Neighbor to Neighbor

Thursday, September 10, 2009

There is something to be said for the friendship between neighbors that is simply built-in.   It's the "Welcome to the neighborhood!  Here's a batch of cookies; feel free to borrow my tools" kind of relationship.  Having a community of neighbors offers a sense of security, vitality, and belonging.   

If you stand on the front door of our main office and look across the intersection of 6^th and Main Streets, you'll see the Anderson City Building and recognize a neighbor relationship that stems back to 1955.  TCC has stood side-by-side with city law enforcers, community development teams, and mayor after mayor, with the joint goal to make Anderson a safe and beautiful place to live.

When you walk onto TCC's campus, you'll notice that we've held up our end of that bargain by keeping our property in pristine condition.  Our parking lots and sidewalks are swept clean of trash (special attention to cigarette butts).  We've taken the responsibility of keeping fresh paint on the curbs off the shoulders of the Roads Crew.  Our Kitchen, where we prepare and serve 250 people per day, was ranked the second cleanest facility in the county by the Madison County Health inspector.  This attention to detail has not gone unnoticed.

Recently, the Herald Bulletin has given a lot of attention to the service project Anderson University participated in called "The 100 lb. Challenge."  In cooperation with AQUiLT (Anderson Quality of Life Team) and GSS (Global Student Solutions), The Christian Center also participated, taking on the challenge of cleaning up a facility near our campus.  The property had been abandoned for some time and was littered with broken glass, trash, and weeds, growing up through broken sidewalks.  Our men took on this challenge, determined to conquer.

The results were evident.  We received a call from the property owner, thanking us for our efforts. He pledged a donation to our ministry.  Additionally, an email came from Lori Sylvester in Community Development, copied to several other city employees (including Mayor Ockomon), praising The Christian Center for a job well done and a willingness to be community leaders.

This is a partnership that will continue to develop.  TCC has committed to maintain this property as well as others (appointed by the city) as a service of our residents to the community of Anderson.  The goal of our Men's Program is to give these men an opportunity to show the transformed life they are striving to attain and to be a part of the community that might count them as neighbors.