REVOLUTION THROUGH COMMUNITY!

The Dirty Roots Revolution (DRR) will hold their second “Revolution through Community” gathering on Thursday evening, July 8th at 7 p.m. in the Family Life Center of the Greenville First Christian Church. The group hosts “Revolution through Community” events once per quarter, each in a different location.

“We at the DRR believe that being together, sharing together, learning together, creating together, is in and of itself a revolutionary act these days,” explained DRR Founder/Director Ryan Mifflin. “The point of this effort is to encourage community between churches and groups that may not otherwise gather together very often. We offer different activities at each gathering to encourage interaction and sharing. We also provide opportunities to learn about other organizations that are doing great work in this and other communities.”

The focus of Thursday’s event will be a highlight of a mission trip the DRR is facilitating this week (July 5-9) for a youth group from Columbia City, Indiana. “A mutual friend who follows the activity of the DRR on Facebook put them in contact with us,” said Mifflin. “They asked if we could facilitate a week-long mission trip for their group. We were thrilled to help them out. We are leading the group on one our Homeless Outreach trips and we have a variety of educational workshops scheduled, as well as various service projects. We are fortunate to be able to partner with International Crisis Aid, Project Restore, and Lots of Drops to make this event possible. These are like-minded organizations that we work with throughout the St. Louis area.

“At the event Thursday, we’ll share with the group some of what we did over the past week and we’ll invite some of the students to reflect on their experiences. We’re excited to hear how the week impacted them.”

The event is free to attend and everyone is encouraged to bring a dessert to share. Drinks are provided. Children and families are invited to create greeting cards, which will be used by the DRR on their weekly Homeless Outreach. Donations of snacks and toiletries to the Homeless Outreach can be made Thursday night, as well as contributions of coins to the group’s “CHANGE the World” project. Dirty Roots Revolution T-shirts and backpacks will be available for purchase.

“These meetings are always a good time,” said Mifflin. There’s music for everyone to enjoy, desserts to share, and lots of activities for everyone to do together. The kids love putting their coins in our “CHANGE the World” jug and families always have fun drawing the greeting cards. This really is just designed to be a fun time being together, to benefit a good cause.”

For information on Thursday night’s “Revolution through Community” event, contact Mifflin at info@dirtyrootsrevolution.com or 618.267.5436. For information on the Dirty Roots Revolution visit the group online at www.DirtyRootsRevolution.com or view their Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/DirtyRootsRevolution.

INFORMATION ON THE MISSION TRIP PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS

International Crisis Aid (ICA) is a St. Louis based international relief and development non-profit established in 2000. ICA's programs have reached out to thousands of children and families in need around the world. They are best known for rescuing young girls from the international sex trafficking industry. According to ICA, 1.2 million children are trafficked every year and every two minutes a child is prepared for exploitation. The average age of a trafficked victim is 11 to 14 years. ICA will share information on the work they do during a workshop as part of the mission trip. For more information, visit www.CrisisAid.org.

Project Restore is a humanitarian development and relief agency that supports, rehabilitates and enhances the quality of life and well being of individuals and communities across the world. Their areas of focus include clean water, education, hunger, and healthcare. The students on the mission trip will be presented with information on Project Restore and their efforts and will spend a day sorting textbooks for overseas distribution by the organization. For information on Project Restore, visit www.Project-Restore.org.

Lots of Drops is an informational organization founded by Dirty Roots Revolution volunteer and recent Greenville College graduate Catherine Weyers. Weyers compiled the website www.LotsOfDrops.org as the culmination of her departmental honors research on the Church’s response to the international water crisis. She became interested in this topic when she heard the statistic that every 10-15 seconds, a child dies from a water-related illness. Weyers will present information on the global clean water crisis and lead the group on a “Water Walk”. As part of the water walk, the group will walk one to two miles to the Mississippi River, where everyone will fill two water jugs and carry them back another one or two miles. The average person who lacks clean water must walk four to six miles to access water. One gallon of water weighs eight pounds and the average trip involves carrying 30 to 40 pounds worth of water. Young girls are typically responsible for carrying the water for their family and are unable to attend school because of this responsibility.