A collection of churches in Waynesburg is serving for a local child welfare organization this weekend. 

The Love Greene Project will be held this year in Lion’s Club Park from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 21. The project is held by multiple churches in the area to serve the community, including the First Baptist Church of Waynesburg, the Waynesburg Church of the Nazarene and the First Presbyterian Church. 

“Once volunteers arrive at Lion’s Club Park, we’ll have breakfast. We will have prayer over everybody,” said Mandi Restanio, director of youth, young adult and technology at the First Baptist Church of Waynesburg. “We will assign them the sites that they’re going to, take a big group picture, and then send them to where they need to go.” 

According to Restanio, the Love Greene Project works with “church-adjacent” ministries and community projects. As such, the project has done work in the past for the Cherry Door, a thrift store turned non-profit, as well as Second Sam Nine, a ministry for adults with disabilities.  

This year, they are going to be working on filling and cleaning local food boxes for those in need and working with the local organization, Growing Up Greene, formally known as CASA of Greene County. According to Growing Up Greene’s website, they have a focused mission for child welfare. They offer many programs to improve the lives of local children, including emergency overnight housing, winter gear distribution, and even therapy dog services. The volunteers’ goal on Saturday will be improving the space with outdoor work, painting and other tasks. 

People of all ages can participate. Students from Waynesburg University are encouraged to join and have taken part in the past, which can be used for volunteer hours, or simply the opportunity to volunteer. 

Restanio elaborated, “We have had, in the past, people in on-campus houses that need their hours to serve together. We’ve had Bonner students, we’ve had SLR [service learning] students, we’ve had Fiat Lux students, but you don’t have to be there for hours. You can just show up to help because you enjoy helping. We will sign off on hours for those that need it.” 

Volunteers “can just show up as themselves,” according to Restanio, about whether volunteers need to bring anything to the event.

Restanio reflected on the event, saying, “People are outside working together in the community that they’re building. Maybe they’re doing something difficult and they’re needing to use some teamwork, so I’ve loved that.” 

More information can be found on the Love Greene Project’s Facebook page under the same name.