Around 300 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the Auckland New Zealand Mt Roskill Stake rolled up their sleeves on Saturday [22 February 2014] in support of students of Royal Oak Intermediate School.
The ‘Mormon Helping Hands’ project entailed painting the school’s ‘Breakfast Club’ and building a new path leading to the club. The Breakfast Club is a place for students to come if they arrive at school without hving breakfast.
The Church worked closely with school principal Derek Linnington and Peseta Sam Lotu-liga, Member of Parliament for Maungakiekie, Minister of Pacific Island Affairs and Associate Minister of Local Government.
Mormon Helping Hands volunteers gibbed and painted the Breakfast Club space for students. The gibbers and painters started working on the space a few days before the appointed Helping Hands day, giving more than 20 hours of service. They will complete their project during the coming week.
Volunteers also built a new path leading up to the Breakfast Club. They cleared overgrown shrubs and laid mulch as well as weeded out large agapanthus plants around the school.
Volunteers included families, youth and elderly pitching in to help. Full-time missionaries serving in the local area also supported the project.
Members and missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints often partner with government, other churches and groups to beautify and improve their local communities. Mormons see such service as part of their duty as followers of Jesus Christ and as responsible citizens.