The vision of the River Center was born from the words of Jesus, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” A small group of people began to serve the residents of New Castle and Silt more organically by serving and loving their neighbors. This came from simply asking what are the greatest needs of our neighbors around us? 

 

A team of people asked the town officials, school leaders, civic organizations, and residents, “What are the emotional, mental, physical and spiritual needs of your community?” It quickly became apparent that some people needed food, clothes, school supplies, rental & utility assistance, translation of documents, etc. 

 

Most of all people needed friendship and a way to give back to others in our communities. It became very cyclical between the volunteers serving to meet needs and those receiving. Our team quickly learned that we never know which side of the coin we might be on (receiving or giving) and so we must always have a posture of serving others.

 

After a few years of living into this vision, the River Center was birthed in 2010 and grew very quickly. Hundreds of volunteers were mobilized to address the most pressing needs. The River Center learned that one of the best ways to address these needs was by forming teams who shared a common vision and purpose to serve together. Teams like Angel Tree, Totes of Hope, Meal Monkey, Life Assistance, Senior Team, Garden Team, Volunteer New Castle/Silt, Handyman Team, Latino/Hispanic Team, etc. were all committed to showing love to the community.

 

Today, we still run most of the above mentioned outreach programs through our amazing volunteers and have added a couple more like our “Neighbors Helping Neighbors Scholarship Program” and our “Supplemental Snack Program”.

 

This grassroots organization runs off of generous donations from individuals, corporations & local grants where all the monies given stay right here in our communities helping the people we call friends, family and co-workers.

 

The River Center staff of three invites all of you to stop in some time to see the programs running first hand and to get involved in your community where you can see & feel real change at work!

 

Written by Lee Price, founder of the River Center