Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints participated with ‘Relay for Life’ recently when they rented two booths at the Bundaberg showgrounds to raise funds for the Cancer Council of Australia.
The Bundaberg Council of Relay for Life was holding a garage sale at the showgrounds and had asked for the community to join in the cause. The ward (parish) council of the Church felt that Relay for Life was a credible community organisation that could benefit from Church assistance.
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Church members dropped their items at the Church building during the week and on Friday evening they went through all donated items and priced them reasonably. The assigned members then took ute-loads of items out to the showgrounds at 5:30 on Saturday morning to display them in the stalls.
Other members and full-time missionaries were assigned to be in charge of selling that day. All of the participants were wearing the yellow Mormon Helping Hands vests for the event. The garage sale finished at noon on Saturday.
Bishop Doug McAllister of the Bundaberg Ward said, “The Relay for Life Group were so impressed that they posted a photo of one of our members on their Facebook page and have given us positive mention. We raised $442 for the charity that day.
Bishop McAllister said that Channel 7 News was also there and interviewed one of the Church’s full-time missionaries.
“As bishop, I’m thrilled with the way this day turned out. The highlight for me was seeing our full time-missionaries interacting with customers who are not of our faith in a natural way raising money for a worthy cause.
“I think the impression left on customers, other stall holders and the organising group was extremely positive. With more of this type of community involvement, doors may be opened more often as the community becomes familiar with who we are and our most visible ‘face’, the missionaries.”
The Mormon Helping Hands program began in 1998 and since then hundreds of thousands of volunteers have donated millions of hours of service to their communities.
The program brings together members of the Church and their neighbours to provide community service. These volunteers in their trademark yellow shirts (and vests) help people whose lives have been affected by natural disasters and other emergencies. Helping hands volunteers also partner with government and non-profit organisations to support the communities in which they live.
The Helping Hands program reflects the desire of Mormons to follow the example of Jesus Christ by serving others. The effort receives resources from Church Humanitarian services, and the projects are coordinated by local Church leaders.