Summer Service Slam 2015

August 3, 2015

Video courtesy of Fox Sports Midwest

The Mission Continues teamed up with Fox Sports Midwest, Boeing and Lowes on Saturday for the Summer Service Slam. The collaboration, now in its fifth year, brings together volunteers from across the St. Louis metro area for a day of service. This year’s project mobilized veterans and volunteers in support of the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation (JJK Foundation) in East. St. Louis.

Meredith Knopp, senior vice president of programs and operations and a US Army veteran, rallies volunteers at the start of the project.

The JJK Foundation’s mission is to empower youth in the Great East St. Louis area with the dream, drive and determination necessary to succeed academically, athletically and in leadership roles.

Volunteers at the project pitched in to construct a playground for area kids and families.

Volunteers also helped upgrade the center’s athletic fields including the installation of new fencing around the baseball diamond.

The team also mobilized to build a new library and resource room, enhance the learning garden and build benches along the trails that connect the center’s facilities. Thanks to the volunteers and support from Boeing and the material and expertise of Lowes, the project came together in just a few hours of work.

The Summer Service Slam was just one of nearly a dozen Mission Continues service projects that took place nationwide over the weekend. For upcoming volunteer opportunities, visit our website and join a service platoon near you.