CEDAR SPRINGS, Mich. — Leaders from the outreach group City Impact know there's always need in their community, and they're always looking for ways to meet that need. In a time of social distancing, they've had to get creative.
"We've been kind of going stir crazy during this time because everybody's trying to figure out how do we help people?" said City Impact owner Jonathan Bergsma.
When the group heard about the number of people infected with coronavirus at Metron, they knew they had to help. They wanted to find a way to safely visit the people Metron, a place they know well.
"We’ve been to that nursing facility before doing outreach and visiting people and we even know some people who have relatives there," Bergsma said.
At first their idea was to "park and pray," a trend that's become prevalent since the pandemic arrived in the U.S.
"We called Metron and asked if we could make some signs and stay in our cars," Bergsma said.
But staff members did them one better. They allowed City Impact's prayer team to stand outside the windows of the home and say hello.
"The staff had us stand where they thought was appropriate and of course we were all spread out and safe."
The only members of the prayer team who were standing closer to each other than six feet were families who live together and had come to the worship together.
"We just played some music and we went around the building one wing at a time. We had a little speaker and a microphone and we played a song. We held up our signs," Bergsma said.
"People were praying and we could see the people on the inside. You could see they were really excited. Some of them were crying. It was powerful."
City Impact is also delivering groceries to the porches of families in the area and they have a Giving Table set up at their location, 288 N. Main Street in Cedar Springs. People can drop off donations including food and toiletries or take those items when they need them.
"We always keep that thing stocked. My hope is that that table that's always out there with no questions asked will just bring some comfort to people to know that they can always grab something there."
If you'd like to help City Impact with their charitable efforts, you can visit their website for more information.
Here's how other people are helping:
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