to 36 children ages 7 – 17, offers an on-campus school for grades 2 – 12 and provides a variety of clinical services to group home residents, foster children and community members.
The mission of The Marsh Foundation is to inspire hope, to teach and to care for children and families. For more information about The Marsh, visit www.marshfoundation.org.
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