wfn.org | Willowgrove provides rural education

[Beth Hawn]

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To:  'Worldwide Faith News'
Date: 1998-08-05 14:48
Priority: 3
Message ID: EE3C8C6D3D2CD211AAB0006008075ABF
Conversation ID: Willowgrove provides rural education

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August 5, 1998
Mennonite Board of Missions
Beth Hawn
(219)-294-7523
<news@mbm.org>

Willowgrove programs provide rural education, Christian values

STOUFFVILLE, Ont. (GCMC/MBM) - Cows need milking, chickens lay their   
eggs,
and students of all ages crowd into one-room schoolhouses. Little House   
on
the Prairie it isn't, but when Toronto-area urban children visit the   
91-acre
Willowgrove Farm and Outdoor Education Program here, they get an   
authentic
taste of life on the farm.

Each year, more than 20,000 school-age children participate in one of
Willowgrove's several programs, all designed to give city children a
perspective on life beyond the streets and buildings of one of Canada's
largest metropolitan areas. "We started the educational program for city
school kids to learn about farming," said Kyle Barber, Willowgrove
executive director.

Seventeen members of the Fairview (Mich.) Mennonite Church youth group   
also
got a chance to learn about farming - and helping others out - when they
volunteered at Willowgrove with Group Venture for a week in July.

While the Willowgrove programs do have a full complement of paid staff,   
the
workload is supplemented by volunteers - especially in the summertime.
Group Venture, a joint program of the Mennonite Board of Missions and the   
Commission on Home Ministries, includes Willowgrove in its list of 30   
North American service
locations. The program provides the opportunity for youth groups to spend   
a
short period of time volunteering at one of several different types of
assignments.

This summer's volunteer groups at Willowgrove are keeping busy doing a   
lot of
construction, painting and general clean-up. "They do whatever needs to   
be
done," said Todd Gilham, Glenbrook's director of volunteers. "Each group
has its own personality, and each is extremely valuable."

The Fairview youth group proved valuable this July. "We're just helping   
out
wherever Todd tells us to go," said Joy Detweiler, one of the group   
leaders.
According to Randy Detweiler, another leader, Willowgrove was the group's   

first choice of several Group Venture locations.

"The youth group planned it, and I wanted to come," said Eunice Brown of   
the
Fairview youth group. "It's been fun to work with kids and help out. What   

better is there to do in the summer?"

Brown and the other Fairview volunteers spent the week making picnic   
tables,
repairing books, cleaning, burning brush and, most importantly, making
friends with the children. "I think we've all learned something about
patience," youth group member Sarah Copely said.

Group Venture groups frequently seem to be attracted to Willowgrove -   
drawn
by the working environment, Ontario's rural beauty, and, ironically, the
close proximity to big city Toronto. This summer five of Group Venture's   
68
groups, including the Fairview group, volunteered at the Glenbrook Day
Camp, a Willowgrove summer program.

Glenbrook has received many volunteers over the years - each year at   
least
four or five groups come through. The groups generally have between 20   
and 25
members and stay for around one week. "The total hours of volunteer work   
would
be astounding," Barber said.

In recent years the camp has been rebuilding and has "really needed the   
help,"
Barber said.  "Every time we need it, the volunteers just seem to come   
out of the
woodwork. 75 percent of the difference around here is due to the   
volunteers -
and that doesn't include the impact on the staff and kids."

Though they only spend a short time at the camp, volunteers often do   
become
close to the campers and are able to communicate values to them. "I was   
talking
with a black girl and a white boy," Brown said. "I told them we are   
supposed to
love everyone because Jesus loves us all. It was really great - they   
started
holding hands."

That is the reason that Willowgrove exists - to sow seeds of tolerance   
and love
in the campers. While Willowgrove staff members and volunteers are
interested in seeing the children plant and harvest, they also see
themselves as planters of a sort.

 "We're planting seeds - we don't see the kids coming to know the Lord,   
but we are
here to be an example of integrity to them," said Barber. "If we can keep   
the
kids in our system summer after summer, we can have a profound impact."

The children also learn about planting seeds - strictly from a farmer's
perspective, however. Summer day campers are guided through a barn -
complete with chickens, cows, horses, sheep, goats, rabbits and a donkey.   

During the school year, Toronto elementary classes take one-day field   
trips
to Willowgrove to get out of the city and see a simpler way of life. In   
the fall,
students are able to harvest vegetables from the two gardens to take home   
with
them.

They also take home with them the memory of time spent in a Christian
environment. Glenbrook's intention is not as much to evangelize as to
"provide a Christian program that shows love and care to the entire
community," Barber said.

Group Venture volunteers do much to help them accomplish this mission.

* * *

Rachel Lewis