Just Painting a Ballroom...
As we begin to reflect on the past 10 years over these next couple of months I thought it would be good to cover where some of our team was 10 years ago. If you have followed Love City for a while you may be familiar with my story. In 2015 I was in a church group and had been assigned the task of finding a non-profit that could accommodate a large number of high school students to volunteer. I remember someone at the church mentioning to me this place called Love City was doing some really cool things and may be able to use that much help. So, in December of 2015, as a 15 year old sophomore in high school, my mom drove me to Love City to meet Shawn and Inga for the first time.
As the car pulled into the gravel driveway with a barbed wire fence surrounding it, I wasn’t quite sure what to think at first. This is probably the same feeling Shawn and Inga had upon seeing a lanky 15 year old with hair down to his shoulders walk in and ask if they could use the help of up to 50 high school students with little to no work experience. As we talked and they showed us around, something happened where I could see the vision and I could see how it was the same Kingdom I saw in the Bible. One built on Love, sustainability, patience, service, empowerment, freedom. I saw all these things coming alive and their potential for the community, so tangibly in my mind that it was as if it had already happened. And from that point on, I never really left.
What less of you may know is that I was not the only student from that group to come down to meet Shawn and Inga for the first time. There was another student named Catherine. Catherine was the other one from our group that was helping to organize the project which ended up being painting the upstairs ballroom. Catherine also now works at Love City as a teacher. When I was talking to her about Love City over the years she said that after high school she went off to WKU for college and didn’t keep up too much with Love City, but it was always in the back of her mind. She felt a desire to return and get involved somehow and reached out towards the end of last year.
Catherine and I at our first volunteer project painting the ballroom
Catherine has always loved the mission of Love City, and believes it is important for communities like ours to be empowered. One of her favorite early Love City memories is one of the first big water balloon fights that we had at Westonia park. She says it is beautiful to see how much Love City has grown over the years, the various services provided, and the willingness to adapt to best meet the needs of the community. After coming to see one of the school events in December of 2024 and having some conversations with Shawn and Inga, she joined the team at the beginning of 2025, completing last school year and eagerly returning for this school year. You never know what can come of volunteering to help paint a ballroom.
Ms. Catherine with some of her students
Ethan Essex
Mighty Oak Supplies Lists!!!
The start of the school year is here. If you would like to support through purchasing supplies, it’s not too late. You can find those lists here:
Supply Wishlist: https://a.co/4IDGPaN
Snack List: https://a.co/g4DnQYr
Merriment Online!!
If you are missing browsing our shelves, don’t fret, there are plenty of ways to browse online. To view our ebay store click here. If you want to view our larger items visit our Facebook Marketplace here. We are still accepting donations, if you would like to donate call (502) 930-9006.
Fish Fry Open!!!
The Fish Fry is OPEN! We look forward to seeing you so you can get your fix of fish, churched up tots, or whatever else is calling your name! Don’t forget to grab some fresh local produce when you stop by.
If you are interested in volunteering or to find out more information about supplies needed please email: info@lovecityinc.org or call (502) 272-078.