Volunteers clean at Dream Center for Love Week

JACKSON, Tenn. — Dozens of church members spent hours volunteering at nonprofit organizations in Jackson this week. It is part of the SoulQuest Church Love Week.

Volunteers organized and cleaned Thursday at the Dream Center in Jackson. SoulQuest Outreach Director Amber Henry said they want to serve.

“Let them know that we’re here and to let them know that we love them and that we just want to do whatever it takes to reach people,” Henry said. “We want to serve them in any way that we can.”

The Dream Center provides help and housing for women and mothers faced with homelessness. Workers said they depend on volunteers. “It will be just an uplift for the ladies to be able to go there and enjoy being in the kitchen and not stressed about, ‘oh my, this is a mess,’” Office Administrator Susan Smith said.

SoulQuest is also volunteering at the Regional Inter-Faith Association and the STAR Center.

Henry estimated about 80 SoulQuest volunteers already put in close to 400 hours of community service this week. “We have had twice as many as last year,” Henry said.

Love Week is an annual event. The church said they hope to continue volunteering at least once a quarter.

To wrap up Love Week, SoulQuest will host a block party Saturday night at the AMP in downtown Jackson. The event runs from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and will include free food, live music, face-painting and bounce houses for kids.