Spring Service Projects
Saturday, March 11 @ 8:00am-12:00pm at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Long Beach
Youth and their parent(s) are invited to come to St. Luke’s to help cook and serve a meal for those experiencing food scarcity or homelessness. For more information, or to sign up to help, please contact Kristin@rhumc.org.
Saturday, April 15 @ 9:00am-12:00pm at Rolling Hills UMC
Youth are invited to come to RHUMC to help cook a meal for those experiencing food scarcity or homelessness. We are partnering with “Hungry to Help” who’s volunteers will take the lunches to local homeless encampments. While delivering meals, Hungry to Help offers additional services like medical consultations, clothing, and hygiene kits. For more information, or to sign up to help, please contact Kristin@rhumc.org.
| Donut Ministry RHUMC is back serving donut holes, juice and coffee on the last Sunday of each month – hooray, right? It’s one of the happiest ways to help the congregation because donut hosts get nothing but smiles! If you would like to help, please contact Maureen Banasky at chomo2@cox.net or by calling 310-378-4646. |
Sierra Service Project 2023
RHUMC’s High School Team (Youth entering 9th grade in the fall of 2023-graduating seniors) will be going to Del Norte County in Northern California July 29 – August 6, 2023.
Reserve a spot on the team today by submitting the registration form and a $200 deposit.
Currently we do not have a middle school trip scheduled. If you are a middle school youth who is interested in attending SSP this summer please contact Rev. Kristin Sutrave at Kristin@rhumc.org or (310) 377-6771 ext. 305 as soon as possible.
Sierra Service Project (SSP)
Through acts of service repairing homes and community centers, Sierra Service Project invites youth into a closer relationship with God and to experience the transformative power of serving people who have a culture and life experience different from their own. Sierra Service Project offers week-long service projects during the summer for junior high and high school youth groups. Each summer, over 130 churches and 2,000 youth and their adult leaders join together at one of our six sites located in rural and urban communities across the western states.
At SSP, youth are safe to grow in their faith, learn new skills, and make new friends while serving those in need. Last summer volunteers completed 119 home repair projects and other types of community service. SSP serves the elderly, poor and marginalized. Our service is offered without strings attached and with respect and humility.
2023 SSP Fundraising
Fundraising is an essential part of the SSP experience. Youth and their families pay tuition to Sierra Service Project, however, the rest of the funding for travel and transportation (rental cars, gas, accommodations, etc.) is paid for with the funds raised throughout the year. As a youth attending SSP with Rolling Hills UMC, you are required to participate in the letter writing campaign, and four additional fundraising events.
Important flyers for SSP Summer 2023
2023 Registration Form
2023 COVID-19 Policy
2023 Scholarship Form
2023 SSP Information Flyer
2023 Fundraising Calendar (Use this link to sign up to help: https://www.signupgenius.com/)
President’s Volunteer Service Award
The President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) application is due July 15, 2023. The year began July 1, 2022 and ends June 30, 2023. Hours earned within that time frame will count for this year’s reward. There will be an award ceremony in the fall to present the youth with their certificates and pins.
The age category will be based on your age on December 1, 2022. Below are the hours needed to earn the awards:
Teens-age 10-15
50-74 hours (Bronze level)
75-99 hours (Silver level)
100+ hours (Gold level)
Young Adult-age 16-25
100-174 hours (Bronze level)
175-249 hours (Silver level)
250+ hours (Gold level)
All of your verified service hours approved by the PVSA committee count towards the award. For each hour, you will need a certificate, log, or other form of proof that clearly identifies the organization you served, signed by a leader of that organization. Applications for this year’s award are due July 15, 2023. You can turn in your application to Rev. Kristin Sutrave or mail them to the church office.
In the spirit of volunteer service in which this award is founded, volunteer service will be approved when performed to the benefit of the community without requirement or benefit. For example, school-based activities that are required as part of a grade or fundraising activities, or extra-curricular groups or organizations will not be approved. Please submit a pre-approval form for any activity you are not certain of.
When submitting an outside service opportunity for pre-approval, please include a detailed explanation of the event and your responsibility in this activity. We now have a pre-approval form for you to complete.
Travel time to and from the event should also be included – it counts if it was over 15 miles away! Certain fund-raising activities for service projects may also count (helping with the SSP flower or bake sales, for example).
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Rev. Kristin Sutrave, Director of Youth Ministries, at kristin@rhumc.org.
Below are the links for all the PVSA Forms and Logs:
PVSA Rules
PVSA Event Pre-Approval (used for Non-RHUMC service events)
2022 Fall Service Log
2023 Spring Service Log
