Spring Fling 2022

Our new Spring Fling logo displays how we are moving forward (God IS on the Move at St. James UMC!) with this vital event in this upside-down world. Tim Messina, our creative worship leader in the CLMC, designed the logo. Here are Tim’s thoughts on his creative process:

 

Spring Fling has been a major part of the St. James community for 28 years. It has reached countless people and organizations in all of that time. In the past two years, Spring Fling has had to change, to be turned upside down even, and yet we have managed to keep it alive, and the spirit of this event remains the same. That is the concept of this logo. The ambigram design of our logo makes the letters initially look a bit strange, but this is done on purpose: an ambigram is a word or phrase that is written to look the same when turned upside down. So if you turn this logo upside down, just like the event has experienced recently, then you should be able to read it the same way.

 

The Spring Fling Committee has been meeting over the past few months to discuss how Spring Fling 2022 can continue to meet the needs of the community while building fellowship among the members of St. James UMC. Here are the three major ways Spring Fling is moving forward (in this upside down world):

 

Saturday, April 2 is Spring Fling Service Day

 

We now have ten captains leading St. James’ effort to serve ten organizations on April 2, Spring Fling Service Day. Click HERE to read about the organizations and the tasks we are performing on April 2, and to sign up. Here are the organizations and their leaders:

 

Building Hope, Lynne Garrison
CareNet Counseling East, Spencer Letchworth
Center for Family Violence Prevention (Safe House), Julie Daniel-Yount
Council on Aging, Theresa and Mark Sprague
Greenville Community Garden, Lauren and Justin Thorn
Habitat for Humanity, Tim Wallen
Hope of Glory, Anne and Frank Fisher
Joy Soup Kitchen, Diane and Aaron Sampson
Little Willie Center, Laura McNally and St. James UMC Youth
Third Street Academy, Devon and Matt Johnson

 

Spring Fling Fundraising Day is Saturday, April 30

 

Chicken Dinners–tickets going out next week to order $10 plates
Baked Goods–desserts plus frozen dinners, pickled goods in jars, and more
Children’s Ministry Laminated Place Mats–only $1.00!
Virtual Fundraiser–featuring the groups we served on April 2 and the groups that will receive Spring Fling grants in 2022.

 

Spring Fling Grants

 

Thanks to your generosity and the foresight of Spring Fling founders, the Spring Fling Endowment is enabling St. James to continue to support non-profit community organizations with grants. This year, Spring Fling will provide grants totaling $18,000.00 to several organizations. We hope the fundraising efforts on April 30 will “pay for” the grants so that the endowment will continue to grow.

 

How to Help

 

Please get involved in Spring Fling 2022. Here’s how:
Sign up to serve on Service Day on April 2
Donate the amount of money you would have spent at a “regular” Spring Fling to build the endowment, enabling us to continue to support community non-profits. To support Spring Fling in this manner, mail or drop off a check to Marianne. Please write “Spring Fling Donation” in the memo line.
Participate in the Fundraising Day on April 30

For more information, please email me at chris@stjconnect.org.

Alise Rowan (above, left) and Tammy Stephenson (above, right), longtime volunteers and leaders of Spring Fling, are returning this year as co-chairs of the annual event.

Last year’s co-vice-chairs, who under normal circumstances would take on the roles of co-chairs, both had to resign their positions–one due to a new child and the other due to a move across the state. To fill the gap, the committee turned to two people that had the experience, enthusiasm, and organizational ability to make Spring Fling 2022 a success.

For many years, Alise Rowan headed up the Yard Sale. She decided to take on a leadership role this year because of her experience during last year’s Service Day, For the first time, Spring Fling was organized around our volunteers going out into the community to work at non-profits. Alise and her mother served at Hope of Glory Ministries.

“I learned so much about what they do,” Alise said. “My eyes were opened and made me think differently about what a nonprofit does. You can be a better steward of your volunteer time and money when you work with them. We believe that developing relationships over the next year with non-profits will help the whole congregation do this.”

Tammy Stephenson was co-vice chair in 2018 and co-chair in 2019 and continued to be active through the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.

“We changed our format last year and because the pandemic was still prevalent, we didn’t have the opportunity to create relationships in the community beyond that one Saturday when we worked or that one Sunday when we handed out checks,” Tammy said. “This was my chance to help make that happen.”

Tammy is eager to work with Alise and the ten Team Captains heading up Spring Fling Service Day. “I feel so passionately that we have a great person in Alise,” Tammy said. “And we hope that one of the ten captains might be inspired to step up into a major leadership role in the future.”

That is the hope of the Spring Fling Committee and St. James staff, too. Meanwhile, Spring Fling 2022 is in great hands!