Around 1,500 young adults from across Europe gathered in Burnley, England, on Saturday, May 30, to serve women and children in need in Lancashire, England.
The project, coordinated and funded by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was part of the One by One Young Single Adult Conference held May 29-31 in Manchester, England. In addition to the service project, the event included temple worship, social activities and a special meeting with Elder Clark G. Gilbert of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
For the service project, young adults ages 18-35 met at Turf Moor, home of the Burnley Football Club, to prepare six-month food supplies and assemble over 1,500 hygiene kits for three local charities that help women and children, the Church’s United Kingdom newsroom recently reported.
Elder Mark Anthony Dundon, an Area Seventy in the U.K., said he hoped the project would inspire the young adults to serve in their own communities with love, regardless of nationality, faith or background.
“One of our goals in bringing these young adults together was to give them a chance to be the answer to someone else’s prayer,” Elder Dundon said. “We wanted them to feel that every item they packed would then go on to reach a person in need. We believe that is the spirit of the ministry and gospel of Jesus Christ.”
‘Incredible energy and commitment’
The three local charities — Lancashire Women, Safenet and Burnley FC in the Community — were selected as beneficiaries for the breadth and urgency of the need they address across the Burnley and Lancashire region.
Oliver Ryan, a member of Parliament for Burnley, visited the service project to speak with participating young adults and learn about the charities benefiting from the initiative.
“I was genuinely blown away by the work these young people carried out here in Burnley,” he said. “To see young people from 24 countries come into the heart of our community and support organizations like Lancashire Women, Safenet and BFC in the Community was remarkable. …
“But most importantly, thank you to the young people who gave up their weekend to be here. The work you’ve done will make a real difference to people’s lives.”
Helen Gurman is the CEO of Burnley FC in the Community, the charity arm of Burnley Football Club. She noted the “incredible energy and commitment” that the young adults brought to the service project.
“The scale of what was achieved in just one day is remarkable and will make a real difference to individuals and families across Burnley and Lancashire who rely on our food bank services,” Gurman said. “Partnerships like this demonstrate the power of communities coming together to support others, and we are grateful to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and every volunteer who contributed their time and effort.”
