Late last year a small group of people got together to discuss what activities Mile End Community Church (MECC) could do which might make a difference in the lives of people.”Our congregation is not large so we determined that in the course of a calendar year we should only do a few things and do them well,” says Pr Stephen Bews.

Craig Vanas, Hills Adventist College chaplain and a former MECC pastor, was involved in the brain-storming and suggested a community collection of tins of soup and warm blankets for the homeless. “The group thought this was a great idea and so it was agreed that we set a date in June to do the collection, so Operation Winter Warmers was born,” says Pr Bews.

Throughout April and May, a small group led by Craig met weekly to ensure that this event would be a success. A partnership with Mission Australia was formed to create credibility in the minds of the community when the volunteer collectors knocked on their doors and, to ensure that the homeless received the food and blankets as Mission Australia has the necessary network for distribution.

People from the community began dropping tinned goods off to the church premises before the collection began thanks to the effective flyers prepared by Jason Carrasco, a member of MECC. They continued to do so for a few days after the collection too.

On the designated collection day, MECC members went out and collected door-to-door in the Rouse Hill community. At the end of the collection there were a lot of smiles amongst a group of people who had done something practical to make a difference in the lives of others.

“As a church we would like to thank the following organisations for their support – Mission Australia and 4Community. Above and beyond that we would like to thank God who prepared the Rouse Hill community to act generously in giving to those in our city who are less fortunate than so many of us,” says Pr Bews.