Marsh youths complete service projects

Marsh Foundation information

For the past several years, the youths at The Marsh Foundation have completed service projects during their spring break that revolve around the theme of the homeless and the hungry. This year, they did the same and even added a short trip to the Appalachian area of Kentucky.

Activities coordinator Sherry Grone and CSP worker Christina Flinn coordinated a project with the Appalachia Service Project organization in Chavies, Ky. Two Marsh youths traveled to Kentucky and were able to help a retired police officer make repairs to his residence.

According to Grone, the trip was a successful one.

“We traveled to a new location in hopes of sharing another corner of the world with our students, to help them grow and learn more about their own abilities and the world around them,” she said. “They learned the value of hard work and staying on task, even when you’re physically tired, and they gained valuable perspective on the struggles we all face in life.”

The groups that stayed back completed several projects locally. Two groups visited the Lima Rescue Mission, serving a meal there and cleaning up afterwards. Another group packed senior boxes at the West Ohio Food Bank and served the Friday night meal at the Bread & Bowl at First United Methodist Church in Van Wert.

George Marsh, his wife, Hilinda, and daughter, Katie, left a strong legacy of being compassionate and helping those less fortunate in the Van Wert community. Hilinda, especially, left behind writings that were very spiritual in nature.

“Many were the days when she went about in her well-provisioned carriage, helping the sick and needy, in the very joy of her Master who went about doing good,” was a portion of a eulogy read at her funeral. “In the church [she was] a humble and conscientious follower of the Christ; a leader for years in the Ladies’ Society of the church. Our sense of loss is deep; we shall ever hold her services in grateful remembrance.”

The Marsh Foundation continues to build on, and carry out, that legacy and this is the inspiration behind these service projects.

Serving children and families since 1922, The Marsh Foundation is a not-for-profit children’s services agency that provides behavioral treatment in a variety of settings. Services include group homes, treatment and family foster care, an intensive treatment program and independent living. Located in Van Wert, the organization’s group homes are licensed for up to 30 children ages 7-17, offers an on-campus school for grades 2-12 and provides a variety of clinical services to group home residents, foster children and community members.

For more information about The Marsh, visit www.marshfoundation.org.