An effort to bring together the Timberlane community transformed the notion of a free garage sale into a carnival-style block party Saturday.
Karen Evans, who runs the community service at Mountain Vineyard Christian Fellowship, stated a free garage sale was first proposed as a “mutual sharing” of material blessings.
Gradually, they started to come up with activities that would appeal to children.
“We thought ‘Wow,’ it would be fun to do things like face painting,” said Lisa Shaw, a member of the church.
Not only was there face-painting, but a stand for balloon artists, snow cones, hot dogs and even inflatable bouncy toys.
It was also successful in cultivating a large coalition of local volunteers and businesses who sponsored the block party.
Roy Conwell, church pastor, explained the block party was a way for the church, which meets at Cedar Heights Middle School, to be proactive in assisting those in the area who have been hit hard by the recession.
“It reminds me of the verse, ‘I came not to be served, but to serve,’” he said. “We’re long term residents. Since we’ve started here we exist to serve the community.”
He also said that it provided a personal connection to residents who might be in need.
“We’re doing all of this work as a way of answering the question ‘what are we doing here?’” he said.
Like the garage sale, everything at the event was free, as was the use of the Timberlane club house property, which is owned by the Timberlane Homeowners Association. Linda Cuadle, a director on the association board, said that they are working to improve their reputation following the removal of board members last November.
Crime and graffiti, she explained, makes the Timberlane neighborhood “kind of known as not the best place.”
“We’re on a mission to clean it up,” she said. “Things are dramatically different in the last five months.”
Hosting the block party, she said, felt like a perfect opportunity to rebuild their image.
“We really want to be a help to our community,” said Angela Meeks, accountant for the association. “They’re doing it for the good of other people.”
