The final tally for this year’s 6th Annual GO! Weekend was impressive: Two hundred and twenty-five volunteers representing five local churches completed 23 projects, including three houses painted; one home exterior remodeled; two new retaining walls and a staircase built; seven yards transformed; 40 meals delivered, and at least that many stowed away in the freezer for future needs; several boxes of fresh potatoes and other garden produce delivered…and all of that finished by noon on Saturday.

“It was all done by lunch,” said Church of Christ Minister Jake Perkins, “and it was crazy! That’s a miracle.”

That’s not even counting all of the businesses and individual who contributed free roofing supplies and other construction materials, and at least four boom lifts provided by another local business. And the countless popsicles and kids’ paintings that were taken to Mesa View residents just to brighten their day.

“I think the community is just coming together,” Perkins said. “There was a smile on everyone’s face. There wasn’t any whining. There was just… ‘Let’s Go. Let’s serve. Let’s help each other out.’”

“It signifies something about Canadian,” he said, “that everybody knows we’re still connected…even through the hard year we’ve had. We’re still connected enough to know who’s in need, and who to take care of.”

“I just think that’s something that every community needs—that one thing that centers us all around the same purpose,” Perkins explained. “It’s not charity. It’s partnership. We want people to see that service is still one of the best things we can offer. Serving somebody else’s needs and getting nothing in return is still the best.”