StuCo Volunteers at Adelante Thrift
March 14, 2017
Student Council is not just about what goes on inside the school, another important aspect is reaching out into the community to help effect positive change. On Saturday, March 4, 17 members of StuCo drove downtown to volunteer at Adelante Thrift.
Adelante Thrift was founded in 2005 by Jarrett and Kristen Meek as an Evangelical Mission church to reach out to Latino immigrants. After moving to Bolivia for a mission trip and experiencing first hand the difficulties that come with living in a foreign culture, the Meeks were called to help bridge this gap for immigrants living in the U.S. On returning to the U.S., they gathered their friends and moved to Kansas City, MO to start learning the needs of their immigrant neighbors.
Within just a few short years, Mission Adelante had grown from an English tutoring class and one house church to a network of ministries throughout the community, including the Adelante Thrift store.
Adelante Thrift focuses on instilling dignity in its customers by providing quality products and job opportunities for everyone. StuCo helped out by preparing items with price tage, putting them out on the shelves, and tidying up the racks. All of this behind-the -scenes work is crucial to maintaining that sense of dignity; having a nice, clean place to shop and work is an important part of building up the community.
“I think it’s just important that we give back to those who are close to our community. Johnson County is known for being a community that has a lot, but we don’t have everything. It’s nice to be able to give back to those close to home. It just makes us good, conscience, worldly individuals,” StuCo sponsor Cynthia Hartwell said.
