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During the Together for Hope swim camp at the city’s municipal pool, children have the opportunity to learn how to swim for no charge. Catherine Bahn photo
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ATLANTA – When 100 children came to the Helena-West Helena community pool for swim camp July 16-19, they entered through a new pool house built by donations from Cooperative Baptist Fellowship partner churches and individuals.
On June 22, the pool house was dedicated after thousands of donated work hours and contributions from CBF partner churches. The Fellowship has maintained a presence in Helena-West Helena since 2002, when Ben and Leonora Newell, two of CBF’s Global Missions field personnel, began working in the community as part of Together for Hope, the Fellowship’s rural poverty initiative in 20 of the poorest counties in the United States.
Built in 1928, the former pool house was beyond repair. Last year Hayes Barton Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C., and First Baptist Church of El Dorado, Ark., contributed $20,000 each toward construction of a new pool house, with the city of Helena-West Helena providing another $10,000.
"The amazing part about this is we did it on a $50,000 budget," said Ben Newell. "Generous donations allowed us to stay on budget."
George Brasil, a member of Second Baptist Church in Little Rock, Ark., donated all the electrical work and supplies. Michael Hall, a member of Calvary Baptist Church in Little Rock, donated the tile and installation. Also crucial were significant donations of time, such as that from Al Jameson, a member of Trinity Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn., who drove a 180-mile roundtrip three times a week for six weeks. As the project neared completion, Trinity Baptist donated $4,800 that will go toward construction of a shade pavilion by the pool house, Newell said.
The pool house couldn’t have been rebuilt without local involvement. Several Helena-West Helena municipal departments helped in the construction of the building and the recreation department continues to provide lifeguards. Local residents also chipped in like Bill Coad, a carpenter who built all the louvers for the building. Local residents also help teach swimming lessons. Julie Lewis is leading lessons throughout the summer, Tina Overton is leading water aerobics and other local volunteers help, too.
This summer marks the fourth Together for Hope swim camp in Helena-West Helena, where several years ago most of the population in this city bordering the Mississippi River couldn’t swim. In four years, more than 700 children have taken swimming lessons at the camp, Newell said.
Among the first to use the pool house are this year’s swim campers, including 100 children, 25 teens and adults, and others who come for evening water aerobics classes.
"It’s been great," Newell said. "Kids have been learning to swim for the first time."
And the camp couldn’t happen without nearly 60 members from Hayes Barton Baptist Church; St. John’s Baptist Church in Raleigh; Cornerstone Methodist Church in Houston, Texas; Park Meadows Baptist Church in Waxahachie, Texas; and Koinonia Church in Imboden, Ark.
And now with a new pool house, "we have the facilities we need to improve program – our offering to the community," said Newell, who hopes to eventually develop a swimming and health program in the community.
Summer ministry in Helena-West Helena peaks July 21-27 with the annual All Church Challenge, a weeklong missions blitz that attracts Fellowship Baptists from around the country and several hundred local children and community members. Fourteen churches and organizations brought 160 workers, and there were another 75 local participants. Approximately 210 children and teens participated in All Church Challenge – nearly 30 preschoolers, 150 children and more than 30 teenagers, Newell said. Also, 35 teens and adults are taking swimming lessons.
To learn about ways your church can partner with CBF field personnel, contact Karen Gilbert at (800) 352-8741 or kgilbert@thefellowship.info. For more on Together for Hope, visit www.ruralpoverty.net.
CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.