Mission trip History
Since 2007 the GCC youth have been making a difference in struggling communities all over the country. With the support of the Gilford Community Church, we have been able to offer our youth members a unique and life-changing experience every summer! Be sure to check out our "videos" page to view our highlight films.
2007: Rutland, VT
We worked at many sites in Rutland, including landscaping at a local business, creating a walking path for the community, and working a Vacation Bible School. |
2008: New Orleans, LA
Seeing the devastation that Hurricane Katrina left behind is something that we will never forget. To be able to help several families rebuild their homes and lives will also stay with us forever. |
2009: Newark, NY
We worked in a struggling community, providing assistance at a nursing home, a camp for abused children, and several homes that needed desperate repair. We met some amazing people on this trip, and visited Niagara Falls on our day off. |
2010: Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Myrtle beach was a challenging trip. We spent a week roofing a home of a minister who was devoting her life to prison ministry. She needed to sell her home to do so, but couldn't because of her damaged roof. Our lodging and worship area were right on the beach. It was beautiful!! |
2011: Blue Knob, PA
We spent a week helping a family who lived in a historical part of their town. They were getting pressure to fix up their house, but could not afford to do so. We did some landscaping, painting, and demolished an old garage. Are lodge was located on a mountain. One of my favorite memories is waking up early, hiking to the the top of the mountain, and seeing the sunrise while Jeffrey Baron played "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes |
2012: Jacksonville, FL
We spent the week at 2 sites. The first site was a woman's shelter for women and children who have dealt with abuse. We painted the entire house and outside garage. The 2nd site was a vacation bible school for inner-city children. These children loved having us around. Our youth embraced these kids, and were wonderful mentors for them. |
2013: New Jersey- Hurricane Relief
Five years after helping with Hurricane Katrina Relief, we found ourselves in New Jersey doing similar work for the Hurricane Sandy Relief Project. We worked at a home that was flooded with over 4ft of water. We insulated and built new floors for this family. We also demolished and rebuilt an exterior wall that was rotted. |
2014: Detroit Michigan
The struggles in Detroit have been widely publicized over the past several years. Bankruptcy, violence, hungar, and poverty continue to have affect this City. Our mission was to help in several areas of need. We worked through and organization called Forgotton Harvest. We harvested food from their farm and processed food at their warehouse. We also worked at the Detroit Rescue Missions Ministries, fixing up their building and working with children from their summer camp. |
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2015: Virginia
Along the Virginia coast there are many beautiful beaches and coastal towns, but you don't have to look too far inland to find communities that are struggling. In these areas the homes of many elderly people and families on fixed incomes sit in disrepair. During our week, we worked at the home of an elderly couple. The husband recently suffered a stroke and now has limited mobility. We build a deck, leveled their backyard, build a walkway, and painted their porches. During our free time, we enjoyed a trip to Six Flags, camping, and tour of Washington D.C. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE 2019: North Carolina
In 2018, NC was hit by Hurricane Florence, causing severe flooding and millions of dollars of damage to communities throughout the state. Our mission work took place in Lumberton, NC, working at a home of a single mother, whose house was flooded,. 3ft of water filled her house, destroying her floors, washing away her front steps, and causing damage to both the interior and exterior of the house. We spent our week building her a new deck, and installing a new floor in her living room and kitchen. We also painted her house! During our free, time we enjoyed whitewater rafting. |
2016: West Virginia
The floods in the summer of 2016 devastated many communities in West Virginia. Homes were destroyed, businesses closed, and families left to pick up the pieces. We spent a week in the cities of Ranielle and Rupert. In Ranielle, we worked in several homes, tearing down walls, cleaning yards and moving items to the curb to be picked up. In Ranielle, we worked at a Flood Relief Donation Center, organizing items that were donated. During our free time, we took a guided horseback tour of Gettysburg (PA) and went white water rafting in northern WV. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE 2022: Altoona, PA
After a 2 year break due to the Coronavirus pandemic, we were excited to bring back our summer mission trip in 2022. This year, we traveled to Altoona, PA for a week long service trip. It was the first time we took a complete "rookie" group of youth members. We worked at several locations, including St. Vincent De Paul Thrift store in Altoona. We spent a couple of days at a local home, landscaping and building a new stairway for the owner. We enjoyed some fun times during the week, including whitewater rafting on the Leigh River. |
2017: Puerto Rico
Located in the heart of the Caribbean, Puerto Rico is known as the "Island of Enchantment." On the southern coast of the island lies the town of Ponce which has many opportunities for ministry and service within communities where families struggle with poverty every day. Our week consisted of painting the home of an elderly couple. We also passed out food to locals, and played with children at a local community center. During our free time, we enjoyed the beach, snorkeling and a trip to the luminescent bay. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE |
2018: Tennessee Over the years, youth mission teams and our mission camp staff have formed strong bonds with the people they minister to in the poor communities scattered throughout the mountains of eastern Tennessee. Some of these local residents are destitute and forgotten, living in clusters of dilapidated, seemingly unlivable homes alongside old dirt roads. Some of them are widows or young families who just need help to get their homes dry and winterized. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE |