Help Arrives...from Alabama

On Wednesday, July 26, 12 youths from the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Montgomery, Alabama helped clean-up the park along Newcomb Street.

The middle school-aged youth and three adult leaders came to us through the Steinbruck Center for Urban Studies, a ministry of Luther Place Memorial Church in downtown Washington. The center hosts church groups from throughout the United States and Canada, providing low-cost accommodations and setting them up with diverse service-learn opportunities around the city.   

When Program Coordinator Bianca Vazquez stumbled on Restore Shepherd Parkway's profile on Volunteer Match.org in January 2011, the productive partnership was born. Ascension is the third group Steinbruk Center group to work in Shepherd Parkway this year, the previous two having come from Saskatchewan (in western Canada) and Illinois.

While walking from the Congress Heights Metro Station to the work site, the group ran into The Advoc8te, creator of the well-known Congress Heights on the Rise blog and Eat, Shop, Live Anacostia.The Advoc8te lives very near Shepherd Parkway and has been a supporter the restoration effort from the beginning.

The volunteers enjoyed lunch from Popeye's courtesy of the Congress Heights Community Association.