DC-Volunteers
The first group of about 200 volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints line up on September 16, 2023, to participate in the Stock the Block service project. Photo by Tiffany Osborn, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.
By Kaitlyn Bancroft, Church News
Young single adults in the Washington, D.C., area recently provided food and other supplies to hundreds of families through the “Stock the Block” service project.
Mark Thomas, high councilor over the communications committee in the Washington D.C. YSA South Stake, said he estimates that almost 200 volunteers gave service to nearly 1,000 families on September 16.
Of those almost 200 volunteers, nearly all were young single adults, Thomas said. The remainder were from an interfaith group in Arlington, Virginia, and from the Old Town Spanish Ward, part of the Mount Vernon Virginia Stake.
Thomas said the day-long event provided a place for children to play while their parents received food, diapers, toys and other items for their families.
“The amazing thing is that our young single adults really planned it,” Thomas said.
The project began several months ago after the Church offered to fund a service project in the area, he continued. Local young single adults completed all the planning in about two months.
“People were saying, ‘Are you kidding me? That’s a six-month project [to] put all that together,’” Thomas said. “Our young single adults are an underutilized asset. ... They’re just spectacular, and they’re so strong.”
Tiffany Osborn, a member of the Potomac Yard YSA ward who helped plan Stock the Block, said the project was made possible by a grant from the Church to a nonprofit called Good360, which works with corporate partners to identify donations that other nonprofits need.
DC-Volunteers
Volunteers stand with Good360 boxes at the Stock the Block service project on September 16, 2023. The organization provided, in partnership with their donor partners, a variety of items including nearly 10,000 toys, assorted hygiene items and three pallets of water. Capitol Area Foodbank also supplied fresh produce. Photo by Tiffany Osborn, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.A portion of that grant was used for Stock the Block, she continued, and the hope is to use the remaining grant money for other service projects. “[Stock the Block] is ... absolutely the first of many engagements that we’re planning.”
Osborn said she and other Stock the Block organizers also worked with a variety of community agencies to provide families with everything from public health services to legal aid. In addition to Good360, Stock the Block was especially supported by Fairfax County and LAZERA Ministries, she said.
Osborn said she wanted to get involved in Stock the Block as soon as she heard about it.
“You have those moments where you know that the Lord is going to ask you to serve in a certain way, and this was that moment for me,” she said.
She also said she appreciated connecting with people who aren’t Church members and showing them how the Church, particularly YSAs, are capable of and committed to serving.
“It was really profound not only to recognize all of the ways in which we have a responsibility to serve ... but to also see the doors that were opened as a result of those efforts and seeing that we’re always going to support be supported in the sacrifices that we make on behalf of other people,” Osborn said.
Thomas added that Stock the Block didn’t benefit just the families. He spoke with one young man who shared he’d been having a difficult time recently, but turning outwards and giving service helped lift his burden.
“So that was a tender, tender moment to see how much it touched the young people,” Thomas said.
