For our November service event,  Redefined partnered with AIV, BYX, Cru, Delight, Good News A Capella, RUF, Salt, Calvary Chapel, First Baptist A2, and Lord of Light Lutheran Church to host a bucket drive. In light of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, we collected cleaning items for and packed buckets to donate to DRAW (Disaster Relief at Work), a Pontiac-based organization dedicated to providing relief services to communities affected by natural disasters. DRAW volunteers will use these cleaning supply buckets to clean out damaged houses and protect them from mold. We then hosted a bucket filling event where we partnered with Delight and BYX to fill more than 40 buckets to send to DRAW to help families in need. Along with the 40 buckets, there were plenty of extra supplies that were sent and over $1,000 raised for the cause!

An Excerpt from DRAW's Mission Statement:

"We aim to provide whatever the survivors of natural disasters need as soon as they need it. Our first response teams will help survivors sift through the remains of their homes to salvage valuables, move trees that have fallen and blocked them in their driveway, or just sit and listen as they grieve."

You can read more about the work DRAW is doing here.

For our October service event, we went to Mercy House with members of Good News A Cappella, a Christian A Cappella group on campus, to help clean the house for the homeless. Our Shelter Ministry Team serves regularly at Mercy House, and we are glad that we were able to help maintain the house as a clean, welcoming space! 

An Excerpt from Mercy House's Mission Statement:

"Supported and encouraged by our community, we aspire and dedicate ourselves to extending mercy and hospitality to our entire world, particularly the homeless, the abandoned, the ostracized and the most poor and lonely. In forming this community, we hope that our care and compassion for each other overflows to those who most need it. We desire to make it easier for all people to be merciful and to do good to others."

You can read more about the work Mercy House is doing here.

You can learn more about Good News A Cappella here.

For our first service event of the new school year, we partnered with the City of Ann Arbor Natural Area Preservation and went to Barton Nature Area with some members of His House, a Christian fellowship on campus. While there, we cut and removed invasive species from the Nature Area.

A Statement from NAP's Website:

"Natural Area Preservation (NAP) works to protect and restore Ann Arbor's natural areas and to foster an environment ethic within the community. This involves conducting plant and animal inventories, ecological monitoring, and stewardship projects in Ann Arbor parks."

You can read more about the City of Ann Arbor Natural Area Preservation here.

The last service event of the 2023-2024 school year was at Hope House Detroit! They are an organization which focuses on "encouraging and accompanying children and young people toward their potential." During the event, we helped them with their Easter Egg Hunt! 

Statement from the Hope House Detroit Website:

"Hope House Detroit is a blending of community and fun, laughter and conversation, activities and food, personal and communal development, old and young, and love. real. crazy. love. In the name of Jesus. A place where people, kids and adults alike, are known, respected, and loved."

To kick off the Winter 2024 semester, Redefined had its first ever service seminar! We had guest speakers Ryan McVicar of Red Tree Presbyterian Church, Diallo Smith of Life Remodeled, Alex Goldsmith of New City Kids: Detroit, Paul and Karen Stebbe, and Coleman Yoakum of Micah 6 share their stories and tell us about how we can better practice loving our neighbors! Special thanks to AIV, BYX, and RUF for partnering with us for this event.

For the month of November, we partnered with BYX, a Christian fraternity, and multiple fellowships on campus (AIV, Cru, RUF, SALT) to support House by the Side of the Road, an organization that provides free clothing, bedding, and small household items to children and adults in need in Washtenaw County. We were able to donate over 280 items and sent 18 volunteers to House by the Side of the Road over the course of 3 weeks! A special thank you to Calvary Chapel Ann Arbor and Red Tree Presbyterian Church for supporting us as well.

A Statement from House by the Side of the Road's Website:

"We serve clients who have limited funds for clothing, bedding, and other household essentials. People come in after family breakup, job loss, fire, or prolonged illness. We also serve those who are homeless, those who are reentering society from prison, people with mental health issues, recent immigrants, migrant workers and more!"

You can read more about the work that House by the Side of the Road is doing here.

For our October service event, we went to Mercy House with members of His House, a Christian fellowship on campus, to help clean the house for the homeless. Our Shelter Ministry Team serves regularly at Mercy House, and we are glad that we were able to help maintain the house as a clean, welcoming space! 

An Excerpt from Mercy House's Mission Statement:

"Supported and encouraged by our community, we aspire and dedicate ourselves to extending mercy and hospitality to our entire world, particularly the homeless, the abandoned, the ostracized and the most poor and lonely. In forming this community, we hope that our care and compassion for each other overflows to those who most need it. We desire to make it easier for all people to be merciful and to do good to others."

You can read more about the work Mercy House is doing here.

For our first service event of the new school year, we partnered with the City of Ann Arbor Natural Area Preservation and went to Ruthven Nature Area with some members of BYX, a Christian fraternity on campus. We cut and removed invasive species from Ruthven Nature Area and got to go on a guided nature walk afterwards. 

A Statement from NAP's Website:

"Natural Area Preservation (NAP) works to protect and restore Ann Arbor's natural areas and to foster an environment ethic within the community. This involves conducting plant and animal inventories, ecological monitoring, and stewardship projects in Ann Arbor parks."

You can read more about the City of Ann Arbor Natural Area Preservation here.

For our last service event of this school year, Redefined helped set up an Easter Egg Hunt for kids at Hope House Detroit, and ran an obstacle course with some members of other Christian organizations on campus.

Statement from the Hope House Detroit Website:

"Hope House Detroit is a blending of community and fun, laughter and conversation, activities and food, personal and communal development, old and young, and love. real. crazy. love. In the name of Jesus. A place where people, kids and adults alike, are known, respected, and loved."

For our March service event, Redefined worked with BYX, a Christian fraternity on the U-M campus, at the Michigan Foster Care Closet. The Michigan Foster Care Closet is a non-profit organization in Ann Arbor which provides new clothing, toys, and more to the families of foster children, free of charge. We took down winter clothes from their "store" and sorted and organized them so the "store" was ready to transform for the coming warmer seasons!

Statement from the Michigan Foster Care Closet Website:

"Clothing children with confidence and self-esteem is what we strive for with each and every child that walks through our doors."

For our February service event, we baked cookies together! These cookies were part of housewarming gifts for those served by House N2 Home, a non-profit organization which furnishes the homes of individuals and families transitioning from homelessness in Washtenaw County. 

Statement from the House N2 Home Website:

"We believe that one step in restoring dignity to a family who has endured homelessness is to help them create a home that is functional, comfortable, and inviting. Using both donated (and occasionally purchased) furniture and household goods, our team helps to convert a house (or apartment) into a real home - creating a space for people to thrive."

For our first service event of the new semester, we partnered with the Judson Center in Royal Oak and served there with some members of Asian InterVarsity (AIV), a Christian fellowship at the university. We helped organize donations of books, clothing, and toys that future children who visit the center will be able to receive. 

Judson Center's Mission:

"To provide expert, comprehensive services that strengthen children, adults and families impacted by abuse and neglect, autism, developmental, behavioral and physical health challenges so they can achieve whole health, well-being and maximum potential."

You can read more about the work that Judson Center is doing here.

For our first service event of the new school year, we partnered with the City of Ann Arbor Natural Area Preservation and went to Barton Nature Area with some members of BYX, a Christian fraternity on campus. We cut and removed invasive species from Barton Nature Area and got to go on a guided nature walk afterwards. 

A Statement from NAP's Website:

"Natural Area Preservation (NAP) works to protect and restore Ann Arbor's natural areas and to foster an environment ethic within the community. This involves conducting plant and animal inventories, ecological monitoring, and stewardship projects in Ann Arbor parks."

You can read more about the City of Ann Arbor Natural Area Preservation here.

For our last service event of the Winter 2022 semester, we served at one of our partner organizations -- Mercy House! Redefined's Shelter Ministry team serves weekly at Mercy House to provide meals for the homeless and fosters interpersonal connections with the people there. For the service event, we worked on cleaning and organizing the area.

An Excerpt from Mercy House's Mission Statement:

"Supported and encouraged by our community, we aspire and dedicate ourselves to extending mercy and hospitality to our entire world, particularly the homeless, the abandoned, the ostracized and the most poor and lonely. In forming this community, we hope that our care and compassion for each other overflows to those who most need it. We desire to make it easier for all people to be merciful and to do good to others."

You can read more about the work Mercy House is doing here.

In March, we partnered with BYX, a Christian fraternity on campus, to serve in Detroit at Hope International Center! We spent the day assisting with cleaning, painting, and organizing various areas in the shelter, and ended with enjoying chicken shawarma together.

Hope International Center's Vision:

"With the recent purchase an outreach center (Hope International Center) in the Warrendale neighborhood of Detroit, work has begun to renovate the building to suit the needs of the ministry, as we seek to serve refugees who have settled in this area of Detroit. We believe the neighborhood ministry model will build a presence in the community and enhance accessibility to the programs and ministries offered as we become a familiar face in the neighborhood."

More about Hope International Center can be found here. 

For our February service event, we went to Purple House, an overnight shelter for Ann Arbor's homeless community. We did a deep cleaning of the house to create a more welcoming environment for the guests who will be staying there.

 Purple House's Mission Statement:

"To work in partnership and solidarity between the homeless and the housed to build community and mitigate the alienation, disenfranchisement, loneliness, loss of agency and other forms of suffering caused by homelessness."

You can learn more about Purple House here.

For our last service event before the fall semester ended, we teamed up with First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor to package meals for Rise Against Hunger. We assembled the food bags, weighed them, and packaged them all in boxes to be sent out. These meals went to people all over the world! 

An Excerpt from Rise Against Hunger's Website:

"From the implementation of sustainable community development projects to our meal packaging program that harnesses the passion of local volunteers, we strive to make an impact on hunger by building resilience, self-sufficiency and empowerment in communities worldwide."

Click here to learn more about Rise Against Hunger.

For Redefined's first service event, we served at Huron Valley PACE, one our partner organizations. We have members who visit HV PACE weekly to interact with participants and assist with any activities. For this service event, we helped paint and clean the facility, as well as folding t-shirts for gift bags. 

Huron Valley PACE's Mission:

"To partner with aging community members to provide integrative care and promote successful community living."

You can read more about Huron Valley PACE's work here.